EDMONTON – The federal government announced today it will provide Alberta with $390 million in funding for high-speed Internet through the Universal Broadband Fund, matching the province’s own funding commitment.
This is an increase of $240 million from the $150 million already announced in December.
The federal government’s announcement today, made by Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural economic development, follows an announcement from the Government of Alberta last week, which indicated the province is increasing its own $150 million commitment to $390 million over four years.
There are currently approximately 200,000 underserved Alberta households, which this funding aims to connect to speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, according to a press release.
“The initial estimated cost to eliminate Alberta’s digital divide was $1 billion,” the release says. The announcement today brings the total commitment by the federal and provincial governments to $780 million.
The remainder of the funding is anticipated to come from the private sector.
“We know that solving this problem requires investment from the private sector as well, and I expect that this funding we have announced today will unlock significant additional investment from the private sector and from the service providers who will be building out the projects that will receive some of this funding,” said Nate Glubish, minister of Service Alberta during a press conference earlier today.
In the press release, Glublish said they “anticipate these additional contributions will push broadband investment north of $1 billion.”
The provincial government, along with the federal government, have been reviewing applications made to the UBF for projects in Alberta since the initial funding announcement was made. Glubish said they will announce the first projects to receive the funding soon, with the goal being to have shovels in the ground this summer.
Glubish has indicated the Alberta government is aiming to connect everyone in the province by the end of the 2026/2027 fiscal year. The federal government’s goal continues to be to connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026 and 100% by 2030.
