The Government of Canada is helping all of Nunavik’s 14 Inuit communities and 28 institutions get online with new or improved high-speed Internet access.
A joint federal-provincial investment of $125.2 million in high-speed Internet will make the Kativik Regional Government’s plan for subsea fibre a reality. The Government of Canada, through the Connect to Innovate program, and the Government of Quebec, through the Ministry of economy, science and innovation, which mandated the Société du Plan Nord to carry out this project, will each invest $62.6 million in the project. The Kativik Regional Government will contribute $500,000.
Subsea fibre backbone
The government funding will be allocated over three years to the Kativik Regional Government, the territorial government for Nunavik, to build subsea fibre optic backbone infrastructure along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, reaching as far north as Puvirnituq, which would be one of the most northerly fibre optic connections in all of Canada. The fibre optic infrastructure will initially connect four Nunavik communities, enabling residents to have access to high-speed Internet service packages on par with those available to Canadians in major cities by 2020. The funding will also go toward building a backbone network to serve Kuujjuaq, the territory’s capital, while also deploying state-of-the-art fibre-to-the-home infrastructure in 10 communities.
“We are proud to support this important project by the Kativik Regional Government that will enable more households and businesses to connect, thereby contributing to Nunavik’s economic growth and the vitality of the Nord‑du‑Québec region. Just like electricity was a driving force in the 20th century, access to broadband Internet is today a powerful driver of digital and socio-economic development. That is why our government, in the Quebec Digital Strategy, set itself this target: 100 percent of Quebec residents having access to broadband networks within the next five years.”
– Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier of Quebec, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation, and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy
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