Bringing high-speed internet to more rural Albertans
Press Release
Jan 30, 2026
Alberta’s government is delivering on its commitment to expand high-speed internet access provincewide, with another 759 communities to be connected soon.
In today’s internet-driven world, reliable, fast internet access is not a nice to have, it’s an essential need. With the completion of this phase of funding through the Universal Broadband Fund, 83,000 more homes around the province will now have access to reliable high-speed internet.
Alberta’s urban centres have always been the focus for high-speed internet access, but that same advantage needs to be given to our rural communities, and this batch of projects addresses the needs of rural Albertans.
“When we launched our broadband strategy, we set an ambitious goal: ensure every Albertan – no matter where they are in the province – has access to reliable, high-speed internet. This latest batch of projects brings Alberta to over 95 per cent of our goal and it shows just how far we’ve come. We are following through on our commitment to universal connectivity, and as more homes are identified, we will keep pushing until the job is done.”
Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation, Government of Alberta
Since the strategy’s launch, the Alberta and federal governments have invested over $622 million into 81 projects that have connected more than 135,000 homes. Fourteen broadband projects have completed construction, 44 others are in progress, and another 24 are in planning.
“In today’s day and age, every corner of Alberta should have access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet, whether that’s in Slave Lake or Beaver Mines. Today’s announcement is a major milestone, and investments like these make a real difference in people’s lives, creating jobs, improving access to health care and online learning services, and keeping us connected to our loved ones.”
Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State (Rural Development), Government of Canada
The latest 27 projects involve various partners, who are expanding service across dozens of municipalities and the Woodland Cree First Nation, which is building a fibre-to-the-home network for Cadotte Lake.
Alberta’s Broadband Strategy is designed to eliminate the digital divide by bringing high-speed internet access to Albertans in remote, rural and indigenous communities – locations with access challenges including distance from network infrastructure and challenging or remote terrain. High-speed internet access is essential. It enables Albertans to participate in today’s digital world including education, remote work and access to online government services. It also helps expand social connections and is vital for business success and growth.
Quick facts
- The 27 projects announced today will connect more than 83,600 homes in 759 communities, including an estimated 3,488 Indigenous households.
- The total funding for these projects is $373,558,770.
- Government of Alberta: $112,390,887
- Government of Canada: $136,926,460
- Service Provider Partners: $124,241,423
- The total funding for these projects is $373,558,770.
- When launched, the Alberta Broadband Strategy identified approximately 489,000 Albertans in 201,000 households could not access federal target speeds of 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload.
- Since the strategy’s launch:
- $622 million of the $780 million Universal Broadband Fund has funded a total of 81 projects and will bring high-speed access to approximately 135,400 households.
- Fourteen broadband projects have completed, bringing high-speed access to 18,000 households.
- Forty-six others are in progress, with another 24 in planning.
- Since the strategy’s launch:
- Universal high-speed access across Alberta is a $1 billion challenge:
- Of that, $780 million in funding has been secured; a $390 million investment by the Alberta government and a matching investment from the federal government.
- Construction on all broadband strategy projects will create up to 2,000 jobs across Alberta.
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