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High Speed Internet

Internet in the Municipality

Access to high-speed internet is of critical importance to the Municipality, and a key priority for our Council. Our citizens need reliable Internet access for educational purposes, for accessing government services, for operating businesses and for quality of life.

On June 26, 2018 Council approved the Municipal Internet Connectivity Strategy. This strategy will guide funding and project decisions related to Internet within the Municipality, and will see MODL invest up to $500,000 in Internet projects each year, together with provincial, federal and ISP partners.

In July 2018, the province made Develop Nova Scotia, a Crown Corporation, responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to improve Internet access for Nova Scotians without reliable high-speed Internet. The Province also set aside $192 Million to invest in better Internet. Their goal is high-speed Internet reaching a minimum of 95% of Nova Scotians. Our Council recently received an update from staff on the progress being made on Develop Nova Scotia's work, and how MODL is working to ensure we receive funding for projects in our area. pdf Read the update (254 KB) or Learn more about Develop Nova Scotia. pdf Read the February 2020 announcement from Develop Nova Scotia (122 KB) .

Community members have been very active on this issue, and the Municipality will continue to engage citizens on this important issue. If your community group would like to discuss an Internet project in your community, please contact Dave Waters, Director of Business Development at (902) 530-3043 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Projects to Date

Council is pursuing multiple avenues for expanding internet service, with a total investment of $5,716,250 expected over the next two years, affecting up to 7,650 residents.

Bell FibreOp

Announced September 1, 2020, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has committed to financial support of $1,925,250 to provide approximately 5,650 homes and business access to Bell Canada’s all-fibre network. This project, through the provincial Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative, will provide residents with download speeds of up to 1.5 Gigabits.

These new projects will bring fibre based high-speed Internet to every district within the Municipality. We will also continue to work on connecting any remaining underserved residents through Develop Nova Scotia, which is leading the provincial initiative and through the upcoming Federal Universal Broadband fund.

There are 9 new projects for the Municipality. Click on the folders below to view a map for each area. 

 Additional projects were announced on January 25, 2021. Click here to read the announcement. When maps are available, we will post them on this page.

The Municipality intends to keep working to connect residents not covered by these projects.

Bell New Germany Project

We're happy to see better Internet will be coming to Caledonia, Chelsea, New Germany and New Ross as part of Develop Nova Scotia's mandate to improve Internet in the province. We look forward to future announcements for other under-served areas in the municipality. Read the February 2020 announcement from Develop Nova Scotia.  Read the latest updates from Develop Nova Scotia.  

TNC Wireless

Two TNC Wireless Internet towers provide fixed wireless internet services for Big Tancook Island, and for areas surrounding the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Facility through TNC Wireless. TNC offers uncapped packages with speeds ranging from 10Mbps to 25Mbps.\

A second project is the result of a partnership with TNC Wireless and the Federal Government to bring a new uncapped fixed wireless Internet solution to the northern areas of the Municipality. The new service will see up to nine towers to serve the communities of Newcombville, Chelsea, Elmwood, Union Square, Walden, Nineveh, North River, Parkdale and Butler Lake. The project is expected to take three years to complete. Of the $2.15 million total program cost, the Municipality is contributing up to $193,857, with the Federal Government and TNC Wireless Ltd. providing the rest of the investment. As the project progresses, TNC Wireless will post a coverage map and construction information.

Sweetland Fixed Wireless Tower Project

Received $75,000 from the provincial government for a pilot project to construct a fixed wireless internet service in the Sweetland area. Connections: 150

Eastlink

The Government of Canada is helping the communities of Baker Settlement, Hemford, Hemford Forest, Petite Riviere, Feltzen South, Bayport and Kingsburg in Nova Scotia get online with new or improved high-speed Internet. The Federal Government is investing approximately $1.48 million in the Municipality. The Municipality will invest up to $233,486 in internet infrastructure in the work being done in parts of Baker Settlement, parts of Hemford and Hemford Forest. The work being done in Petite Riviere, Feltzen South, Bayport and Kingsburg will be solely funded by the Government of Canada and EastLink.

Eastlink Project Update

Eastlink Hybrid is now available in parts of Baker Settlement, and parts of Hemford and Hemford Forest. Connections: More than 260.

 

Strategy Development

As part of the research undertaken for the development of the Municipality's pdf Internet Strategy (323 KB) , we partnered with the Municipality of Chester and the Region of Queens to commission a report from iValley on the feasibility of an Internet solution. This pdf report is now available (6.97 MB) , and has been reviewed by all Councils involved. We also reviewed the provincial government's middle and last mile strategies, lessons we learned from the Sweetland Pilot Project, and community engagement and presentations.

An Options Report was debated at the pdf May 15 Policy & Strategy Committee meeting (8.24 MB) , and from that discussion, a final Internet Connectivity Strategy was developed and presented to Council on June 26, 2018.