High-Speed Internet Coming to Over 19,000 Households in New Brunswick

EDMUNDSTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwired - July 30, 2015) - Industry Canada

Everyday tasks that were once done in person, such as shopping, communicating, learning and banking, are now done online. To help Canadian communities, businesses and families have better access to these and many other online opportunities, the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche, today announced that the Government of Canada will provide Xplornet Communications Inc. and Bell Aliant with up to $5.99 million to connect over 19,000 homes in New Brunswick to faster Internet services.

Minister Valcourt highlighted the fact that over 800 households in the Madawaska-Restigouche region will benefit from the investment announced today. These broadband infrastructure projects are expected to be completed by the end of April 2018, delivering Internet download speeds of up at least five megabits per second (Mbps).

For all Canadians, the Internet is a tool that spurs economic growth, broadens opportunities, and connects friends and family from coast to coast to coast. For Canadians who live in communities with slow or no Internet, access to high-speed services will lead to new economic opportunities and the creation of new jobs, products and services.

By Canada's 150th birthday in 2017, over 98 percent of Canadian households will be able to subscribe to new or improved high-speed Internet services, which helps deliver on the Government's commitment to rural Canadians.

Quick facts

• The households to be connected in the Madawaska-Restigouche region under today's announcement are in the following communities and surrounding areas:
  • Baker-Brook, Edmundston, Lac-Baker, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Rivière-Verte, Saint-Basile, Sainte-Anne Parish, Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, Saint-Hilaire, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Léonard and Saint-Quentin.
• Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government of Canada created the Connecting Canadians program, backed by a $305-million commitment to connect an additional 280,000 households in rural and remote regions of the country to high-speed Internet services at minimum speeds of 5 Mbps.
• The Government has exceeded its Economic Action Plan 2014 target by over 75,000 households in the first round of project approvals, bringing high-speed Internet access to more than 356,000 homes across Canada, and nearly 40 percent under budget.
• Last summer, the Government invited Canadians to provide feedback online to help better determine areas in need of high-speed Internet access. Once information was received, Industry Canada invited Internet service providers to submit proposals for funding under Connecting Canadians to build the wireless or wired infrastructure that will provide services to rural and remote communities in need.
• The first projects are expected to be completed by the time Canada celebrates the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.
• Industry Canada received over 300 applications to the Connecting Canadians program from Internet service providers across Canada.

Quotes

"Our government understands the unique challenges that customers face in New Brunswick's rural areas. This improved high-speed Internet will provide rural customers with a much-needed tool for continued success in today's world of commerce. This investment will also enable our young people, mainly students, to have access to online resources in order to further their education."

- The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche

"We're proud to partner with the Government of Canada through Connecting Canadians to continue to improve rural broadband in New Brunswick, part of our commitment to investing in new broadband infrastructure across Atlantic Canada. We look forward to providing residents of these communities with access to our high-speed network and the economic and social opportunities it will enable."

- Dan McKeen, Vice-Chair and Senior Vice-President, Residential Services, Bell Aliant

"We are thrilled to work alongside the Government of Canada toward our shared goal of getting Canada more connected by providing fast and affordable high-speed Internet services to rural Canadians. For communities across New Brunswick, we will be able to accelerate the build of our fixed wireless broadband infrastructure so that residents can experience everything the Internet has to offer."

- Bill Macdonald, Vice-President of Business Development, Xplornet Communications Inc.

Associated link

• Connecting Canadians website

Follow us on Twitter: @industrycanada

A map is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1019623_MAP.pdf