Four projects that will bring high-speed internet to the rural Cariboo will be getting a $17.3 million boost from the Federal Government.
On Friday, Terry Beech, Parliament Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, and to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and the Member of Parliament for Burnaby North-Seymour, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, along with BC’s Minister of Citizens Services Lisa Beare, announced the funding for the four projects that will bring high-speed internet to 2,000 homes in the Cariboo Regional District, and in Indigenous communities in the Thompson-Nicola regional district in rural BC.
“We welcome this funding because as our recent broadband connectivity study highlighted, faster, more reliable internet service is much needed across our region,” says CRD Chair Margo Wagner, “It is crucial to the future of the Cariboo and Chilcotin that we have the connectivity needed to participate in the modern economy. Good service is also vital for our emergency response efforts. The greater our reach via electronic means, the more people we can contact when natural events such as wildfires threaten our communities.”
The funding is coming from the Universal Broadband Fund, which was launched in November 2020. The projects announced Friday were approved within six months of the formal launch of the program. Projects funded under the Universal Broadband Fund will help connect 98 per cent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2026, with a target of 100 per cent of Canadians by 2030.