The ChronicleHerald.ca
Internet Highway to Reach Rural HRM
Province, Ottawa, communities and providers to ante up $5m to $6m to expand service
By JOHN GILLIS Staff Reporter, Halifax Herald
High-speed Internet access is coming to most rural communities in Halifax Regional Municipality.
The federal and provincial governments will contribute more than $2.6 million and the municipality, community groups and service provider will make up the rest of the $5 million to $6 million cost of the project, a delighted Coun. Steve Streatch (Eastern Shore-Musquodoboit Valley) said Saturday.
Mr. Streatch said people outside the urban core of the municipality have been eager to have high-speed service for a long time, but Internet providers have found the cost of extending the service impractical.
"We heard clearly that people were feeling disadvantaged and they wanted something done about this," he said.
"We have a lot of homegrown businesses that feel if they were able to have access to a broadband service in their own local community, then they would be able to compete on a more level playing field with some companies that may be closer to the centre of the city."
This initiative, which will bring high-speed access to 45 communities from Sheet Harbour to Hubbards, is separate from provincial projects to expand broadband service.
Peter MacKay, minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, was on hand in Sheet Harbour on Saturday morning to announce Ottawa is investing $1.1 million through the Innovative Communities Fund and another $945,919 through the federal-provincial Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. Nova Scotia is contributing $607,200.
A request for proposals to provide the high-speed service has already gone out. Both Aliant and EastLink have reportedly submitted bids.
Mr. Streatch said that as well as helping rural businesses, the project will be a boon to educational and health-care facilities around the municipality.
He expected most of the municipality would have broadband access in a year to 18 months.
( jgillis@herald.ca)
Internet Highway to Reach Rural HRM
Province, Ottawa, communities and providers to ante up $5m to $6m to expand service
By JOHN GILLIS Staff Reporter, Halifax Herald
High-speed Internet access is coming to most rural communities in Halifax Regional Municipality.
The federal and provincial governments will contribute more than $2.6 million and the municipality, community groups and service provider will make up the rest of the $5 million to $6 million cost of the project, a delighted Coun. Steve Streatch (Eastern Shore-Musquodoboit Valley) said Saturday.
Mr. Streatch said people outside the urban core of the municipality have been eager to have high-speed service for a long time, but Internet providers have found the cost of extending the service impractical.
"We heard clearly that people were feeling disadvantaged and they wanted something done about this," he said.
"We have a lot of homegrown businesses that feel if they were able to have access to a broadband service in their own local community, then they would be able to compete on a more level playing field with some companies that may be closer to the centre of the city."
This initiative, which will bring high-speed access to 45 communities from Sheet Harbour to Hubbards, is separate from provincial projects to expand broadband service.
Peter MacKay, minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, was on hand in Sheet Harbour on Saturday morning to announce Ottawa is investing $1.1 million through the Innovative Communities Fund and another $945,919 through the federal-provincial Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. Nova Scotia is contributing $607,200.
A request for proposals to provide the high-speed service has already gone out. Both Aliant and EastLink have reportedly submitted bids.
Mr. Streatch said that as well as helping rural businesses, the project will be a boon to educational and health-care facilities around the municipality.
He expected most of the municipality would have broadband access in a year to 18 months.
( jgillis@herald.ca)
2 comments:
Haven't we been hearing this promise for at least six years? "You should have high speed internet very soon, probably next year..." And "We're negotiating..."
Grandstanding and stepping forward to accept another round of applause, then nothing...
What makes offering state of the art internet service so different from providing universal access to telephone service? Since when does it make sense for an industry that (still) has a near monopoly on public resources to be allowed to cherry pick the most lucrative parts of a service (urban)? When buying a cherry, we all pay not only for the sweet meat, we also pay for the pit.
And so they should.
Damn! November 30, 2007.
If we haven't got high-speed! This is a huge time-saver. What's more, the Shore is now more competitive globally and more attractive to those wishing to relocate. Yay!
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