Building The Digital Highway Through Ontario
July 30, 2009 1:30 PM
McGuinty Government Expands Rural Broadband To Improve Prosperity
Rural Ontario is receiving more affordable, accessible and efficient broadband services.
The government is establishing a Broadband Infrastructure Fund to provide Ontario's rural and remote families and businesses with more opportunities to connect to the world through the Internet. This will help spur innovation, attract investment and build a skilled workforce.
The infrastructure fund, totalling nearly $88 million, includes matching funds for the Government of Canada's new national program Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, announced earlier today. These funds will continue to build on the success of provincial broadband funding, bringing connectivity to rural and remote areas across Ontario.
Today, Ontario also announced its first investment from the fund, supporting the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus Regional Broadband Network. The province is investing one-third of total eligible costs, up to $55 million in a project that will enhance capacity and speed for future growth in Eastern Ontario.
Other project partners include the federal government, 13 eastern municipalities and private industry.
QUICK FACTS
- Since 2007, the provincial government has invested $70 million to increase connectivity in rural areas in both southern and northern Ontario.
- Broadband is defined as a high-capacity link between end users and access network suppliers at a minimum download speed of 1.5 megabits per second.
- Broadband combines telecommunications infrastructure and service to deliver more Internet information at speeds far greater than dial-up service.
CONTACTS
- Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
416-326-6439
- Brent Ross
Communications Branch
416-326-9342
ontario.ca/agriculture
"We need to provide access to high speed internet in our rural communities so they can compete on a level playing field both nationally and internationally. "
– Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
"Faster, more reliable Internet access will not only stimulate the economy of eastern Ontario, but also serve as a catalyst for doing business better, right across the province."
– Harinder S. Takhar
Minister of Government Services
Communities
