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 projects to connect more than 87,000 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 31,000 of a total of 87,200 homes and businesses already have the network in place to provide new or improved high-speed internet. Providers are working to connect the rest as quickly as possible. With the January 2021 scope expansion project announcement, access to internet connections will extend to 99 per cent of Nova Scotia.
We're not done! Work will continue with internet providers in an effort to reach as close to 100 per cent of homes and businesses as possible.
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.
My area was announced today (January 25, 2021). When will these scope expansion projects be completed?
We estimate all will be complete by the end of 2023 (ones announced in November 2020 and today).
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.
What about affordability of service? Are there data caps with any of the approved projects?
Included in the Service Level Agreements with providers are provisions to ensure cost competitiveness. Comparable Internet services must be cost competitive with those already available, regardless of where they are offered. The same service should cost the same in Scots Bay as it does in Halifax.
In terms of data caps, this is something that is regulated federally by the CRTC. However, in order for a service to be cost competitive between markets, what you receive as part of that service must be comparable. If one service has a data cap, and the other does not, the services are not comparable.
How do you monitor progress and ensure accountability with these agreements?
The Service Level Agreements signed with Develop Nova Scotia include provisions that require regular quality and service reporting and allow us to inspect and audit the network installation.
We are having regular meetings with partners to review and check progress against their objectives. We are able to check on equipment and installation progress through pictures and video, and, when it is safe to do so, through in-person inspections by an experienced network engineer.
How do I know if I’m included in Round 2 projects?
With the Round 2 announcement announced in September 2020, 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.