Our Work Ensuring First Nations have the opportunity to thrive with full digital connectivity
Access to reliable high-speed internet is crucial for all First Nations — especially those in remote areas — to unlock a wide range of socioeconomic benefits, including business and employment opportunities, digital education, connected healthcare systems, and the ability to communicate with friends and family over significant distances.
363 First Nation communities lack both broadband internet and standard cellular services.
81 First Nation communities require an estimated 12,280 km of fibre backbone cable to be installed – nearly twice the distance of the length of Canada.
The "First Nations Digital Gap" is moving at a more rapid rate due to the nature of technology and its continued advancements.
Initiatives & Priorities Ensuring First Nations have the opportunity to thrive with full digital connectivity
Digital Divide
High speed connectivity has become synonymous with positive economic development, quality education, quality healthcare services and the preservation of Indigenous culture.
True connectivity will help many communities bridge the digital divide and provide these communities with equal opportunities to participate in wider local markets as well as the overall global economy, providing First Nations with more business and employment opportunities, including ones that reduce the need for migration to urban areas in search of work.
Many First Nations are in rural and remote parts of Canada — high-speed connectivity means their children can remain within their communities via remote learning and gain on-line access to the same resources as urban students without facing the hardship of moving, extra financial implications, and loss of culture.
High-speed access also means these First Nations can receive state-of-the-art healthcare from specialized practitioners in urban centres without the expense and trauma associated with traveling while sick.
Connectivity by the Numbers
Of the 748 First Nations communities studied in the Closing the Infrastructure Gap 2030 report, 61% did not have adequate high speed internet access: broadband services of at least 50 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream (50/10) and cellular service, which are essential to everyday life in Canada.
The Government of Canada has publicly committed to the goal of connecting 100% of Canadians to high speed internet by 2030. First Nations, who are overrepresented in Canada’s digital connectivity gap, must not be neglected as part of this goal.
Digital Infrastructure Solutions
The AFN worked with Planetworks and Innovation Sciences and Economic Development (ISED) Canada to identify the extent of the broadband and cellular infrastructure gaps in First Nation communities and determine the capital (Capex) and operational (Opex) expenditures needed to ensure every First Nation community has the following three telecommunications infrastructures necessary to close the gaps:
- A fibre backbone to the Internet
- Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) last mile, and
- At least Long-Term Evolution (LTE), but for new builds, the latest cellular technology commercially available, (referred to collectively throughout as Cellular).
The infrastructure gap was identified at $5.2 billion — of all the First Nations communities studied, only 20 communities have the three infrastructure elements of fibre backbone, FTTH last mile, and LTE Mobility services in place or have funds to put them in place.
Based on this, the Closing the Infrastructure Gap 2030 report outlines ten recommendations, from creating interim solutions for broadband relief, to developing annual quotas for service providers to connect unserved First Nations communities, that will help everyone achieve digital connectivity.
Read the Full Reports
Read the Full Report 1 — The National Cost Estimate
Read and download the Closing the Infrastructure Gap by 2030 – National Cost Estimate report, which includes the capital and operational investments needed by the Government of Canada to make its timeline to close the gap by 2030.
- English – Closing the Infrastructure Gap by 2030 – National Cost Estimate
- French – Comblerle déficit d’infrastructures d’icià 2030 – Proposition et rapport de coût
Read the Full Report 2 — The Prioritization and Implementation Plan
Read and download the Prioritization and Implementation Plan, which includes an estimate on the previous report’s investment needs and quantifies how the First Nations infrastructure gap will continue to grow by the year 2040 due to Government of Canada inaction and insufficient funding.
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Contact Us
Reach out to the Assembly of First Nations
Assembly of First Nations
50 O’Connor Street, Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2
Tel: +1 (613) 241-6789
Toll-free: +1 (866) 869-6789
Fax: +1 (613) 241-5808