Funding announced for a multi-year project to improve connectivity for 5,429 rural households

On Thursday, it was announced that funds will be provided in Castlegar to provide high-speed internet access to rural regions and parts of Columbia Basin, which comprises a total of 5,429 households.

The federal and provincial governments, along with the Central Kootenay, Columbia Shuswap, Kootenay Boundary, East Kootenay regional districts and the Columbia Basin Trust, will fund this fresh and lengthy $82 million initiative.

According to Johnny Strilaeff, the President and CEO of Columbia Basin Trust, the internet is a crucial service for everyone. Unfortunately, some parts of the Columbia Basin do not have the same fast and reliable internet as bigger towns. He made this statement after a significant announcement was made on Thursday at the CBT office in Castlegar.

We are happy to collaborate with the Trust to close this deficiency and support the implementation of fiber-optic infrastructure for more than 5,400 families residing in rural areas throughout the Basin.

The project aims to improve the internet connection for households in rural areas. This will be achieved by expanding the Trust's fiber optic network and creating a last-mile network that Internet service providers can utilize to provide high-speed internet to people living in rural communities and Basin areas.

When groups of people are linked together, they are able to make contact with a company that provides access to the internet and subscribe to their services.

The project is expected to be fully completed in March 2027 according to the general plan. The initial stages will involve completing the design and obtaining the required permits.

Rob Gay, Chair of the Regional Connectivity Committee of Southeastern BC, stated that providing economical access to high-speed Internet for remote communities has been a long-awaited goal of their committee and the districts it serves.

"We appreciate this substantial investment in our infrastructure and believe that it will bring about a significant and long-lasting change in our locality."

Lots of little towns are getting help from this project. Some of those towns are Appledale, Baynes Lake, Blaeberry, Brandon, Burton, Caithness, Carrolls Landing, Cassimayooks No.5 (ʔaq̓am), Castledale, Donald, East Arrow Park, Edgewood, Elko, Erie, Fauquier, Field, Forde, Fort Steele, Galloway, Grasmere, Hall, Harrogate, Hills, Jersey, Kicking Horse, Kragmont, Lebahdo, Lemon Creek, Makinson, Mayook, Meadowbrook, Meadows, Moberly, Monroe Lake, Nelway, New Denver, Nicholson, Park Siding, Parson, Passmore, Perrys, Porto Rico, Roosville, Rosebery, Ross Spur, Rural Slocan, Rural Salmo, Silverton including Red Mountain Road, Skookumchuck, Slocan Park, Spillimacheen, Summit Lake, Sweetwater, Ta Ta Creek, Tobacco Plains (Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘it First Nation), Vallican, Wardner, Winlaw and Rural Ymir.

To obtain additional information, please check out our website at ourtrust.org/CTB.

This article was redistributed from the website https://thenelsondaily.com.