Funding will connect 373 Hearst homes to high-speed internet, federal government says

More homes in the community of Hearst will be connected to high-speed internet following a federal government funding announcement.

On Monday, Nickel Belt MP Marc Serr announced more than $763,000 in funding for the community. He said the money will bring high-speed internet to 373 households in the town.

The money is from the federal government's Universal Broadband Fund's Rapid Response Stream, which aims to connect rural and remote communities to high-speed internet. The funding will pay for 75 per cent of the project, while the municipality will fund the remainder.

"The pandemic has shown us how essential highspeed internet access has become," Serr said.

The money will go to Hearst Connect, a locally-owned internet and telephone company.

"[This] will help us with the expansion of our fibre-to-the-home network," Tania Cossette, general manager of the corporation said.

"Reliable and ultra-fast internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity."

She added this funding will help connect the remaining 15 per cent of the town's population to high-speed internet.

"Connect has been in place since 2017 and we have been building a fibre-to-home network in Hearst," she said.

"That 15 per cent represents the remaining areas we have left to cover."

The Government of Canada said with the $2.75 billion broadband program, it is aiming to make sure 98 per cent of Canadian households have access to high-speed internet by 2026.