Seaside in the news

About 160 homes and businesses in parts of northwestern Richmond Country received access to high-speed Internet service Tuesday.

The service, estimated to be 25 times faster than available via dial-up connections, is now available in the communities of Cleveland, Grantville, Hureauville, Lower River Inhabitants and Kempt Road.

Seaside High-Speed, a partner in the Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative, said in a news release the speed of the service to the 160 civic addresses and the connection costs are comparable to urban areas of the province.

Seaside was awarded a contract in late 2007 to develop the broadband network.

Network construction spans nine counties throughout northeastern Nova Scotia from Cumberland to Victoria counties.

The network will have the capacity to serve about 38,000 homes and businesses when complete. When the provincial government’s broadband initiative for rural communities is completed at the end of this year, the entire province will have high-speed Internet access, making Nova Scotia one of the most connected jurisdictions in North America.