MP Candice Hoeppner Announces Details of Latest Broadband Canada Funding in Manitoba

Approximately 30,000 more households to benefit from broadband internet access

Saint François Xavier, Manitoba, November 6, 2010 — Candice Hoeppner, Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar, today announced details of the third round of projects in Manitoba conditionally approved for funding through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. These five latest projects will soon connect 17 262 households in the province to broadband Internet networks.

"I am delighted to announce that more families, businesses and individuals in Manitoba will soon have access to broadband Internet for the first time," said MP Hoeppner. "Our government is committed to creating new economic opportunities for northern and rural Canadians by expanding high-speed digital networks into their communities."

Canada’s Economic Action Plan provided $225 million for the development and implementation of a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, an initiative that targets Canadians living in unserved and underserved areas. This latest round of conditionally approved funding builds on earlier project announcements, on May 9, 2010 and July 6-15, 2010. Together, these three rounds of announcements will make broadband connectivity available to nearly 250 000 Canadian households.

For the individuals, families and businesses that will soon have access to broadband Internet, important economic and social benefits, including telehealth, business opportunities and distance learning, will become available. More broadly, broadband Internet access will encourage economic development, spur innovation and improve the quality of life in hundreds of communities across Canada.

More details, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Lynn Meahan
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

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Backgrounder

Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians
Manitoba Round 3 Funding Announcement

On November 6, 2010, the Government of Canada announced the third round of projects in Manitoba to receive conditional funding approval through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. The five projects conditionally approved in this round reflect a total investment of approximately $5 787 547 in the province, and will offer broadband Internet access to 17 262 additional households.

The following companies are conditionally approved for funding as part of today’s announcement:

• Broadband Communications North
• Manitoba NetSet Ltd. (3 projects)
• Norway House Cree Nation Broadband

More details on today’s announcement, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.

Combined with those projects announced in Round 1 on May 9, 2010, and in Round 2 between July 6 and 15, 2010, Broadband Canada will soon bring high-speed broadband Internet connectivity to approximately 28 870 households in Manitoba, for a total provincial investment of $13 761 703. While this is the last round of major announcements under Broadband Canada, additional investments involving more geographic areas, regions, provinces and companies may be made in the near future.

About Broadband Canada

As part of Budget 2009 — Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada provided $225 million over three years, beginning in 2009–10, for Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians.

The program aims to extend broadband service to as many unserved and underserved Canadian households as possible. The program’s focus on connecting households provides a clearer understanding of the availability of service to Canadians. Because communities vary greatly in size, the fact that a community has broadband access does not always mean that service is available to individual households.