Telus has announced it will spend $95 million to “bridge the digital divide in 80 remote communities from Eastern Quebec.”
Out of this $95 million, it includes $25.7 million from the federal Connect to Innovate and provincial Québec branché programs.
The company’s PureFibre network will reach 70 remote and low-density communities in the RCM (Regional community municipalities) of des Chenaux, Côte-de-Gaspé, Haute-Côte-Nord, Haute-Gaspésie, L’Islet/Montmagny, Matapédia, Mitis, Mékinac, Portneuf and Sept-Rivières.
For the Lower North Shore, Telus says the communities of Blanc-Sablon, Middle Bay, Pakuashipi, Rivière-Saint-Paul, Saint-Augustin and Vieux Fort will get high-speed Internet and LTE mobile phone service for the first time.
The Telus wireless network in the province will gain 10 new sites in the coming months, including the areas of Beauce-Sartigan, Manicouagan and Sept-Rivières.
François Gratton, Group President, TELUS, and Chair, TELUS Québec, said in an issued statement, “We believe every family and business should have an equal opportunity to prosper in our increasingly dynamic digital society no matter where they live.”
Telus says they are “investing $175 million in our networks across Quebec this year, and more than a half is entirely devoted to the rural communities of our incumbent territory in Greater Quebec City and Eastern Quebec.”
