WINNIPEG – More than 100 rural communities in Manitoba will soon be able to get online and access high-speed Internet through a combined investment of $83.9 million led by the Federal Government’s rural broadband program Connect to Innovate.
An announcement Tuesday by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains said that 112 rural and remote communities in the province stand to benefit from the funding, 48 of which are First Nations and 21 that are located in regions without year-round road access.
The Connect to Innovate program will contribute $43.7 million; $3.5 million will come from Indigenous Services Canada; $20 million will come as an in-kind contribution from the Government of Manitoba; and $16.7 million will come from other contributors.
Clear Sky Communications will receive $33.5 million to provide 72 communities, including 37 First Nations communities of which 18 are located in remote regions of northern Manitoba, and 88 institutions with access to high-speed Internet services that is on par with southern urban areas. Valley Fiber Limited will receive $10.3 million to improve high-speed Internet service for 27 communities and 30 institutions. Bell MTS will receive $2.7 million to improve connectivity for eight communities, of which six are First Nations, and nine institutions in Northeastern Manitoba, and Broadband Communications North will receive $673,000 to improve connectivity for six underserved communities, of which five are First Nations.
The Government of Manitoba’s $20 million in-kind contribution is for Clear Sky Communications to access and utilize Manitoba Hydro’s established fibre optic cable network and related assets to provide increased broadband connection to First Nations as well as rural and northern Manitoba communities, continues the announcement. The Clear Sky Communications project will give First Nations communities in northern Manitoba the opportunity to own, operate and control their own broadband networks.
Of the $43.7 million in Connect to Innovate funding, $38.5 million is for backbone networks that will bring fibre to the majority of the 112 communities, connect institutions and indirectly improve Internet connections for an estimated 19,000 households, while $5.17 million is going to be used to directly connect 4,150 underserved households that cannot even access service of 5 Mbps.
