June 17, 2011
Province Uploads Big Grants For Faster Internet

100 MILE HOUSE – Ruth Lake will receive $50,000 to expand their Internet services. The money is part of the Province's $2.34 million funding infusion to bring broadband internet to over 60 locations across B.C.      

Why this matters:

• Bringing broadband Internet to rural areas will make local businesses more competitive and help expand access to information for young people growing up in rural B.C.
• This expansion will also create new economic opportunities by providing job training to thousands of people living in B.C.'s smallest communities.

Quote:

"Many of us take the Internet for granted and forget that some communities still don't have the type of access we enjoy. I'm pleased that families and businesses in Ruth Lake will have access to high-speed internet for the first time."
-Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett

Additional information:

• Since 2008, the Province has provided $6.83 million through Network BC's Connecting Citizens Grant Program and funded nearly 150 connectivity projects to establish the infrastructure needed to bring high-speed Internet services to over 210 locations throughout B.C.
• 93 per cent of British Columbians have access to high-speed Internet.

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