CALGARY – Residents in 39 rural and remote communities in Alberta will soon be able to get online and access high-speed Internet through an investment of $22.5 million led by the Federal Government’s rural broadband program Connect to Innovate.
An announcement Thursday by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains said that of the 39 communities that will benefit from this investment, five are Indigenous communities.
The Connect to Innovate program will contribute $17.1 million and $5.4 million will come from other contributors. The funding is for backbone networks that will bring fibre optic cable to the communities, connect or enhance connectivity for up to 168 institutions, and indirectly improve Internet connections for a number of households across Alberta. Connect to Innovate is also funding last-mile connections to households that don’t have high-speed Internet.
The organizations receiving federal funding are:
– Arrow Technology Group GP Limited – $7.05 million to provide 10 communities—five of which are Indigenous communities—and 29 institutions with access to high-speed Internet services;
– Buried Glass Inc. – $7.34 million to provide 18 communities and 116 institutions with access to high-speed Internet services;
– Beacon Broadband Inc. – $476,000 to provide three communities and four institutions with access to high-speed Internet services;
– Cardston County – $212,000 to provide a community and an institution with access to high-speed Internet services;
– Rigstar Communications – $216,000 to provide enhanced Internet connectivity to 164 households in the community of Kew;
– GPNetworks – $521,000 to provide one community and three of its institutions with access to high-speed Internet service; and
– Missing Link Internet Inc. – $1.33 million to provide five communities and nine institutions with access to high-speed Internet services.
