OTTAWA – Last week Ottawa’s city council said it would spend a million dollars on helping speed broadband access to all parts of rural Ottawa.
The city will move forward with a private-public partnership to develop the broadband infrastructure needed to reach every rural home, farm and business within the city limits by fall 2007.
“This is important for farmers, small businesses and families in all our rural communities," said mayor Bob Chiarelli in the press release.
Before 2003, broadband was only available to about 2% of rural residents and businesses in the Ottawa area. Great progress has been made as a result of grass-roots community efforts sponsored by the Ottawa Rural Communities Network (ORCnet), an organization supported by the City and devoted to expanding broadband service in rural areas, not to mention local ISPs and larger companies such as Rogers Communications and Bell Canada, which the release inexplicably downplayed.
To date, about 60% of rural Ottawa has access to broadband Internet service, says the city’s press release. This includes most of the villages and communities where service providers could more easily provide the necessary infrastructure.
"With further investment through an innovative P3 approach the necessary delivery programs and communications towers can be put in place to fill all the gaps currently not serviced," says the release. "The project is expected to cost up to $3 million, with the city contributing up to $1 million and the private sector partner contributing the remaining capital investment."
