Whereas many communities under 10,000 population in British Columbia are critically underserved for connectivity; And whereas in 2020, there are so many opportunities for economic development in small and remote communities if connectivity were provided to a suitable level; And whereas the federal government launched a connectivity strategy called, High-Speed Access for All, with the goal to achieve universal 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds for 90 per cent of Canadians by 2021, 95 per cent of Canadians by 2026, and the hardest to reach Canadians by 2030, such download and upload speeds considered to be adequate for the average Canadian, which does not take into consideration the needs of businesses and entrepreneurship: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to seriously commit to funding and lobbying the federal government to fund the installation of connectivity with download and upload speeds that encourages economic development for communities under 10,000 population in British Columbia.
Ministry of Citizens Services Working to connect all people in British Columbia is a priority for the provincial government. People depend on high-speed internet access to learn, do business, access services and stay in touch with loved ones; it can also help to diversify and grow local economies. That is why the provincial government is working with all orders of government and internet service providers to advance reliable connectivity to more communities and business than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation and highlighted the critical need for connectivity for all British Columbians to help connect them to work, school, government resources and stay in touch with family and friends. As part of StrongerBC, BCs Economic Recovery Plan, the BC government has provided 90-million to the Connecting British Columbia program for connectivity expansion throughout the province. Applications for the Economic Recovery Intake opened on October 1, 2020 and approved projects are to be completed before October 31, 2021. The funding for the Economic Recovery Intake is in addition to the 50-million 2019 expansion of the Connecting British Columbia program. During the early stages of the pandemic, the program responded with a short-term opening for funding applications that could be implemented immediately to upgrade networks and expand rural connectivity bandwidth. The work resulted in 47 projects being completed as of June 30, 2020 -- projects that have positively impacted internet speeds and reliability in many communities throughout BC. The Connecting British Columbia program also works closely with the new federal Universal Broadband Fund announced on November 9, 2020, to support a range of projects, from small internet service providers, municipal-led projects, Indigenous projects, as well as projects from the larger internet service providers.