Municipalities that want to get on board the new up-coming broadband service should do so as soon as possible.
That from Maryam Monsef, Minister of Rural Economic Development, who was part of a Zoom conference this morning alongside Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anothony Rota as well as councillors and mayors throughout the riding speaking on the Government of Canada’s $1.75 billion investment to connect Canadians to high-speed internet across the country.
Monsef said that the competition for the service is expected to be intense.
“We hope that it will be, and we expect that it will be. This is the program Canadians have asked for,” she said. “If you have a connection plan, if you do not have 50/10 (50 megabytes per second download, 10 megabytes per second upload) services, you’re in. If you’re working with ISP (internet service providers) you’re in.”
The funding also includes $150 million in Rapid Response Stream with an accelerated application process to allow shovel-ready projects to get started right away.
Monsef said that municipalities who apply to the rapid response stream and meet the pre-conditions for approval, they will know in a matter of days.
“We’re ready to go,” she said.
Both Monsef and Rota urged municipalities to apply, stating the deadline for the Rapid Response Stream application is January 15.
For more information, or to apply, visit https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/139.nsf/eng/h_00006.html
The government states the Universal Broadband Fund will connect 98 percent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2026, with the goal of connecting all Canadians by 2030.
