TORONTO—The Government of Canada recently awarded a contract to Ecopia AI to provide mapping data to support the deployment of high-speed Internet across rural Canada.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic a large percentage of the population has been working from home which has highlighted the need for high-speed Internet connectivity across the country and revealed a deep digital divide as many rural communities still don’t have access to broadband Internet.
A key component of planning and deploying broadband infrastructure is the availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date mapping data. Ecopia will leverage its AI-based mapping systems to mine a variety of geospatial datasets and identify broadband serviceable locations across rural Canada, including many locations in remote and Indigenous communities, indicates a release.
The data will be used to identify connectivity gaps. The map is currently in production and will be delivered by March 2022.
“High-speed Internet is essential to ensure all Canadians can participate in the digital economy, and Canadians in rural and remote communities have long had less access to high-speed Internet than those living in urban areas. More precise geospatial data will help us plan and build the telecommunications infrastructure required to address this connectivity gap,” said Gudie Hutchings, minister for rural economic development, in a statement. “Ecopia’s innovative approach to analyzing geospatial data is helping us better understand the precise location of Canadian households and exactly what will be needed to meet our goal of connecting 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026, and all Canadians by 2030.”
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed