$38M to provide high-speed Internet access to more than 2,850 households in the Granit RCM by September 2022

QUÉBEC, May 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Thanks to a $38M joint investment made as part of Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed, 2,850 households in the Granit RCM will have access to high-speed Internet services by September 2022. The projects will be implemented by Sogetel and TELUS.

The announcement was made today by Joël Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert; François Jacques, Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (municipal affairs); Richard Biron, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Sogetel; and Marie-Christine D'Amours, Vice-President, Consumer Solutions and Customer Experience in Quebec, TELUS.

The investments announced will accelerate the deployment of reliable, high-performance infrastructure in the municipalities in the Granit RCM listed in the annex.

For the deployment of high-speed Internet services in the Granit RCM, TELUS will receive $5.2 million to connect 450 households. The total value of the project is $ 12.2 million. Sogetel will receive $21.3 million to connect 2,400 households, for a project with a total value of $ 25.9 million Over the next few weeks, Sogetel and TELUS will take an inventory of the targeted regions to ensure that no household will be left without service.

Quotes

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that connecting all Quebecers to high-speed Internet has never been more important. This is why our government is investing to connect homes and businesses in Granit RCM by fall 2022. We will continue to invest and work in partnership with Quebec until every home and business has access to the high-speed Internet they need."

– Joël Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert

"Access to high-speed Internet has been one of my priorities since being elected as Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic in October 2018. I therefore take great pride in knowing that residents of the Granit RCM will finally have access to this essential service by fall 2022. I have lost count of the meetings related to this important issue, and I thank all the elected officials involved for their patience and their substantial collaboration in this project."

– François Jacques, Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (municipal affairs)

"Sogetel has been established in the Granit RCM for several years, primarily in Nantes, Saint-Ludger, Lambton, Courcelles, Saint-Romain and Saint-Sébastien. Today's announcement is the culmination of good collaboration between Sogetel and the Granit RCM to provide all residents with access to high-speed Internet. We are pleased to contribute to the region's economic development by offering residents this essential service, especially with the ongoing pandemic."

– Richard Biron, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Sogetel

"Our 6,000 team members in Quebec are committed to actively pursuing the deployment of our networks, and to participating in the economic recovery of our regions. We want to create a better future by putting our technology at the service of our communities. The pandemic has reinforced the importance of reliable and fast connectivity to keep in touch with loved ones, consult a healthcare professional remotely or continue our studies and professional activities online. Already 93 percent of the families and businesses in the territory we serve have access to our PureFibre network, and we are continuing our joint investments with the goal of connecting all households to high-speed Internet by September 2022. We are also delighted to ''extend our superior range of residential products and services to families in the MRC du Granit, who will be able to benefit from a wide selection of connected devices in health and for the home and our advanced security and entertainment solutions."

– Marie-Christine D'Amours, Vice-President, Consumer Solutions and Customer Experience in Quebec, TELUS

Quick facts

• Operation High Speed will give Quebec the highest connectivity rate in Canada, at 99%.
• Some 150,000 households will be connected thanks to Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed, in addition to the 66,000 households already covered by other Government of Canada and Government of Quebec programs.
• The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars to Internet infrastructure in rural and remote regions, including $2.75 billion as part of the Universal Broadband Fund, of which $1 billion comes from Budget 2021.
• To date, the Quebec government alone has invested more than $1 billion to accelerate the connection of the entire Quebec population to high-speed Internet by fall 2022.
• To reach the goal of optimal connectivity across the province in 2022, approximately 36,000 households will still need to be connected. These households are in areas that are particularly difficult to reach and sparsely populated. Technological solutions are currently being considered, and the strategy chosen to reach these households by 2022 will be announced at a later date.

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Annex: Canada-Quebec high speed operation - list of municipalities targeted by Sogetel and TELUS projects 

Sogetel Projects

Granit RCM:

Audet Courcelles Lac-Drolet Lac-Mégantic Lambton Marston Milan Nantes Notre-Dame-des-Bois Piopolis Saint-Augustin-de-Woburn Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton Saint-Ludger Saint-Robert-Bellarmin Saint-Romain Saint-Sébastien Stornoway Stratford Val-Racine

TELUS Projects

Granit RCM:

Audet Frontenac Lac-Drolet Lac-Mégantic Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Marie-Pier Baril, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-295-8123, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]; Antoine Tousignant, Media Relations Lead, Ministère du Conseil exécutif du Québec, 418-999-3029; Alexandra Roy, Political Attaché, Office of the Premier of Quebec, 819-212-0459 (cell); Lyne Vallières, Communications Coordinator, Sogetel, 819-293-1262, [email protected]; Jacinthe Beaulieu, Media Relations, TELUS, 418-318-6102, [email protected]