G7 legacy: high-speed internet coverage and cellphone reception across La Malbaie
LA MALBAIE, Que. — When the limousines, security guards, helicopters and politicians leave Quebec’s Charlevoix region after next month’s 44th annual G7 summit, its citizens will benefit from a significant technological legacy.
The federal government is spending roughly $15 million in subsidies to Bell Canada for the construction of 13 cellphone towers along part of the route G7 leaders will take from their arrival at Saguenay-Bagotville Airport to their hotel in La Malbaie.
Ottawa is also investing another $6 million for Bell to lay fibre optic cable around La Malbaie in order to provide G7 heads of state and their entourages with high-speed internet access during the June 8-9 summit.
But when the conference is over, Bell will continue to offer 2,500 homes and business internet speeds up to one gigabit per second, said a company spokesperson — a rarity in small Quebec towns and rural areas.