Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative
Connection matters. Delivering Internet for Nova Scotians is a priority and we’re making progress. As of December 2020, we have announced projects to connect more than 80,000 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.
Announced in February, Round 1 projects for 42,000 homes/businesses are currently underway and Round 2 projects announced in August 2020 mean an additional 30,000 homes/businesses will have access to connections—when complete 97% of homes and businesses in Nova Scotia will have access to reliable, high-speed Internet.
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
| Annapolis / Hants
| Shelburne / Barrington
| South Shore
| Cumberland / Colchester (Truro)
| Pictou
| HRM / Eastern Shore
| Eastern Strait / Guysborough
| Rural Cape Breton
| CBRM
Note: The names of our Internet zones don’t necessarily represent the counties they fall within.
How do I know if I’m included in Round 2 projects?
With the Round 2 announcement, an additional 32,000 homes and businesses will have access to connections—all with fibre to the home. This agreement with pre-qualified Internet service provider, Bell Media includes more than 100 communities across the province.
For a general list of project areas, click here. This details communities or parts of communities that are included in all projects to date.
We will also be hosting community-based webinars in many areas as well as sharing information with local libraries, community hubs, etc.
When will Round 2 Projects be complete?
Approximately 11,000 homes/businesses are expected to have access by Summer 2021, 21,000 by the end of 2021, and all 32,000 by Summer 2022.
This, added to Round 1 projects, will bring us to 97%—we believe Nova Scotia will be the first province in Canada to reach this level of coverage.
What about Projects announced in February—when will they be complete?
Projects announced in February 2020 are all underway and some have already been completed thanks to additional provincial investment in March 2020 to accelerate the work in response to COVID-19.
To date, approximately 18,000 homes and businesses now have the network in place to provide new or improved high-speed Internet, and providers are working to make connections for customers as quickly as possible.
All remaining Round 1 projects should be complete by early 2021.
Why do projects take so long to complete?
Having access to a connection is really the final step in the process. So even if you don’t see work going on in your community, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t started.
These projects are large and complex with significant engineering challenges and the requirement to install thousands of kilometres of fibre. Completion takes place in stages depending on when the project begins and the amount of preparation and engineering required. We recognize the urgency—project implementation is moving an average of 50% faster at almost every step of this project compared to industry standards.
We are making good progress and we will continue to work with our providers to accelerate projects wherever possible. We know how important reliable high-speed Internet is for Nova Scotians. It is simply essential in our modern world.