OTTAWA — In a year-end update, Innovation Canada said Thursday that projects completed by the Universal Broadband Fund’s rapid delivery component is offering service to 83,000 households across the country, up to 9,000 of which are Indigenous.
When the UBF launched in November 2020, it included a $150-million carve-out for projects that could be completed within a year. Those “Rapid Response Stream” projects, however, were delayed to at least early 2022.
Despite that, the federal government said in Thursday’s update that it is “on track” to meet its goal of providing access to the objective speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload to 98% of households by 2026 and 100% by 2030. It said 93.5% of households have access or are targeted to get access through its programs.
Since the program’s launch, 251 projects, which are expected to serve up to 328,000 households, have been announced, with 117 of those announcements coming this year, it said in the release.
The UBF program began as a $1.75 billion fund, but has now grown to $3.225 billion, with a $475-million top up from the federal government last month. It has morphed into a unique program that favoured partnering directly with provinces, which would approve internet service provider projects.
Those “co-funding” partnerships include Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, and British Columbia to connect up to 823,000 households in those provinces, it said in the release.
