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| Original News Release |
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| Original News Release |
British
Columbia is the most connected jurisdiction in North America.
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74 per cent of households are connected to the Internet.
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64 per cent of households have a high-speed or broadband
connection.
Telecommunications and Internet links do
more than enhance personal communication, they also:
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Aid in the delivery of new educational, health-care and other
services;
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Encourage revitalization of rural communities by allowing the
people living in those communities to participate in the global knowledge-based
economy.
Increasingly, these services must be
provided over high-speed connections to operate effectively and have real
impact.
In 2001, the government of B.C. formed the
Premier’s Technology Council (PTC) to examine technology-related issues facing
British Columbians. The PTC identified 366 communities that were a priority for
high-speed internet access. For more information about the PTC, visit the
Province of British Columbia’s website (www.gov.bc.ca) and follow
links to the PTC website.
Already, 89 per cent of B.C.’s citizens
live in communities that are connected to high-speed Internet, yet citizens in
151 communities in British Columbia are without. Seventy-six of these remote
communities are First Nations or communities in proximity to First Nations.
These unconnected communities are small and there is little business rationale
for small commercial carriers to make the investment required to bring
high-speed services to these communities.
In 2003, the government formed Network BC,
with a mandate to bridge the digital divide and connect B.C. communities by
leveraging the telecommunications purchase by the public sector to expand
affordable high-speed Internet services to rural and remote communities.
TELUS has
worked closely with Network BC to help fulfill that mandate.
For more
information on Network BC, visit www.network.gov.bc.ca.
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contact: |
Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Health 250 952-1887 250 952-8500 |
Communications Director Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services 250 387-2699 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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