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By Liam Verster

Over 2,500 households

Investments made in North Okanagan high-speed internet access

May 27, 2022 | 10:51 AM

Several communities in the North Okanagan are seeing their internet speed ramping up.

The B.C. government has invested in infrastructure to provide access to faster internet service in the Vernon and Enderby areas.

The select Vernon areas seeing boosted speeds are Coldstream, Priest’s Valley 6, Cosens Bay, Parker Cove Delta and Bouleau Lake Road.

The infrastructure investments are also providing faster internet in Armstrong, Enderby, Hullcar and Grindrod.

The Vernon area investment involved the installation of a fixed wireless infrastructure to provide faster internet to 288 households.

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In the North Okanagan, the installations of what has been called ‘the last mile’ infrastructure is increasing internet speeds to more than 2,300 households in the select communities.

“Thousands of households in the North Okanagan will now be able to access faster broadband internet speeds thanks to upgrades to infrastructure,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens’ Services.

“Investing in connectivity infrastructure upgrades for rural and remote communities ensures people and businesses have the tools to stay connected, work, learn and compete in the local and global economy.”

In both cases, the new infrastructure will allow access to broadband internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads.

“Connectivity has the ability to raise us all up by helping people connect and collaborate with each other, create and expand local economies or serve as a conduit to essential services like virtual medical visits or online learning,” said Roly Russell, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development.

“We will continue to work with smaller, rural communities until everyone in the province is connected.”

The cost of the upgrade in the Vernon area installation was approximately $126,000, with the province’s Connecting British Columbia program contributing as much as $56,000 through the Northern Development Initiative Trust. The federal government also provided matching funding up to $56,000, with the remaining $12,700 covered by the Kelowna-based internet service provider ispeed Communications.

“Ensuring all British Columbians have access to reliable, high-speed internet services is critical to helping our communities grow. The past two years have underscored the importance of that connection, not only for entrepreneurs and businesses, but for students and families,” said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee.

“Connectivity upgrade projects like this empower our rural and remote communities to participate and thrive in the local and global economies.”

For the other North Okanagan communities, the cost of the infrastructure installation was an estimated $146,000 with the province providing up to $65,000. That contribution was also matched by the federal government, with the $14,600 difference covered by ispeed Communications.

“We are pleased to have received assistance from the federal and B.C. governments to provide speeds of 50/10 Mbps with no data caps,” said Dave Bradich, president of ispeed Communications.

“This allows customers to remotely do schooling, work and even access health care. The benefits of high-speed internet to rural communities are incalculable.”

The province noted that these investments are part of the StrongerBC initiative under B.C.’s Economic Recovery Plan, which is intended to protect people’s health and livelihoods while supporting businesses and communities.