The remote communities of Dease Lake and Iskut will be getting high-speed Internet thanks to a $13 million project involving the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC).
The TNDC has partnered with CityWest Cable and Telephone Corp. to form Tahltan Communications, which has started work on the installation of 200 kilometres of fibre-optics that will be tied into cable backbone that was installed as part of the Forrest-Kerr hydro project and BC Hydro's Northwest Transmission Line.
In addition to Dease Lake and Iskut, small, medium and large industrial businesses will also have access to high-speed Internet, the TNDC said in a press release.
“Rural communities throughout Canada continue to go without fast and reliable internet connectivity,” said TNDC CEO Paul Gruner. “That is about to change in Tahltan Territory, which is a region that accounts for 11% of British Columbia.
“TNDC’s partnership with CityWest is a game changer and will deliver on our key strategic priority to become a telecommunication provider of high-speed internet connectivity to Tahltan communities and those doing business in Tahltan Territory.”
The project, which is expected to be complete in 2023, is receiving federal funding.
“We need to close the connectivity gap and ensure that every nook and cranny of British Colombia has access to reliable high-speed Internet,” said Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of Rural Economic Development.
“The Government of Canada is pleased to invest $9.6 million via the Connect to Innovate program to connect 12 communities, mainly within the Tahltan Nation.”
The federal government's Connect to Innovate program earmarks $585 million to improve connectivity in nearly 1,000 rural and remote communities, including 190 First Nations communities, by 2023.
