Universal Broadband Fund to improve internet access in Wahnapitae

Wahnapitae First Nation residents will soon have high-speed internet access funded through the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF).

Blue Sky Net, part of the Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation, last week announced that it has received CA$269,000 from the UBF’s rapid response stream to bring high-speed internet to the Wahnapitae First Nation community on the northwest shore of Wanapitei Lake, Sudbury. Once completed, the project will bring high-speed internet access to 74 households, including 68 indigenous households.

The federal government announced the CA$1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund in November 2020 to help connect underserved and indigenous communities. Out of the whole, CA$150 million has been provisioned for a Rapid Response Stream for projects that can be completed by November 15, 2021. The government aims to connect 98 per cent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030.

Related:

Canada to spend $750 million on developing network infrastructure

“High-speed internet service is key to the success of residents in rural regions of Ontario,” said Maryam Monsef, Minister for women and gender equality and rural economic development. “It will help create jobs, increase health and safety, and ensure a stronger economic recovery for rural Ontarians. It is one of many projects our government is undertaking to ensure that every Canadian has access to the high-speed internet they need.”

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) initially targeted a broadband speed of 5Mbps download and 1Mbps upload in 2011. As network demands increased, the CRTC revised that target to 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload in 2016.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Tom Li
Tom Li
Telecommunication and consumer hardware are Tom's main beats at IT Business. He loves to talk about Canada's network infrastructure, semiconductor products, and of course, anything hot and new in the consumer technology space. You'll also occasionally see his name appended to articles on cloud, security, and SaaS-related news. If you're ever up for a lengthy discussion about the nuances of each of the above sectors or have an upcoming product that people will love, feel free to drop him a line at [email protected].

Featured Story

How the CTO can Maintain Cloud Momentum Across the Enterprise

Embracing cloud is easy for some individuals. But embedding widespread cloud adoption at the enterprise level is...

Related Tech News

Get ITBusiness Delivered

Our experienced team of journalists brings you engaging content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives delivered directly to your inbox.

Featured Tech Jobs