The Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) will see the province use $8 million allocated in its 2011 budget to support an industry-led push to slash the number of households without broadband Internet. The pool of funds will help companies create a better business case to expand into more areas; an internet service provider (ISP) would enter a contribution agreement contract with the government to build infrastructure in “some of the most chronically unserved and underserved regions of the province.” Corporate costs such as employee salaries, travel or project management won’t be covered, but the deployment for infrastructure like hardware, satellite transmission and receiving stations will be. The government would fund up to 75 per cent of any given project.
