(Maryville) Quebec and Ottawa are paying Videotron 28.6 million to connect nearly 5,500 homes in Monterrey and Estée to high-speed internet by September 2022, with an average subsidy of $5,200 per address.
The payment is being paid as part of Operation High Speed Canada-Quebec, a project that aims to connect 148,000 homes in Quebec. Videotron is responsible for 37,000 of them. More announcements planned in the coming weeks.
The homes affected by Monday’s announcement are spread across about sixty municipalities. Evidence that the target area is casting a wide net, at least 17 deputies were cited in the press release, many of whom gathered under a marquee in Marieville, in Montérégie.
The cost of connecting these homes is estimated at 31.7 million. The difference between this amount and government support, which is 3.1 million, constitutes a financial contribution to Videotron.
Elected officials who followed each other into the microphone during one press conference after another emphasized how the pandemic demonstrated the essential nature of ubiquitous high-speed internet access in the territory.
“There is even a family that has rented an apartment in Longueuil to do distance education and remote work. And they return every evening to their residence 20 minutes away,” said Gilles Bellanger, for example, Parliamentary Assistant to the President of Quebec, the component of high-speed Internet.
Compton Stansted Federal MP, Marie-Claude Bibeau, insisted that “we clearly need high-speed internet in the regions as well as in the city”. She said this was a “key stake” for business and personal relationships.
Turning on the high-speed internet connection “may also have been slow to implement,” Quebecor and Videotron’s senior president, Pierre Karl Péladeau, backed, at the same time, estimating that “delay is better than never”.
He attributed at least part of this delay to density problems. “Where there was a large population density, investments were made and allowed residents to have very rapid access to what is today, and God knows that the pandemic has proven that to us. There is no doubt that it is a very effective network,” he said.
Over the next few weeks, Videotron will conduct an inventory of target areas to confirm the exact number of households that do not currently have high-speed Internet access and will therefore be covered by the deployment of services.
The homes affected by Monday’s announcement are spread across about sixty municipalities:
- Guardian Angel
- Beauharnois
- West Bolton
- Brigham
- reluctantly
- dandy
- Elgin
- Farnam
- Franklin
- GoodManchester
- Granby
- Havelock
- Hemingford
- Hinchenbrook
- howick
- meadow
- lac broom
- Maryville
- Mercier
- Mont Saint Gregoire
- Urmstown
- Richelieu
- Rougemont
- Roxton Pond
- San Alphonse de Granbi
- St. Anisette
- Saint Antoine-sur-Richelieu
- Saint Caesar
- Saint Chrysostom
- Saint Constant
- Saint-Etienne-de-Béarnoise
- Saint Isidore
- Saint John the Baptist
- Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
- Saint Joseph de Sorel
- Saint Mathias-sur-Richelieu
- Saint Matthew
- San Michele
- St. Ors
- St Paul Dubsford
- Saint Philip
- Saint Bay
- Saint Robert
- Saint Roch de Richelieu
- San Stanislas de Kostka
- Saint Urban Prime Minister
- Saint Angel de Monoir
- Saint Barb
- St Brigid Debreville
- Saint Cecil de Milton
- Saint Clotilde
- Saint Martin
- Saint Victoire de Sorel
- Shefford
- Sorel Tracy
- Eucharist
- Waterloo
- Yamaska
- give me
- magog
- North Hatley
- Ogden
- Saint Catherine de Hatley
- Stansted
- East Stansted
Sophie Laurent is a contributor to Vaughantoday.ca, covering a wide range of topics including local news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting that helps readers stay informed about current events and issues that matter to their communities. Sophie is committed to presenting accurate information, practical insights, and relevant stories in a straightforward and reader-friendly manner, making complex topics accessible to a broad audience.