Rural Connections Broadband Program (Rural Connections)

The Government of Ontario is committed to working with municipalities to build strong, sustainable rural communities. As part of that plan, Ontario needs a modern, efficient and reliable telecommunications system to enable citizens and businesses to use broadband for economic and social development.

In March 2008, the Government of Ontario announced a $30 million, four-year initiative designed to reduce broadband infrastructure gaps in underserved rural regions in southern Ontario. Rural Connections will have a positive impact on families in rural Ontario by leveraging broadband infrastructure investment from private-sector businesses and public partners to enhance economic development and improve access to public services such as e-learning, e-health and e-government.

Rural Connections is led and administered by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in partnership with the Ministries of Government Services (MGS) and Small Business and Consumer Services (MSBCS).

Please click on the links below to access key application materials for Rural Connections.

Key Dates:
Intake One Application Deadline - September 18, 2008 5:00pm
Intake Two Application Deadline - February 12, 2009 5:00pm

Application and Supporting Documents

Application Form (Word Verison - 1,773kb)

Schedule 2: Gap Analysis
Data Files (Excel) and hex maps (PDF) are available by municpality.

Schedule 4: Cost Summary (Excel Version - 33kb)
A schedule of estimated project costs to be completed by the applicant municipality. The schedule should include proposed values of existing infrastructure and new project expenditures.

News Release and Backgrounder

Frequently Asked Questions

All applicants must submit:

1. Three (3) unbound paper copies of the application and all supporting materials including original signature(s); and,
2. Either one (1) electronic copy on CD or emailed to: RuralConnections.omafra@ontario.ca

The application, schedules, gap analysis Excel Data File and Cost Summary spreadsheet MUST be submitted in the appropriate WORD and Excel formats. Other supporting documents may be submitted as pdf files.

Applications must be submitted to:

Rural Connections Broadband Program
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Rural Community Development Branch
1 Stone Road West - 4th floor NW
Guelph, Ontario N1G 4Y2

For more information and application documents, interested municipalities can visit www.ontario.ca/rural or call 1-888-588-4111.

NOTE: Some materials available here are in Excel format. To read them you need the Microsoft Excel Viewer on your computer. The program is available for download (within stallation instructions) at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

| Top of Page |