High-speed internet will reach another 400 Nova Scotia homes and businesses under new contracts with Eastlink and Bell signed by Develop Nova Scotia.

Eastlink will expand access to 66 more homes and businesses in the Annapolis Valley and is working with Develop Nova Scotia on solutions for other underserved areas across the province. Bell will expand access to 333 more homes and businesses located in smaller, less populated areas across the province.

“We know that reliable, high-speed internet access for all Nova Scotians cannot come soon enough,” said Susan Corkum-Greek, Minister of Economic Development. “It’s a vital service in today’s world and plays a key role in helping communities across our province, particularly in rural Nova Scotia, seize economic opportunities and reach their full potential.”

The Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust has approved $1.7 million for these projects. Another $446,000 is coming from private sector investments.

With the additional high-speed internet coverage provided by Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust projects announced to date, the municipal-led project in Pictou and Bell’s Wireless Home Internet Service, it is expected that 99.5 per cent of Nova Scotia’s homes and businesses will have high-speed access by the end of 2023.

Develop Nova Scotia is working with internet service providers to identify solutions for the remaining 4,000 underserved homes and businesses across the province, of which about 1,000 do not have commercial power. The goal is to achieve high-speed internet access for as close to 100 per cent of the remaining homes and businesses as possible.

Quotes:
“New connections are happening daily and by the end of March, approximately 89 per cent of Nova Scotians have access to high-speed internet. Together with our internet service provider partners, we are working hard to ensure projects underway are delivered on time and to identify solutions for the remaining homes and businesses. Thanks to this announcement with Bell and Eastlink, we are one step closer to our goal.” 
     – Jennifer Angel, President and CEO, Develop Nova Scotia

“At a time when fast and reliable internet connections are more important than ever, we’re proud to bring our pure fibre connection, in partnership with Develop Nova Scotia, to households and businesses in rural and underserved communities across the province. For those in hard-to-reach areas, through partnerships and innovations like our Wireless Home Internet service, Bell is advancing our long-standing objective to connect communities throughout Nova Scotia and across our footprint.” 
     – Glen LeBlanc, CFO and Vice-Chair Atlantic, Bell

“As a company rooted in delivering high-speed internet to smaller towns and communities, we are very pleased to be working with Develop Nova Scotia on expanding access to more Nova Scotians.” 
     – Jeff Gillham, CEO, Eastlink

Quick Facts:
— with Develop Nova Scotia projects announced to date, almost 60,000 of a total of 90,000 homes and businesses now have the network in place for new or improved high-speed internet 
— to date, the Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust has approved a total of $164.7 million, leveraging an additional $137.5 million from other funders, including $118.5 million from the private sector
— all projects approved for funding to date by the internet trust meet or exceed the minimum target speeds required by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – 50 Mbps down/10 Mbps up for wired, 25 Mbps down/5 Mbps up for wireless; most are greatly exceeding these speeds
— contracts are currently in place with Bell, Cross Country, Eastlink, Mainland Telecom, Seaside Communications and Xplornet
–there are 15 pre-qualified internet service providers for the Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust  

Additional Resources:
For more information on the Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative and to view projects by community, visit: https://internet.developns.ca

Source: Release