OUJÉ-BOUGOUMOU, QC – The Cree communities of Eastmain and Waskaganish in Quebec now have access to reliable high-speed Internet service thanks to the provincial government’s Plan Nord.
The Québec government awarded the non-profit organization Eeyou Communications Network (ECN) $6.5 million in funding through the Société du Plan Nord for the second phase of the fibre optic network project designed to connect 13 communities in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory.
The first phase of the ECN project connected 11 communities in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory in 2011. Some 800 km of optical fibre were required to connect Eastmain and Waskaganish to the network.
"The sustained efforts of the Eeyou Communications Network mean that Eastmain and Waskaganish now obtain the same high-speed Internet service as neighbouring communities, an essential service today”, said Pierre Moreau, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Plan Nord, in a statement. “The realization of the project marks another step forward in fulfilling the conditions for success of the Plan Nord: enhance telecommunications infrastructure north of the 49th parallel and facilitate access to the territory."
