Alberta Inventors and Inventions - Provincial Policy

Alberta SuperNet is the provincial government's ambitious and innovative $295 million high-speed, broadband infrastructure project intended to address the digital divide that exists between urban and rural Alberta. Eyes and ears around the world are on Alberta's SuperNet efforts, largely due to the sheer extent of the network, with a 13,000-kilometre fibre optic and wireless network covering the entire province and providing access to the high-speed network to the province's schools, health facilities, libraries and provincial government offices—approximately 4,700 facilities in 422 communities.

To be completed in 2004, the network will provide schools in Alberta communities – large and small – with the opportunity to network with each other, share resources, content, curriculum and expertise. It will enable health facilities and health practitioners across the province to do the same thing:o communicate, share and collaborate, benefiting diagnosis, treatment and patient care.

In addition to these and other benefits to the public facilities connected to Alberta SuperNet, the network has an exciting and far-reaching business growth and development dynamic to it. The network's bandwidth is available for purchase by service providers in SuperNet communities where no broadband service exists today, providing them with the necessary infrastructure over which to run high-speed services and applications to businesses and residences.

Alberta SuperNet attests to the Alberta government's continuing commitment to providing Albertans with the tools necessary to flourish in the world's changing economy, education, health and business environments.