The Government of Canada has announced that high-speed internet will be coming to 63 Manitoba First Nations communities and 189 other communities around the province.

It's part of $4.2 million project that was announced last week that is hoping to improve quality of life on reserves and isolated communities.

The funding will support design and planning for the affordable, dependable and high speed internet.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief Cathy Merrick says that times have changed and that reserves will no longer be behind in internet service.

The first phase of the project will be to extend Manitoba Hydro's existing fibre optic infrastructure to the communities, which will then be completed by the end of 2016-2017.

Once the first phase is completed, internet providers will be able to use the fibre optic infrastructure to deliver their service to the communities.