Tony Martin steers Northern Ontario into the fast lane

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

***************************  Rural broadband program welcome move into fast lane for north - New Democrats

SAULT STE. MARIE - Residents, home and small businesses are all winners in moving rural Northern Ontario into the Internet’s fast lane with the new broadband high speed plans, area new Democrat MPs said today.

“For too long and too many it has been life in the slow lane internet wise and so this is good news that the federal government and Ontario have got together to provide broadband for rural Northern Ontario,” Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie) said today.

Martin was joined at a press conference by Wilf Lefresne, executive director for Algoma District Community Network (ADnet ) as they commented on a new joint federal and provincial rural broadband program.

“ADnet has been a leader for over 10 years in advocating for better broadband and cellular communication services outside major cities and it is my hope that the governments will build on their work,” said Martin who has worked with ADnet, Bell Canada and district residents on broadband advocacy campaigns.

“Broadband has been a big issue in this area. My office has been working very closely with Wilf Lefresne, advocating for this service," said Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP, Carol Hughes.”Broadband levels the playing field for all rural consumers, makes the internet more reliable and helps isolated business become much more competitive.”

Lefresne said there is a dire need for services as residents outside of built up areas do not have access to high speed internet.

He estimated only 60-70 per cent of homes now have high speed and that as much as $10 million might be needed over three years in Algoma to get service to every person who could obtain service.

The federal government's Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program is now accepting applications from eligible vendors.

This funding can be combined with the province’s Building Broadband in Rural and Northern Ontario program.

Applications must be a Canadian legal entity that can build and operate broadband infrastructure.

These include:

- Canadian private-sector companies, not for profit organizations, cooperatives, or consortia

- Provincial, territorial or publicly owned entities such as municipalities and crown corporations

- First Nations’ organizations such as First Nation Internet service providers and Band Councils.

The deadline for applications is October 23, 2009 at 4 p.m. (EST) and the projects must be completed by December 31, 2011.

The Broadband Canada program’s goal is to encourage the expansion and availability of broadband connectivity to as many currently unserved and underserved households in Canada as possible.

The program aims to provide essential infrastructure to Canadians in rural and remote areas allowing them to participate in the Internet economy by getting access to information, services and opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.

More information is available on the government sites at:

www.ic.gc.ca/broadband

www.omafra.gov.on.ca

***************************