The P.E.I. government is spending $3.5 million to install 450 kilometres of fibre cable across the province, but it expects to save money in the long term.

Chris Payne, the province's director of IT services, told CBC News Thursday instead of paying monthly fees to other telephone and internet providers, the P.E.I. government will have its own network to provide telecommunications to hospitals, schools, and public internet access sites.

"We think that our annual costs on this network will be reduced by over 50 per cent over the next four or five years," said Payne.

"It's going to take us a while to get all of our network segments transferred into this network, but we expect the savings to be significant."

The province owns half the fibre optic strands being strung in the cable. The other half will be owned by a new company, ISN Wireless. That company is a partnership between two local service providers, ISN and Ruranet, and the Quebec-based Xittel.

"Through the strands of fibre that they have, they will be providing customer type services to businesses out there in the rural communities as well as households, through a company they formed locally here called ISN Wireless," said Payne.

Payne says that means more Islanders will have access to high speed internet.