Connecting Rural Canadians program requesting broadband information from First Nations
The first phase of the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program, mapping verification process, began July 6th.
Industry Canada (IC) is inviting Canadians to tell them about their Internet access.
Canadians can find their location on a map of Canada and from there they will be directed to a summary information page which will tell them if, according to IC information, that location has broadband Internet access.
From there informants will be able to complete a feedback form to provide IC with more information about their service.
The mapping website is at www.ic.gc.ca/broadbandmaps
Industry Canada is also asking Internet Service Providers to verify their coverage by July 24th.
From About the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians Program
As part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, $225 million was provided to Industry Canada over three years to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband coverage to as many unserved and underserved households as possible, beginning in 2009-2010.
Broadband internet access is viewed as essential infrastructure for participating in today's economy, as it enables citizens, businesses and institutions to access information, services and opportunities that could otherwise be out of reach.
Broadband is one key to progress for many small rural and remote communities, and will help ensure that these communities move forward socially and economically. Closing the broadband gap between urban and rural Canada will be a sound economic investment, and will provide long term opportunity for rural households, businesses and community institutions to make use of the internet at levels similar to many of their urban counterparts.
DID YOU KNOW
7% of Canadian households currently lack broadband (1.5Mbps) access. In rural areas, that figure is closer to 19%. (CRTC 2008)
NOTE: Instead of each household having 1.5Mb in the remote First Nations, entire communities are served by a 1.5Mb connection today. To add more bandwidth in the communities, major telecom infrastructure upgrades are required as all the available circuits are presently utilized north of Red Lake and north of Pickle Lake.