Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) yesterday announced the launch of the second phase of the Connecting Families initiative in partnership with 14 ISPs which are offering CAD20 (USD16) per month high speed internet services aimed at low-income families and seniors. Connecting Families 2.0 introduces significantly faster ('five-to-ten-times') speeds and increased data usage – doubling to 200GB per month – compared to the original scheme. The new phase also broadens eligibility from families receiving the maximum Canada Child Benefit to include seniors receiving the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement.

With Connecting Families 2.0, eligible participants will have the new option of 50Mbps download speed (or the fastest speed available in that region, if lower) and 200GB for CAD20, while the existing CAD10 package under Connecting Families 1.0 also remains available. No equipment or installation fees are applied.

Participating ISPs to date include Access Communications, Bell Canada, CCAP, Cogeco, Hay Communications, Mornington, Novus, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Tbaytel, Telus, Videotron and Westman Communications.

Thanks to TeleGeography for this industry update.