Today, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced a combined investment of C$22 million in the Regional Municipality of Durham to bring high-speed internet access to more than 1,400 homes in 10 communities in Ontario.
The ten communities include Ashburn, Columbus, Courtice, Greenbank, Leaskdale, Manchester, Myrtle Station, Raglan, Sunderland and Uxbridge.
Vianet will be working in partnership with the Regional Municipality of Durham as the internet service provider for the ten communities.
“As the digital age explodes with new applications and ever-increasing bandwidth demands, the only practical long-term investment for connectivity in rural areas is fibre optic infrastructure,” said Brian McCullagh, director of business development at Vianet. “Building fibre optic networks in rural areas is costly and complex, but with governments and private companies all contributing, the broadband gap between rural and urban Canada will be overcome. Vianet looks forward to doing its part.”
Today’s announcement builds on the $845 million that the government of Canada has invested since 2015 in improving connectivity across Ontario, and advances the government’s commitment toward ensuring that 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100 per cent by 2030.
“The project announced today will help improve access to health care and online learning services, create jobs in these communities, and keep people connected to their family, friends and loved ones,” said Jennifer O’Connell, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities. “Our government is committed to making investments like these to help connect every Ontarian and Canadian to the high-speed internet they need to succeed.”
The investment is also part of Canada-Ontario broadband partnership announced in 2021 to connect more than 280,000 homes across the province, with a joint federal-provincial investment totalling more than C$1.2 billion.
As of July 2023, the province of Ontario has finalized various agreements totalling more than C$2.3 billion for nearly 200 high–speed internet and cellular projects across the province, the release noted.
The project announced today is expected to be completed by December 2025.
Residents of the ten communities can now track where provincially funded high-speed internet projects are planned, are currently under way or have been recently completed, via the newly launched interactive online map.
