The province is pushing for more broadband investment, and Muskoka will be one of the first to get funding.
As part of a sweeping announcement that is pledging $14.7 Million in funding for high-speed internet and cell projects across the province, around $763,000 has been allocated to projects in Muskoka Lakes and the Township of Georgian Bay. The investment will help connect 843 households in the Parry Sound-Muskoka region.
“It is another step closer to achieving our government’s goal to connect every person in Ontario to high-speed internet by 2025,” Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller said. “Throughout the pandemic the fact that the internet is an essential service was highlighted repeatedly. Reliable internet is a means of accessing services such as health care, education, employment, and it functions as an avenue for many economic and entrepreneurial opportunities. In the past, a lack of access to high-speed internet has been a barrier for members of our community.”
Ontario Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma says this announcement is the first of many across the province that will relate to expanded broadband. These are part of a new process called Ontario Connects that was started recently to fund regional broadband projects across underserved parts of Ontario. Surma says the province is aiming to have many of these projects complete by 2024.
In total, the investment from the province will support 13 projects in 42 communities and connect over 17,000 households to reliable, high-speed internet. “We’re doing everything we can to help ensure no one is left behind in today’s digital world,” Surma said.