The Government of Canada announced the launch of the second phase of the Connecting Families initiative.
In partnership with 14 participating Internet service producers (ISPs) across the country that are voluntarily contributing to the initiative by offering $20 a month high-speed Internet services, the Government of Canada will help connect hundreds of thousands of low-income families and seniors to affordable high-speed Internet.
In line with Canada’s Connectivity Strategy, which aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of aRead moret least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload, Connecting Families 2.0 introduces significantly faster speeds and increased data usage. For $20 a month, Internet speeds will be five and ten times faster respectively than previously offered. As well, the data allotment is doubling, from 100 GB to 200 GB of usage per month.
This new phase will also broaden eligibility from families receiving the maximum Canada Child Benefit (CCB) to include seniors receiving the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Access Communications, BellCanada, CCAP, Cogeco, HayCommunications, Mornington, Novus, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Tbaytel, TELUS, Videotron and Westman Communications are participating in Connecting Families.