Addressing Canada’s Digital Divide – CIB Broadband Investments Surpass $2 billion
TORONTO – Broadband service is critical to the daily lives of Canadians. It is essential for our quality of life, connecting us to business, health care, education and to family and friends.
By collaborating with Canadian internet service providers (ISPs) and public sector funding partners, the CIB has now achieved financial close on investments valued at more than $2 billion.
The CIB is helping expand and accelerate the deployment of broadband connectivity in unserved and underserved communities. Soon, more than 442,000 households across Canada will gain high-speed internet access.
The CIB’s partnerships are connecting Indigenous, remote and rural regions to high-speed internet services which would otherwise not be commercially viable given the cost of connection per household.
Our investments are supporting a broad, competitive range of internet service providers to help build a more affordable internet market for Canadians.
The CIB’s financing solutions allow broadband connectivity to expand at a quicker pace while enabling Indigenous and rural customers to benefit from the same services as urban counterparts.
Complementary grant funding provided by the Government of Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund, Government of Ontario’s Accelerated High-Speed Internet Program and Government of Alberta’s Alberta Broadband Fund have also played a key role in the deployment of new projects.
Providing high-speed and reliable internet access to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities is incredibly important as it helps ensure that they can continue growing from strength to strength in our increasingly digital world. CIB’s collaboration with Canadian internet service providers is doing just that. Today’s announcement marks an incredible milestone towards ensuring that all communities from coast to coast to coast have the same, equal, opportunities for success.
Everyone deserves access to the high-speed internet regardless of where you live. Our government is helping to expand high-speed internet so that all Canadians have better access to the online services they need. No matter where in our great, vast country Canadians live, it is essential to reaching their full potential.
The expansion of new, reliable broadband services to remote locations in Canada will improve many facets of people’s everyday life. It is an absolute necessity for Canadians to fully participate in the digital economy, access health care, education services and more. We are proud to play our part and contribute to better connecting communities.
