Premier Redford makes Supernet connectivity a priority
Posted Nov 6, 2011 11:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Premier Alison Redford is making an old Tory promise a priority as part of her mandate letters to cabinet ministers.
More than a decade ago, the government made a pledge to make the province a world leader in rural, high-speed internet connectivity.
But 10 years later it’s estimated that about half-a-million Albertans are still dealing with pre-historic internet connections which deliver data at low speeds.
Service Alberta Minister Manmeet Bhular and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Evan Berger have been charged with the goal of bringing broadband connectivity to up to 98% of the province.
Redford tells the Calgary Herald the goal can be achieved at a fairly reasonable cost.
In 2010, the Alberta Economic Development Authority said the province should make high-speed internet an essential utility, not unlike telephone service.
