Xplore Ignites $180M Plan for High-Speed Rural Alberta Internet

MARKHAM, ON – February 03, 2026 – Tens of thousands of households across rural Alberta are poised for a significant digital upgrade as Xplore Inc. announced a total investment of $180 million to expand its next-generation fixed wireless internet service. The initiative, bolstered by substantial government support, aims to deliver speeds up to 500 Mbps to over 70,000 underserved homes and businesses, marking a major step in closing the province's urban-rural digital divide.

The project combines $60 million in joint funding from the federal and provincial governments with a private investment of over $120 million from Xplore itself. This infusion of capital will finance the construction of over 400 new internet towers, forming the backbone of a network designed to ultimately reach more than 245,000 households across the province.

"This investment is about more than faster, more reliable Internet -- it's about strengthening the future of rural Alberta," said Brent Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of Xplore Inc., in a statement. "Reliable high-speed connectivity opens the door to new economic opportunities, supports local businesses, enables better access to education and healthcare, and helps families stay connected every day."

Bridging Alberta's Digital Divide

The announcement directly addresses a long-standing challenge for Alberta. While recent data shows 95.3% of Alberta households have access to high-speed internet, this figure masks the disparities faced by those living outside major urban centers. As recently as 2022, an estimated 67% of rural Albertans and 80% of Indigenous communities lacked access to the federal government's target speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.

This project is set to make a significant dent in those numbers, specifically targeting communities that have been left behind in the digital revolution. The plan includes connecting more than 1,100 Indigenous households, providing critical infrastructure that supports economic self-determination, cultural preservation, and access to remote services. The high cost of bridging the last-mile connectivity gap, estimated at over $2,700 per home in some remote areas, has made public-private partnerships like this one essential.

A Public-Private Partnership in Action

The project's funding structure highlights a collaborative strategy to tackle infrastructure deficits. The $60 million in public funds is drawn from a pre-existing agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta. The federal portion comes from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's (ISED) Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), a cornerstone of the national strategy to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030.

The provincial contribution from the Alberta Ministry of Technology and Innovation aligns with Alberta's own broadband strategy. This model of co-investment allows government funds to be leveraged for maximum impact, encouraging private companies like Xplore to undertake large-scale capital projects that might otherwise be financially unviable.

The Technology: 5G Fixed Wireless Takes Center Stage

At the heart of this expansion is Xplore's 5G Ultra service, which utilizes Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology. This approach delivers internet service to homes and businesses wirelessly from a nearby tower, providing a powerful alternative in regions where laying fibre-optic cable to every single home is prohibitively expensive and logistically complex.

Leveraging its licensed spectrum portfolio, the company's 5G FWA network can deliver download speeds up to 500 Mbps, a massive leap forward from the 50 Mbps speeds that were previously the standard for many rural wireless plans. This near-fibre performance is capable of supporting multiple high-demand applications simultaneously, from 4K video streaming and online gaming to running a cloud-based business and participating in virtual learning.

The deployment of over 400 new towers is a critical component, creating the physical infrastructure needed to ensure broad and reliable coverage across vast agricultural and remote landscapes.

From Towns to Towers: Pinpointing the Impact

While the project has a province-wide scope, specific communities are already being identified as beneficiaries, with most new connections expected to be established by late 2026 or early 2027. In central Alberta, a $13.5 million investment will bring high-speed access to nearly 20,000 households in and around communities such as Sylvan Lake, Ponoka, Olds, and Blackfalds.

In southern Alberta, over 13,000 residents across dozens of communities—including Cardston, Fort Macleod, Taber, Pincher Creek, and the Piikani Nation—will benefit from an $11.5 million phase of the project. Further north, a separate UBF-backed initiative will see Xplore connect nearly 3,000 households in 37 communities, including Hythe, La Crête, Grimshaw, and Fort Vermilion, with a combined federal and provincial investment of over $3 million.

Navigating a Competitive Rural Market

This aggressive expansion solidifies Xplore's position as a specialist in Canada's challenging but crucial rural broadband market. The company, which was founded in New Brunswick with a focus on rural living, faces a diverse competitive landscape that includes major telecommunication giants like Bell and Telus, local and regional ISPs, and the increasingly prominent satellite internet provider, Starlink.

Xplore’s strategy appears to be a dual-pronged assault on the connectivity problem, investing heavily in both fibre-to-the-home projects where feasible and advanced 5G fixed wireless where it offers a more scalable solution. This latest investment in Alberta's 5G infrastructure demonstrates a clear commitment to fixed wireless as a key technology for the future of rural connectivity, offering a path to high speeds and reliability for thousands of Albertans who have been waiting for their digital connection to the world.