Canada's Largest Rural Broadband Provider Reacts to Budget

Canada Already has 100% Broadband Access

CALGARY, Feb. 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Allison Lenehan, CEO of Xplornet Communications Inc, (Canada's leading provider of rural broadband), expressed concern about the announcement of a federal broadband program in the 2014 budget. 

"We are concerned that the government may be trying to fix a problem that does not exist. Broadband is already available to 100% of rural Canada.  Our near-term business plan already includes exceeding the stated 5 Mbps target for all Canadians well in advance of the CRTC's timelines and going beyond. In fact, Xplornet already makes available a high speed package (10 Mbps) to 97% of rural Canadians.  With extensive investment and innovation, we are bringing urban quality broadband to rural and remote Canadians from coast to coast to coast.  We sincerely hope this announcement does not interfere with the ability of the private sector to meet its own investment and innovation targets" said Lenehan today.

"Our goal is to improve capacity and speed for all rural Canadians beyond 10 Mbps," said Lenehan, "but the only limitation is spectrum, not funding. The Minister has already announced his intention to take back unused spectrum, which we support, but that needs to happen fast. The only thing standing between rural Canadians and faster speeds now and in the future is spectrum, not funding and not technology.  We look forward to sitting down with the Government of Canada to insure today's announcement fits with the private initiatives for rural broadband already underway."

About Xplornet Communications Inc.

Xplornet Communications Inc. is Canada's largest rural broadband service provider. We believe everyone should have access to the transformative benefits of broadband, so we make our service available everywhere in Canada, including the hard to reach places. We overcome the challenges of Canada's vast geography through our deployment of Canada's first national 4G network, which leverages our hybrid technology network of fixed-wireless towers on the ground and next-generation satellites in space. Our customers live in towns, villages, just outside of major urban centres and in the farthest reaches of the country. Through our coast-to-coast network of local dealers and professional installers we connect our customers to all that the Internet has to offer. Xplornet is high-speed Internet - for all of Canada.

SOURCE: Xplornet Communications Inc.

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