This past weekend saw Minister of Industry Tony Clement roll out the third round of projects to receive conditional funding through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. Collectively, this phase of the project represents a total investment of $29.1 million, and brings broadband Internet access to 30,184 new households in rural or under-served areas.

In total, 21 projects were approved in this round of funding.

“These projects are the latest commitment to Canadians living in northern and rural regions through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program,” said Minister Clement in a statement. “The new economic opportunities these projects will create in these communities will benefit Canada for many years to come.”

In Budget 2009 the federal government set aside $225 million over three years (beginning in 2009/10) for Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband coverage. The most substantial component of this strategy is Broadband Canada.

Round 1 kicked off in May of this year, Round 2 in July, with an eventual goal of bringing high-speed broadband Internet connectivity to nearly 250,000 households across the country.