Download this: $40 million pledged to expand rural internet, improve service across N.L.

About $40 million in federal, provincial and privatefunding will go towardexpanding broadbandinternetservices around Newfoundland and Labrador, the provincial government announced Tuesday.

When the work is completed, 1,500 homes will be brought online across rural parts of the province and, according to Premier Dwight Ball, 99 per cent of the province's population will have access to broadband internet.

• CRTC declares broadband internet access a basic service
• Federal government spending $500M to expand high-speed Internet to remote communities

"That's a big number," he said. "It really speaks to the opportunity now that we have to offer services and do business anywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador."

In some rural communities,internetservices will be upgraded. In other areas, new lines will be constructed to create or extend service to include more households.

Large expense per household

Even with the work being done, the one per cent of the province's households excluded means2,657 homes nearly twicethe 1,500 being upgraded next summer.

Ball said the government will focus on ensuring they, too, have access to higherinternetspeeds.

"There's the oneper cent of those people these are the most expensive ones to get to," he said. "We want to look at the last one per cent. We're going to get to that."

There was some confusion following the announcement about where the money was going.

The full value of the $40 million is not going to expand rural access to internet services. In fact, the vast majority of the federal portion is going towardexpanding fibre op service across the province not connecting new households.

The minimum speed will be fivemegabits per second about 100 times the typical speedof dial-upinternet. BellAliant'stop speed for areas with the capacity for fibre optics is 18,000times faster than dial-up.

In 2016, the CRTC set targets for internet service providers to offer at least 50 megabits per secondin all parts of Canada.

The money will cover 31 projects to improve servicein 70 communities. Work will begin in the summer of 2018, Ball said, but there is no timeline as to when it will be completed.

A tendering process has already begun, with applications now closed for interested telecommunications companies. Ball mentioned Bell Aliant by name, saying they would be a large player in the expansion.

'The new wharf, the new road'

Seamus O'Regan, MP for St. John's South-Mount Pearl, was on hand to represent the federal government and its $27-million contribution.

"This a real investment in what we call the new wharf, the new road," he said. "This is how businesses get product to market. This is a real opportunity for many businesses in the province."

Nearly $25 million will come from a federal program to extend internet service Canada-wide. A further $2.1 million comes from the federal government's Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency fund.

Another large chunk of funding comes from "other contributors." Bell Aliant says they have contributed $9.2 million and Ball said Indigenous groups have also pitched in with money.

The province will contribute the least to the work, with a total of $1.57 million.

But it's worth it to bring remote areas of the province access to the internet and the possible economic advantages that come with it, Ball said.

"There's areas in Labrador right now where broadband is something they read about in a magazine, or read about in a book," he said."We want them to be able to read about it online."

While a list of the 70 communities is completed, it was not released to the publicTuesday. Instead, government officials will make announcements in their home ridings or districtsthis week.