City and Region Support Improved Rural Broadband Internet Access

The City of Burlington joins the Region of Halton, along with Milton, Halton Hills and Oakville, in strongly supporting the Improving Connectivity for Ontario (ICON) program applications to improve rural Halton broadband.We have seen through this pandemic how absolutely vital access to internet is for our community. Businesses need it to survive and grow. Students need it to engage in their studies. And everyone needs it to support mental well-being by staying social and connected at a time when physical visits pose new risks.The Province has provided a $150-million investment in ICON that has the potential to result in a total investment of $500-million in broadband and cellular coverage when combined with additional partner funding. For the first intake of the ICON program, which closed August 21, 2020, the Region delivered a Halton Rural Broadband webinar and met with telecommunications providers to promote the ICON program and encourage applications.As I said in the release today, half of Burlington is rural. We proudly support these proposals to ensure everyone in our community has access to broadband coverage no matter where they live, work, play or study.Read the full release from Halton Region here: ICON media release_Halton Region_Sept 1 2020