High-speed internet expanding across rural Alberta

More rural and remote Alberta communities are set to gain access to high-speed internet through a new $24.8 million broadband investment. The funding is expected to connect 1,833 households across nine communities over the next several years.

The governments of Alberta and Canada are jointly funding two broadband projects serving Buck Lake, Foremost, Grande Cache, Kehewin Cree Nation, Landry Heights, Rocky Rapids, Silver Valley, St. Isidore and Swan Hills.

For farmers, ranchers and other rural businesses, reliable internet access supports day-to-day activities ranging from accessing government programs and market information to maintaining records, connecting with service providers and adopting digital technologies.

“No matter where Albertans live, they should have access to reliable, high-speed internet,” says Nate Glubish, Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation. “This investment will help connect more rural and remote communities, support local businesses, create new opportunities and improve access to the services people rely on every day.”

Two projects planned through 2028

$2.95 million will go to Canadian Fiber Optics Corp. to provide fibre internet to as many as 734 households in Landry Heights, Swan Hills, Silver Valley, Grande Cache and St. Isidore.

A second project, led by Bearspaw First Nation, will receive approximately $21.9 million to serve as many as 1,099 households in Kehewin Cree Nation, Foremost, Rocky Rapids and Buck Lake. The project will use a combination of fibre and fixed wireless technology.

Both projects are expected to be completed by March 2028.

The funding is part of a federal-provincial broadband agreement announced in 2022, under which the two governments committed up to $780 million to improve internet access in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

According to the Alberta government, 98.2 per cent of households in the province currently have access to high-speed internet. Since the Alberta Broadband Strategy was introduced, $646 million has been committed to 82 projects expected to connect approximately 137,100 households.

Of those projects:

• 21 have been completed, connecting approximately 20,600 households
• 46 are underway and are expected to connect approximately 110,900 households
• 15 are in the planning stage and are expected to connect approximately 5,600 households

Additional federal programs and private-sector investments are expected to cover another 93,700 households.

The federal government has set a goal of providing high-speed internet access to every Canadian household by 2030.