Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative
Connection matters. Delivering Internet for Nova Scotians is a priority and we’re making progress. As of January 2021, we have announced/included projects to connect 90,000 homes and businesses in rural Nova Scotia. This is good progress, but we’re not done yet. We haven’t forgotten about the people and places that remain underserved, and we continue to work to reach as many of them as we possibly can.
Where We Are
Delivering Internet to Nova Scotians is a priority and we’re making progress. We are working with our Internet Service Provider partners to bring reliable, high-speed Internet to communities across the province.
Since the first Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative projects were announced in February 2020, approximately 49,000 *of a total 90,000 homes and businesses that are part of our agreements with providers now have the network in place to provide new or improved high-speed internet. Providers are working to connect the rest as quickly as possible. Through our work, we identified additional underserved and have captured those where possible, bringing us to approximately 102,000** total underserved across the province. (This includes municipal led projects in Annapolis and Pictou counties.)
There are approximately 4,500 remaining underserved homes and businesses. We're working with qualified providers on potential solutions and work will continue in an effort to reach as close to 100% of homes and businesses as possible.
With projects announced to date and including municipal led projects in Annapolis and Pictou counties, access to internet connections will extend to 99% of Nova Scotia.
We're not done! Work will continue with internet providers in an effort to reach as close to 100% of homes and businesses as possible.
* As of November 2021
** An additional 7,700 homes and businesses are anticipated to be covered as part of municipal led projects in Annapolis and Pictou counties.
Project Zones
For more information on projects in your community, select your region below. Click here for a full version of our zoning map for this project. Or enter your community name in the search bar.
Select a project zone from the map for more information.
List of zones
Western NS (Zone 1)
| Annapolis / Hants (Zone 2)
| Shelburne / Barrington (Zone 2)
| South Shore (Zone 4)
| Cumberland / Colchester (Zones 5 & 6)
| Pictou (Zone 8)
| HRM / Eastern Shore (Zone 7)
| Eastern Strait/Guysborough (Zone 9)
| Rural Cape Breton (Zone 10)
| CBRM (Zone 11)
Note: The names of our Internet zones don’t necessarily represent the counties they fall within.
My area was included in the scope expansions projects announced in November 2020 and January 2021. When will these scope expansion projects be completed?
Overall, it is anticipated that all homes and businesses as part of the Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative will have access to improved network by the end of or before 2023. We fully expect that these projects will continue to be completed in stages (as some are complete or nearing completion for example) and many will be done prior to the end of 2023.
Access to connections will be ongoing up to and including this date. We are working closely with Internet Service Providers to accelerate the work as much as possible and anticipate some will be complete earlier than that. Please continue to check back for more details and updates.
They’ve come to do work in our area (trim trees, run cable etc.) but haven’t been back?
To help projects stay on track, crews may move from project area to project area depending on what work can be completed or advanced at the time in a certain area.
What is make-ready work and why does that impact some estimated completion dates?
When a project area is announced, the provider still needs to do some detailed site and engineering work. This helps refine the footprint so more detail around street and address level detail can be provided.
Part of the project work is make-ready work. This can include tree trimming, pole inspections, pole replacements with new poles, and water and road/railway crossing permits. The level of work can vary and providers also work with other levels of government and private sector on these items. We continue to work with partners to speed up regulatory approvals and optimize coordination among all of the partners.
It looks like fibre is now outside of my house. How do I know?
Access to connections is the final step in the process. Items including networks that are downstream, termination equipment, and back-office support must be in place prior to making service available to customers. Please refer to our list of complete addresses on project pages as available or ISP websites to know when service is available to order.