Listen Live

- Advertisement -
HomeNewsWhy Internet access matters: a step forward for rural B.C.

Why Internet access matters: a step forward for rural B.C.

The provincial government says a recent investment into wireless internet for rural communities is important for economic growth and Indigenous reconciliation.

According to Minister of Citizens’ Services Jinny Sims, the program is important to rural communities for a number of reasons.

“It’s a health and safety issue as well, its a security issue, and it’s very exciting for me because this program is the foundational piece for both our rural development as well as for reconciliation with our First Nations.”

The news follows the announcement Sims made last October that Rogers would begin delivering cell service along a 22 kilometer stretch in Witset.

The area is located along a stretch of Highway 16 known as the “Highway of Tears” — due to its high rate of murders and disappearances, especially involving Indigenous women.

Sims says the newly-announced funding will help provide wireless internet for a number of other Indigenous and rural communities within Northern B.C..

“[For reducing] the digital divide as well as the financial divide that exists between our rural and urban communities, high-speed internet is as essential as the railway was a century ago.”

Continue Reading

More