Deadline: 20-Mar-23
The Government of Alberta is pleased to announce an open call for the Alberta Broadband Fund to help ensure every household in Alberta can access high-speed internet.
The Universal Broadband Fund builds on previous broadband programs delivered by Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada and other federal investments, and seeks to maximize progress towards connecting all Canadian households with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet as quickly as possible.
This funding is part of Alberta’s overall $390-million commitment to improve access to high-speed internet. It will be used to implement solutions to connect rural, remote, and Indigenous communities that do not currently have access to federal target speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, and 10 Mbps for uploads.
Funding Information
- As part of the Alberta Broadband Strategy, they have committed $36 million to the Alberta Broadband Fund (ABF) to help ensure every rural, remote, and Indigenous household in the province can access high-speed internet.
Eligible Activities
- The UBF supports projects that extend or enhance household access to high-speed Internet services in areas with speeds less than 50/10 Mbps, and/or mobile projects which primarily impact Indigenous peoples. Funding for these projects is currently available until March 31, 2027.
- Broadband projects
- To be eligible for contributions under the UBF, broadband project proposals must:
- Cover areas that do not already have 50/10 Mbps service, as identified on the National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map;
- Deliver minimum service speeds of 50/10 Mbps; and,
- Provide open access to Points of Presence (PoPs) that are components of the project.
- To be eligible for contributions under the UBF, broadband project proposals must:
- Mobile projects benefiting Indigenous peoples
- To be eligible for contributions on eligible costs under the UBF, mobile projects benefiting Indigenous people proposals must:
- Cover unserved Indigenous community/communities, unserved roads within or leading to Indigenous communities or highways and major roads used by Indigenous peoples or that are deemed strategic for their socio-economic development or for public safety purposes.
- Provide letters of support from the Indigenous community describing the above-mentioned benefits or any other document demonstrating that it has a clear and obvious need for wireless services.
- Deliver advanced mobile services of minimum 4G LTE technologies or better.
- To be eligible for contributions on eligible costs under the UBF, mobile projects benefiting Indigenous people proposals must:
Eligibility Criteria
- An Eligible Applicant is:
- A corporation, either for profit or not-for-profit, that is incorporated in Canada;
- A Canadian provincial, territorial or municipal entity;
- An Indigenous entity including:
- a profit or non-profit organization run by and for First Nations, Métis, or Inuit peoples;
- a band council within the meaning of the Indian Act;
- an Indigenous government authority established by a Self-Government Agreement or a Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement;
- A public sector body that is established by statute or by regulation or is wholly owned by a province, municipal or regional government which provides services to communities; or
- A partnership, joint venture or consortium that is composed of parties;
- And, that:
- Builds, owns and operates broadband infrastructure; or
- Enters into a contractual arrangement with an entity identified to design, build, own and operate broadband infrastructure.
- Federal entities, including Crown Corporations, are not eligible recipients.
For more information, visit Government of Alberta.