TORONTO – With the City of Toronto about ready to begin its launch of free city-wide wireless Internet access, Rogers Communications CEO Ted Rogers sounded off about the project today.
Speaking with financial analysts about the company’s strong second quarter results (see related stories), Rogers doubted the City’s WiFi build-out (where the municipal-owned Toronto Hydro Telecom is installing transmitters on light posts for a free, pan-city service) will make much of a dent in his company’s business.
"The need for Internet is very very important in the rural areas," he added, but "the idea of a public body like the cities of San Francisco or Philadelphia or Toronto getting involved in the business and spending their sparse resources on it – and they don’t have the expertise – is something I just find unbelievable… There are so many needs in the City of Toronto for capital and operating money and there are already many (Internet) suppliers in Toronto."
"For the city of Toronto to go into that is in my opinion most unjustified and most unhelpful. I do not think it will be competition to Bell or to Rogers," he added.
– Greg O’Brien
