Ottawa to Invest $5 Million to Bring High Speed Internet to 3,300 Rural Homes in B.C.

The federal government announced on Thursday it is investing over $5 million to expand high speed internet to 3,300 rural homes in British Columbia ($1,515/home).

The internet will be built out by ispeed Communications, Swift Internet and Telus, to the following communities:

• ispeed Communications: Coldstream, Deep Creek, Grindrod, Hullcar, Okanagan and Spallumcheen (Splatsin)
• Swift Internet: Arrow Creek, Canyon, Kingsgate, Kitchener, Kuskonook, Lister, Moyie, Sanca, Twin Bays, West Creston, Wynndel and Yahk
• Telus: Barlow Creek, Blue Springs, Booth Creek, Cherryville, Clearview, Shuswap Falls, south of Smithers, Spruceland and Wilks/Kahn, 10 Mile Lake, Twin Lakes and Wycliffe

Last month, the federal government and B.C. announced joint funding of up to $830 million to expand high speed internet for all rural households in the province, and today’s announcement provides more details on the project.

“This investment will bring reliable high-speed Internet access to over 3,300 households in British Columbia, helping create jobs, improving access to health care and online learning services, and keeping people connected. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed $7.2 billion to connect rural Canadians to better, faster Internet. We will continue making investments like these in rural and remote communities to help connect every single Canadian to high-speed Internet,” said Stéphane Lauzon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.

The federal government’s goal is to provide all Canadians with internet access and speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, through its Connectivity Strategy.