Image from Canadian Press

By Connor Gunn/LethbridgeNewsNOW

$300 Million Funding Commitment

Governments commit up to $300M for high-speed internet in Alberta

Dec 16, 2021 | 5:02 PM

Canadians across the country need access to reliable, high-speed Internet and the provincial and federal governments are helping residents out.

Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta and Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA, announced an agreement to bring high-speed Internet to underserved rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Alberta.

Under the partnership, the release says both governments will work collaboratively to assess, select and co-fund projects that have been submitted through the Government of Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund.

This announcement is preliminary as funding announcements for individual projects will begin in early 2022.

The total combined funding commitment is up to $300 million.

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The Government of Canada will be matching dollar for dollar the $150 million commitment made by Alberta’s government in July 2021.

Read more: Alberta announces $150M for broadband internet in rural & Indigenous communities

“Alberta’s government is committed to eliminating the digital divide. Solving the broadband problem requires all levels of government and the private sector to come together.

Albertans living outside major urban centres have been at a digital disadvantage because of unreliable broadband, but we are building partnerships to end that, and today, we’re so much closer to a solution. Connectivity is on the horizon,” says Glubish.

More information will be announced on individual projects in 2022.

Alberta Municipalities applauds the federal and provincial governments, as well as Indigenous peoples, for coming together to announce their plan to accelerate the distribution of reliable high-speed internet service to remote, rural and Indigenous communities across Alberta.

“Today’s joint announcement of $300 million investment is welcomed news. Broadband internet service is something our members have repeatedly said their communities need to thrive and succeed. Once complete, it will be nothing short of a game-changer.

We look forward to learning which communities will be the first to benefit from this initiative,” reads a statement from the organization.

“Today’s partnership announcement by the Governments of Canada and Alberta will ensure that Albertans living in rural and remote Indigenous communities across the province have the technology they need to fully participate in today’s digital world,” says Shazia Zeb Sobani, Vice President of Customer Network Implementation at TELUS. “TELUS is investing $14.5 billion across the province in new network infrastructure, operations, and spectrum now through 2024, creating 8,000 job opportunities and connecting more Albertans to our world-leading wireless and wireline networks. This includes connecting 500,000 more Albertan households and businesses to the TELUS PureFibre network, including across rural communities.”

“TELUS PureFibre supported more than two million Albertans as they adapted to new ways of living throughout the pandemic, enabling people to work with large files at home while other family members simultaneously use the internet for school, virtually connecting with healthcare practitioners, or staying socially connected,” adds Zeb Sobani.

“Our investment is also bringing TELUS’ blistering-fast 5G network speeds to a total of 153 Albertan communities – including 31 Indigenous communities – to 5G technology by the end of this year,” explains Zeb Sobani. “Public-private partnerships are critical to bridging digital divides and providing connectivity that fits the specific needs of each community. In areas where there is a small population across a sizable area of land, the cost to connect each premise is dramatically higher than a typical community build, making a jointly-funded custom build more economically feasible. We look forward to working closely with the Governments to connect more rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Alberta than ever before.”

(With files from rdnewsNOW)