More than 1,350 households on Denman and Hornby Island should begin to see improvements in their internet speeds as high-speed internet services become available on the islands.
Construction of the fibre-optic network will begin this summer, with access points along the coastline between Vancouver and Prince Rupert, to Haida Gwaii and around Vancouver Island, with stops on the Gulf Islands.
It’s all part of Connected Coast, a $45.4-million program to bring high-speed accessibility to remote and rural coastal communities, jointly funded by federal and B.C. governments.
Upgrading services on Denman Island is expected to cost $3.26 million, while the cost for Hornby Island is $2.38 million.
“We are moving toward a future where people in communities up and down the coast have the same level of internet services being offered in urban centres like Vancouver and Victoria,” said Lisa Beare, B.C. minister of Citizens’ Services. “Upgrading the networks on Hornby and Denman will boost the performance of internet access this year and prepare the islands to be connected to the high-performance Connected Coast network.”
Connected Coast works in collaboration with the provincially funded Connecting British Columbia program.
Last year, the province expanded the program with a $90-million grant to encourage investment in broadband and cellular infrastructure that benefits people in rural and Indigenous communities.
