Ottawa announces $31.7M for high-speed internet in Pictou County

Central Nova MP Sean Fraser has announced $31.7 million in funding to provide high-speed internet to 127 rural communities in Pictou County.

"This is not some discount version of high-speed internet," said Fraser. "We are talking about download and upload speeds of 50 megabytes and 10 megabytes per second."

The funding is being provided through the Universal Broadband Fund, a $3.2-billion federal program designed to help ensure Canadians are connected to reliable high-speed Internet.

Fraser said Pictou County residents will now be able to do what people in urban areas have been able to for years — surf the internet reliably.

The funding will connect 4,700 homes, removing a potential roadblock for anyone considering relocating to the county.

"As more people choose to move to this area to live, we will see that new homes that will be built in the years ahead will have the ability to connect to high-speed internet," said Fraser. "This is an issue that has become essential to modern life."

The funding announcement was held at Fossil Farms Oceanside Retreat in Merigomish, which is Fraser's hometown. 

'Couldn't stay connected'

"From River John to Lismore to Mount Thom and everywhere in between, this will put us in the real world," said Robert Parker, warden of the Municipality of Pictou County.

"People are always being told to go to various websites but our service has always been so poor you couldn't stay connected, and this will now allow Pictou County to move up to the front of the class."

Parker said a number of wireless towers have recently been built in the area and many of them are now up and running, providing internet service to 2,400 homes.

Work on the new modern fibre-based technology will begin immediately. While some households will be connected early in the new year, it could take two years to complete the work.