This note will bring you up to date on recent ORCnet activities and will let you know what's new in our effort to make high-speed Internet available to all residents in the City. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone who might have an interest in Broadband in Ottawa and encourage those who wish to be added to our mailing list to drop me a note at Chris.Cope@Ottawa.ca.
Last year the City of Ottawa's Broadband Plan was developed with the vision of providing high-speed Internet access to the people of Ottawa and its surrounding areas. Since that time, we've watched the evolution of our vision go from an idea to reality and in 2004 we are making great headway to completing our vision.
A major contributor has been Rogers Cable and through the City's partnership with them and other companies, we hope to be able to realize our broadband goal well in advance of our 2008 target without spending any taxpayer's money.
Rogers has made a significant corporate commitment and this summer, they made an $8 million dollar investment to expand their two-way digital network into rural Ottawa and the surrounding areas. Carp, Carleton Place, Almonte, Kars, the CGYC area, Munster Hamlet, North Gower, Osgoode, Carlsbad Springs, Vars, Embrun and Russell have all been lit up with cable and hi speed products. Use of the Internet in these areas now is at an all time high and has become an integral part of these communities' daily lives.
To that end, I'd like to invite you to join Councillor Glenn Brooks and representatives from Rogers Cable on Monday October 4th at 7:00pm - to hear more and to experience a demonstration and interactive opportunity with new technologies.
Date: Monday October 4th, 2004
Coffee and Donuts- 7:00 pm
Opening remarks: 7:10 am
North Gower Client Service Center
2155 Roger Stevens Drive
North Gower
On July 17, 2004 - Telesat launched Anik F2 - the world's largest commercial communications satellite. Anik F2 also made history as the first satellite to commercialize the Ka frequency band - a new satellite communications technology for delivering cost-effective, two-way broadband services. The new service will be made available early in 2005 as Anik F2 moves into its orbital position and testing is completed.
Vancouver-based Infosat Communications, a subsidiary of Telesat Canada and BCE has been chosen as a service provider for the new Ka frequency band, high-speed Internet service delivered through Anik F2. Infosat has announced that service will debut at $59 a month plus equipment rental of around $12 monthly (with the option of buying the gear for $500 to $600 instead), offering 1.5-megabit-per-second downloading. Other service providers may be chosen in the coming months and prices may vary. If you would like to be put on Telesat's service availability wait list, Telesat has a form available as a link on the page at http://www.telesat.ca/telecom/ka.htm
In my previous update, I talked about a major project we were working on "The ORCnet Rural Broadband Network Project" aimed at deploying a new non line-of-sight wireless Internet technology throughout most of Ottawa's rural areas. The project was to be funded through a Provincial program called Connect Ontario: Broadband Regional Access (COBRA). In addition, we had made a submission to another Provincial program called Connect Ontario: Partnering for Smart Communities (COPSC) to create a portal aimed at providing a suite of new and innovative interactive applications for small and medium sized businesses. Unfortunately, both projects are now on hold until at least next year.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) recently announced that the two programs COPSC and COBRA were "in hiatus," with no new money going into them in this budget cycle. That may not be as disastrous for our initiatives as it sounds as MEDT continues to say that they are not abandoning their support of broadband forever. They tell us that this is a temporary thing related to current budget pressures and that they hope to go forward on something in future. There is discussion about making provincial financing of broadband across the province a part of a new 10-year plan of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal. If broadband officially becomes a part of the "infrastructure" - along with roads, schools, water services, hydro, hospitals and public-transit systems - then it could enjoy a new status, one that usually includes the phrase "essential service". The question is whether the government will see it that way.
In the meantime, we continue to work with several community groups using our tried and true demand aggregation model to help residents in communities interested in accelerating broadband deployment. We can use the data collected to make a business case to the carrier community, asking them to invest in infrastructure expansion. Certainly the news about expansion such as the Rogers story above is good news. And things are percolating well in several other communities.
The first step is to identify community champions and then conduct a survey to find out what sort of penetration might be available in your community. We have very good data on several communities along the Ottawa River in West Carleton and are optimistic that we'll see real activity in 2005. Similarly, we have good data for the Country Club Village and Heritage Corners area and I am currently exploring interest with providers.
If you wish to get this process started in your community. Please feel free to contact me to get the ball rolling. Similarly, you may have friends, associates etc. who should be aware of this process, so please feel free to forward this update to them and encourage them to contact me directly.
Those of you who are representatives of various business organizations active in promoting economic development may wish to meet with City Manager, Kent Kirpatrick and Deputy City Manager, Ned Lanthrop as well as other community leaders to provide input on the City's 2005 budget before Council decides its budget priorities in late October.
During this dialogue among community leaders and senior City staff, you will have the opportunity to share your priorities and concerns so that the City can fully understand your views before making priority recommendations to Council. As well, you will be provided with a briefing on the City's current financial situation and the pressures it faces next year.
Your input is critical to ensuring the City's final budget reflects the community's priorities and supports the vision of Ottawa 20/20.
A summary of the information you provide at this meeting will be shared with City Council and the public.
We hope you are able to attend. If you are not able to join us, don't hesitate to share your priorities with the Budget Feedback Office at budget@ottawa.ca by Thursday, October 14. Your input will be shared with City Council and the public.
As well, you or any members of your organization can participate by using the on-line budget workbook at Ottawa.ca. You can also pick up a paper copy at any Client Service Center or Library. (These documents will be available after September 28.)
To register please visit: http://www.ocri.ca/budget_registration.html
Or contact:
Elaine Cobill
Tel: 828-6274 Ext. 224
Email: ecobill@ocri.ca
Voice over IP, also known as "Internet telephony" or "IP telephony", is a relatively recent convergence technology that enables real-time voice communication to be carried via the Internet. The growing popularity of this concept is thought to be a result of the increasing penetration of broadband and its commercial applicability, and the opportunities it presents for enhanced call processing, increased connectivity, both business-to-business, and for consumers. Studies have shown that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas often face different challenges and sometimes-additional requirements when it comes to adoption of technology-based business solutions.
Early in the new year, we will be hosting a one-day workshop to showcase aspects of VoIP technology; focusing on its business applications, and talk about solutions that are available today, as well as their proposed benefits and costs.
Following what we hope will be enlightening and instructive presentations, an important element of the workshop will be a facilitated plenary discussion around the business impact of VoIP, especially for SMEs; concerns, corresponding issues and proposed solutions and recommendations. Our participating providers and vendors want to hear from small business as they shape their offerings for this exciting new technology.
If any of you would like to participate in this event as a volunteer, or are interested in attending as a delegate, please drop me a line at: chris.cope@ottawa.ca. I will be sending out additional information as we firm up the details.
AccessTNG has upgraded the equipment at their Osgoode and Carleton Golf and Yacht Club towers. The new gear is Trango Broadband Wireless equipment operating in the 5.8/5.3 GHz frequency range. An AccessTNG representative told me that the new gear can provide NLOS (non line-of-sight) service in a radius of approximately 4 KM. Longer reach is available, up to 10 KM where clear line-of-sight is available. If you would like more information from AccessTNG, you can contact Steve Schauland, agent for AccessTNG in Ottawa at (613) 821-9990.
Chris Cope
ORCnet Coordinator
Economic Development and Strategic Projects
Planning and Growth Management Department
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West, 4th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1
Email: Chris.Cope@ottawa.ca
(613) 580-2424 ext. 28991
Fax: (613) 560-6028
Visit us on-line at www.orcnet.ca
