On May 9th, the Minister of Industry, Hon. Tony Clement, made an important announcement that affects Yellowhead. He said the first 52 projects for funding under Broadband Canada have been conditionally approved. This means that approximately 39,000 households in Alberta (75% of the unserved households in Alberta) could have access to high-speed internet for the first time. A possible total $16.6million dollars could be spent on broadband in Alberta alone.
Broadband Internet is increasingly a must-have for individuals, families and businesses in Yellowhead. Having access to high-speed Internet helps people access important economic and social benefits, including telehealth, business opportunities, distance learning, blackberry internet, and everything else the web has to offer.
Why are we doing this? Because our Government believes Canadians should have access to broadband internet wherever they live—whether it's a coffee shop in one of our major cities, or a small community in rural Alberta. Canada's Economic Action Plan includes a number of measures that were designed not only to help us weather the financial crisis but also to lay the groundwork to ensure that Canada comes out of the crisis stronger and ready for the challenges ahead.
As part of the Plan, our government provided $225 million over three years to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband Internet coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, which targets areas of the country that are currently unserved or underserved by broadband networks.
Our Government will consult with Canadians and work with them to craft a digital economy strategy to carry our country forward into the global economy of the future. Broadband infrastructure is an important cornerstone of that strategy. Over the next few months, projects will begin in earnest, bringing jobs to our communities and providing essential infrastructure to homes and businesses. I will be pleased to see these projects going forward and look forward to the knowledge and economic prosperity they will bring to Yellowhead as a result.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Mike Constable
Quelle/Source: The Mayerthorpe Freelancer, 01.07.2010
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