3. SELECTING A PRIVATE SECTOR
PARTNER TO COMPLETE RURAL BROADBAND COVERAGE CHOIX D'UN PARTENAIRE DU SECTEUR PRIVÉ POUR COMPLÉTER LA COUVERTURE À
LARGE BANDE DANS LE SECTEUR RURAL |
That City Council:
1. Endorse
Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) as preferred partner in a Public-Private Partnership
(P3) to complete broadband coverage in rural Ottawa; and
2. Authorize the Deputy City Manager of Planning, Transit, and the Environment, to finalize negotiations and conclude and execute all necessary agreements with Barrett Xplore Inc. for the design, construction, financing and operation of the required broadband infrastructure and service delivery in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals (RFP), the proposal submitted, the subsequent negotiations between the parties, and the framework set out in this report.
RecommandationS du comité
Que le Conseil municipal:
1. Appui
le choix de Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) comme partenaire privilégié d'un
partenariat public-privé (P3) visant à compléter la couverture à large bande
dans le secteur rural d'Ottawa.
2. Autorise
le directeur municipal adjoint, Urbanisme, Transport en commun et
Environnement, à finaliser les négociations et à conclure et signer toutes les
ententes nécessaires avec Barrett Xplore Inc. pour la conception, la
construction, le financement et l'exploitation de l'infrastructure à large
bande nécessaire et la prestation du service conformément aux conditions de la
demande de propositions, de la proposition soumise, des négociations
ultérieures entre les parties et du cadre énoncé dans le présent rapport.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Deputy
City Manager, Planning, Transit and the Environment, report dated 7 March 2007
(ACS2007-PTE-ECO-0005).
2. Extract of Draft Minutes 5, Agriculture and
Rural Affairs meeting of 22 March 2007.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
Comité de l'agriculture et des questions
rurales
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice
municipale adjointe,
Planning, Transit, and the Environment / Urbanisme,
Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Michael Murr, Manager, Economic Development
Economic Development and Strategic
Projects/Développement économique et Projets stratégiques
613-580-2424, ext./poste 25195,
michael.murr@ottawa.ca
|
SUBJECT: |
Selecting A Private Sector
Partner To Complete Rural Broadband Coverage |
|
|
|
|
OBJET : |
CHOIX
D'UN PARTENAIRE DU SECTEUR PRIVÉ POUR COMPLÉTER LA COUVERTURE À LARGE BANDE
DANS LE SECTEUR RURAL |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee recommend Council:
1.
Endorse Barrett
Xplore Inc. (BXI) as preferred partner in a Public-Private Partnership (P3) to
complete broadband coverage in rural Ottawa; and
2. Authorize the Deputy City Manager of Planning, Transit, and the Environment, to finalize negotiations and conclude and execute all necessary agreements with Barrett Xplore Inc. for the design, construction, financing and operation of the required broadband infrastructure and service delivery in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals (RFP), the proposal submitted, the subsequent negotiations between the parties, and the framework set out in this report.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l'agriculture et
des questions rurales recommande au Conseil :
1. D'appuyer le choix de
Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) comme partenaire privilégié d'un partenariat
public-privé (P3) visant à compléter la couverture à large bande dans le
secteur rural d'Ottawa.
2. D'autoriser
le directeur municipal adjoint, Urbanisme, Transport en commun et
Environnement, à finaliser les négociations et à conclure et signer toutes les
ententes nécessaires avec Barrett Xplore Inc. pour la conception, la
construction, le financement et l'exploitation de l'infrastructure à large
bande nécessaire et la prestation du service conformément aux conditions de la
demande de propositions, de la proposition soumise, des négociations
ultérieures entre les parties et du cadre énoncé dans le présent rapport.
BACKGROUND
The City has made steady progress expanding rural broadband availability since the Broadband Plan was first adopted in 2003. From a starting position of two per cent, access to some form of high-speed Internet is now available to approximately 60 per cent of the city’s rural residents. Despite this success, the low hanging fruit has been picked and it is now clear that advancement is slowing.
To address this concern, on 27 September 2006, City Council approved a funding contribution of up to $1 million to complete the delivery of broadband access to all parts of rural Ottawa. The funding is intended to be used as a catalyst to cause a private company to complete broadband deployment so that reliable, affordable broadband connectivity is available to 100 per cent of residences, farms, businesses and public sector institutions that are located in currently un‑serviced and underserved rural areas of the City of Ottawa. The target date for substantial completion is the fall of 2007 although the RFP specified that project must be fully complete at the very latest by April 2008, Council’s specified date in the Broadband Plan.
This report recommends the preferred partner to complete broadband coverage in rural Ottawa and outlines the terms of the proposed business arrangement. This arrangement allows the City to meet its stated goal of 100 per cent broadband coverage, while achieving more than 10 to 1 leverage of its one-time investment.
DISCUSSION
A Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued 20 November 2006 on MERX by the Supply Management Division, to seek proposals from qualified broadband service providers to identify a company with which the City can partner over the long term to meet the immediate and growing broadband connectivity needs of homes, businesses, farms and public sector institutions located in Ottawa's rural communities.
Interest from service
providers was high, with 39 companies downloading the RFP documents. Five of
these companies met with City officials in “Commercially Confidential”
meetings. The purpose of these meetings was to anchor key elements of the RFP
and provide an opportunity for proponents to ask any questions that they may
have, related to the process, or the information contained in the RFP. In order to ensure an independent level of
scrutiny, Howard Grant, of Partnering & Procurement Inc. was appointed as
Fairness Commissioner and questions and answers provided at these meetings,
that were considered by the Fairness Commissioner to be of a general nature
were issued as addenda. Questions and answers viewed as proprietary were only
shared with the proponent requesting the information.
The RFP closed at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, 22 January 2007. Proposal submissions were received from three service providers: Barrett Xplore Inc., Inukshuk Wireless Inc. and 4177347 Canada Inc., a partnership operating as Storm Internet Services.
An evaluation team was formed, comprised of representatives from the Economic Development Branch, the Rural Affairs Office and external subject matter experts, facilitated by the Supply Management Division. The evaluation team evaluated each submission in accordance with the stated project objectives and Council approved priorities, based solely on the written content and the evaluation criteria stipulated in the RFP document. The Fairness Commissioner scrutinized the evaluation process to ensure that it followed the process stipulated in the Request for Proposal document.
It was the consensus of the Evaluation Team that the proposal submitted by Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) represents "best value" to the City having met all the mandatory criteria of the RFP, having achieved a passing score for the Qualification Stage of the RFP, and the highest point total of the 200 points available. Based on the proposal, the City will contribute $750,000 as its one-time contribution to the project, to be flowed based on key milestones
Following the evaluation process and having identified BXI as Preferred Partner, staff initiated discussions to clarify outstanding questions and confirm the terms of a proposed business arrangement. These discussions were facilitated by Supply Management and scrutinized by the Fairness Commissioner. BXI was advised that any staff recommendations, including the recommendation of BXI as Preferred Partner and the business agreement, are subject to Council approval.
Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) is Canada’s largest and fastest growing wireless broadband provider. The brand under which BXI sells and markets its high-speed Internet service is “Xplornet.” Over the last three years, BXI has developed a business model to deliver broadband access, applications, and accessories to rural Canada, in a way that is sustainable, viable and completely aligned with the City of Ottawa’s broadband objectives. To date, the company has deployed its wireless service in over 200 rural communities.
Barrett Xplore is also part of a larger diversified company with interests in the distribution of recreational products, real estate development, and self-sufficient energy technology. In operation for 31 years, BXI is headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick, and, has operations in Canada, the United States, as well as Europe and Africa.
Subject to final negotiations, it is anticipated that the agreement between the City and Barrett Xplore Inc. will be developed in accordance with the framework attached hereto as Document 1.
Availability to broadband is becoming an essential means for rural communities to fully participate in the digital economy. Citizens and businesses will benefit from new and improved services, increased investment opportunities and business expansion.
This unique public-private (P3) partnership with Barrett Xplore will allow the City to fully complete broadband coverage in the rural area. The partnership will fulfill Council's stated objectives and responds to the needs of rural businesses and residents as expressed at the Rural Summit and through the Rural Issues Advisory Committee.
Applications such as government services, health care, education etc. are present among a growing range of online applications and information sources that require this type of connection speed. In addition, broadband has proven to be an economic enabler and developing new ways of doing business with broadband will allow farms and rural companies to become more efficient by lowering costs and improving productivity.
Farming has become
progressively more dependent on information technology. More and more farmers
rely on timely access to information, weather, current market pricing, fuel
costs, etc. Access to information and reducing transactional costs has become
critical to a farmer's ability to maintain a profitable operation. The
requirement for high-speed communications has also been identified by
businesses that support the farming community such as implement dealers and feed
suppliers.
Importantly, broadband access enables people to telecommute, which in many cases can eliminate or reduce the need for driving to the urban core to work. Similarly, workers and businesses that currently reside in Ottawa's rural areas are now stating that they need access to broadband networks. For example, knowledge workers such as engineers, lawyers and consultants have indicated a need for access to high-speed communications to provide required services to clients across Canada and around the world. Some employers insist that their employees have an ability to telecommute. Cottage and small/home-office (SoHo) businesses need broadband to compete effectively in a shrinking global market.
CONSULTATION
Stakeholder groups including the Rural Issues Advisory Committee, ORCnet (Ottawa’s Rural Community Network), agricultural councils including Dairy Farmers, Ontario Rural Council, Ontario Federation of Agriculture OFA, EOBC (Eastern Ontario Broadband Coalition) have been consulted on the development of this report. An IPD information report was provided to the members of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on 8 March 2007.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The City's funding contribution of up to $1 million has been provided for in internal order 904071, Rural Road Reconstruction/Rehabilitation.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Agreement Framework between the Corporation of the City of Ottawa and Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI)
DISPOSITION
Following the approval of this report by Council, the City and BXI will immediately proceed to finalize the necessary legal agreements and then seek the necessary site planning and construction approvals. A start of construction is anticipated by early May 2007 with the launch of the network in September/October 2007.
Between
The Corporation of
the City of Ottawa
And
Barrett Xplore Inc. (BX))
Subject to final negotiations, it is anticipated that the agreement between the City and Barrett Xplore Inc. will be developed in accordance with the following framework:
Agreement:
Upon approval by Council, BXI and the City will enter into a final agreement incorporating the business terms provided in BXI's RFP submission and summarized here. The RFP document, including Annex A, entitled Terms of Reference and Annex B, entitled General Terms and Conditions will provide the basis for the final agreement.
Term of Agreement:
The term of the agreement will be effective on the date of its execution by the parties and will continue in full force and effect for a period of five years.
Broadband Coverage Model:
BXI will deploy a robust, Motorola-based fixed wireless broadband platform, designed to achieve the target of 100 per cent geographic coverage of the rural Ottawa market. The deployment will employ a hybrid model of both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) technologies. The platform is designed to provide reliability and capability (speed) at affordable pricing, comparable with urban broadband offerings.
Understanding that all forms of terrestrial wireless service offerings have theoretical limitations, BXI will also offer high-speed satellite services to the estimated 275 to 475 dwellings that may for technical reasons be unable to obtain a satisfactory signal from the terrestrial wireless network at similarly affordable rates, made possible through this unique partnership with the City of Ottawa and the additional support of BXI's strategic partner Telesat Canada.
Capital Investment and Leverage:
BXI will invest over $10 million in this rural Ottawa broadband deployment over five years through:
§ $6.0 million in capital expenditures; and
§ $4.7 million to drive sales, awareness and promotion.
The City of Ottawa will contribute $750 thousand, as its one-time contribution to BXI’s capital expense, flowed to BXI on the basis of the following milestones:
§ 10 per cent at time of contract execution;
§ 70 per cent on System Completion;
§ 10 per cent on successful completion of the first independent performance audit, conducted not less than three (3) or more than six (6) months following System Completion; and
§ 2 per cent at the first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), fourth (4th) and the fifth (5th) anniversaries of the contract and successful completion of an independent performance audit each year.
Schedule:
BXI has committed to execute this broadband build with substantial completion scheduled to occur on or before 31 August 31 2007.
Marketing and Communications:
BXI plans an aggressive marketing and advertising campaign throughout a sequential rollout.
Marketing tactics throughout this process will include the following:
§ initial mass marketing to generate overall brand awareness and service availability, followed by a staged campaign through each of the rollout stages utilizing the following media:
§ direct mail
§ local/community newspapers
§ local/community radio
§ signage and posters
§ telemarketing
§ door-to-door
§ direct mail
§ special events
§ channel partners will be encouraged to plan and execute marketing initiatives that are complementary to BXI’s corporately led marketing campaigns
§ BXI will work closely with the City of Ottawa to leverage its existing communication vehicles to drive awareness of the broadband program and its progress to completion.
Customer Price:
In alignment with the City's stated objectives of rural parity with urban services, BXI has developed pricing and packaging to be offered through this partnership that enables it to compete directly with urban wireline solutions. Customer pricing will at minimum remain at currently defined pricing for the duration of the 5-year Partnership Agreement with the City and in addition, BXI will “Future Proof” its pricing such that it will remain in-line with the rest of its national pricing and will decline appropriately in response to reduced equipment pricing and increased national market competition.
Monthly service fees for wireless service: BXI's wireless services will be offered at multiple levels including home, business and enterprise offerings.
Residential service packages will be available for light, medium or heavy Internet users with affordable monthly pricing as follows:
|
Monthly Service Fee: |
$29.99 |
$39.99 |
$49.99 |
$59.99 |
|
Download Speed (up to): |
300 kbps |
1.5 Mbps |
3 Mbps |
5 Mbps |
|
Upload Speed (up to): |
100 kbps |
300 kbps |
600 kbps |
1.2 Mbps |
Similarly, Business and enterprise packages will be offered at multiple levels with monthly pricing as follows:
|
Monthly Service Fee: |
$59.99 |
$99.99 |
$149.99 |
|
Download Speed (up to): |
3 Mbps |
5 Mbps |
5 Mbps |
|
Upload Speed (up to): |
750 kbps |
1.5 Mbps |
3 Mbps |
Equipment, Installation and upfront costs for wireless service: The subscriber equipment is included in the monthly service fees shown above. By virtue of BXI retaining ownership of the equipment the subscriber module carries a limited lifetime warranty.
In some cases customers may require additional hardware, such as a reflector dish or a 900 MHz subscriber module to receive service. There will be 3 pricing options for such additional equipment. Customers will choose from a monthly fee of $5, a one-time fee of $99 or in the case of a 2 or 3-year contract, the cost of additional hardware will be waived.
The price of basic installation with a 2-year contract will be $149 and $99 with a 3-year contract. If a customer requires installation work that falls outside the scope of a basic installation or when a customer prefers not to enter into a contract, the installing dealer will provide a quotation for installation.
Satellite Service: BXI’s proposed wireless network will be capable of providing service for more than 95 per cent of the remaining broadband gaps in rural Ottawa. BXI will also offer a special program in Ottawa, to provide unique entry-level satellite pricing for the remaining small percentage of rural customers, who for technical reasons are unable to achieve a satisfactory signal from the terrestrial wireless service, (estimated to be 275 to 475 households) as follows:
Basic Install and Activation
(all in):
3 yr contract $199.00
2 yr contract $299.00
1 yr contract $399.00
Monthly Recurring:
3 yr contract $49.99/mth
2 yr contract $49.99/mth
1 yr contract $54.99/mth
Satellite subscribers will be converted to wireless service where available at no additional cost to the subscriber. Conversions to wireless are guaranteed, where wireless signal is available. The equipment required will be considered to be leased to the subscriber.
Special Rates:
These special rates are unique to Ottawa customers and are made possible through the unique partnership between the City of Ottawa and Barrett Xplore and Barrett’s strategic partner, Telesat Canada.
Quality Assurance:
BXI will design, build and deliver a high quality “Best in Class” service platform in the City of Ottawa, providing scaleable end-to-end business processes from network design, to initial build, to promotion and sales, and to ongoing support.
BXI has demonstrated strong customer loyalty as evidenced by its other regional deployments. Ninety-four percent of BXI's existing customers indicate customer satisfaction when polled and further, some 90 per cent of BXI’s customers indicate that they would “refer a friend” or “buy again.”
§ Service Level Agreement
An important element in the agreement between BXI and the City will be a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
The SLA will be based on a detailed list of performance indicators listed in the RFP.
- Customer Satisfaction Surveys will be used to measure: service delivery, service availability, customer service and BXI's ability to meet commitments.
- Performance measures will be applied to: service delivery standards, network availability (for each tiered service), billing & credit matters, help desk, trouble reporting.
- Each service level category or element may be weighted in accordance with the seriousness of non-compliance. Performance will be rated as: meets target, warning, and alert.
§ Service and Support
- 7 X 24 Customer service and support will be provided, with service levels monitored by supervisory staff and measured through daily reports using hourly statistical data.
- 7 X 24 Network support will be provided by a network operations team, responsible for network monitoring and support of all network infrastructures.
- 7 X 24 Field support will be provided by BXI’s Field Operations Team and also through a large network of tower maintenance contractors with Service Level Agreements in place.
- 7 X 24 Engineering support is provided by BXI’s Engineering team.
- Customer installation support is provided though BXI’s dealer network.
SELECTING A PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNER TO COMPLETE RURAL BROADBAND COVERAGE
CHOIX
D'UN PARTENAIRE DU SECTEUR PRIVÉ POUR COMPLÉTER LA COUVERTURE À LARGE BANDE
DANS LE SECTEUR RURAL
ACS2007-PTE-ECO-0005
Mr. M. Murr, Manager, Economic Development, Economic Development and Stratregic Projects, began the presentation with a brief overview of the importance of the rural broadband project, the fact that it was a definite step forward for the City of Ottawa and a great benefit to both the City and the rural residents. Mr. Murr and Mr. C. Cope, Consultant, Economic Development, jointly presented a PowerPoint presentation. A copy of their presentation is held on file.
Following the presentation Mr. Murr introduced a delegation from Barrett Xplore Inc. who were seated at the table with him:
Mr. J. Maduri, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. B. Barrett, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Mr. B. MacDonald, Vice President Products and Services
Mr. J. Maduri thanked the City and Committee members for this opportunity to present their proposal. He stated that it reflected a committed partnership and looked forward to working with the City on this important project.
Mr. B. Barrett expounded on the company, Barrett Xplore Inc., that it is a family business and therefore follows the values of such a business. They have been in business since 1976 and have their roots in rural New Brunswick but have expanded to all parts of the world. He stated that they found a niche in the rural broadband service since most large companies such as cable providers were not interested in providing this service to the rural areas. This service was developed in 2003-2004 to find broadband solutions. As a family business their focus is on execution, good talent and to meet and exceed the expectation of their customers.
Mr. D. Baxter, a resident of West Carleton and a member of the Rural Business Issues sub-committee for the Rural Summit, spoke in favour of the presentation and stated that it was a long hard fight to reach this moment. However, he questioned why the original amount of $1 million was not spent on this project and if the balance of $250,000 would in turn be spent on other rural initiatives?
In response to Councillor El-Chantiry’s question on what constitutes 100% coverage, Mr. Baxter stated that 0 means 0 and that 100% coverage meant exactly that. He is satisfied that the option for satellite coverage will meet that goal.
In response to Mr. Baxter’s question on the remaining $250,000 originally allocated for the broadband service, Mr. Murr stated that the City was pleased that Barrett Xplore’s requirement was less. There will be some incremental costs such as additional support, legal, etc… but would anticipate that any money’s remaining would be used for rural initiatives.
Councillor El-Chantiry thanked the presenters but voiced concerns regarding bad experiences with smaller companies who had offered this type of service in the rural communities and a great number of complaints flows through the Councillors’ offices. He would like to ensure that there are procedures in place to address any complaints and dissatisfaction in service especially since the City is in partnership with this project. He is not totally comfortable with the up front allocation of fees.
Mr. Murr responded that the City and the bid review panel have a good level of comfort with Barrett Xplore due to high customer satisfactory ratings in over 200 communities and personal conversations with other rural communities who have used Barrett. A clear understanding is being developed with the company on how to resolve issues and clearly documented procedures and service standards will be established.
Councillor El-Chantiry reiterated his concerns again since residents will see this project as a partnership with the City and of course will reflect on the City if residents have poor experiences. Mr. Murr understood fully the Councillor’s concerns and stated that it is in the City’s best interest to have a positive relationship.
Councillor Hunter inquired on how
the agreement worked and if there was a large up front capital expense. Mr. Maduri responded stating that there is
an initial cash outlay, but there are also variable amounts over time, as the
customer base grows, for such things as capital costs for customer equipment
and extra capacity.
Mr.
Murr confirmed that the City’s contribution is front-end weighted, recognizing
that there are substantial up front costs, as well as a smaller amount paid
annually for five years. In response to
further questions from Councillor Hunter, Mr. Murr confirmed that the business
is expected to be self-sustaining after five years, with the City no longer
involved.
Upon reviewing the map on coverage area, Councillor Hunter questioned the number of areas that appeared to have no service. Mr. MacDonald stated that some of these areas are difficult to service due to topography and there is no intent on missing areas. Once more of the areas are examined and tweaked it is expected that only 275 to 400 households will not be covered by the conventional service and will need the use of the satellite service.
In response to Councillor Hunter’s question on whether the City had received any complaints by smaller tax paying service providers in the area, Mr. Murr stated that no such complaints had been received. The Request for Proposal (RFP) was designed to focus attention on those areas not already served and in those areas where there is overlapping there is a more competitive environment.
Councillor Brooks stated that this day was a long time in coming considering work had started getting this service back in 2001.
In response to Councillor Brooks’ question on upload and download speed, Mr. MacDonald stated that they were different speeds but no different than other broadband services.
In response to councillor Brooks’ question regarding backfeed, Mr. MacDonald explained that they were not using any of the City bandwidth or City technologies, and it is all through the company’s standard backhaul providers, a group of companies they work with to provide upstream internet services and backhaul.
Mr. MacDonald responded to Councillor Brooks’ question on the number and height of towers needed by stating that there would be more than 8 towers, but they would range in height from 100 to 150 feet and as much as possible would use existing geographical features and buildings such as silos. Mr. Murr stated that two thirds of the towers already exist but that approximately 10 to 12 new towers would be needed and placed in optimum locations.
Councillor Monette noted that Barrett Xplore was headquartered in New Brunswick and wondered if there was an operation in Ottawa as well. Mr. Maduri noted that the company currently serves approximately 300 local customers, uses local dealers for sales and distribution, and has significant Ottawa representation, and confirmed that they would be setting up a facility in Ottawa.
Councillor Monette had questions regarding whether any of the three bids were from local companies, and whether the fact that they were local could be factored into the decision. Mr. Murr confirmed that one of the bids was from an Ottawa company and, while all three bids were competitive, Barrett Xplore provided the best value. He noted that through the RFP process, there is no provision to weight whether or not a company is local. In response to further questions from Councillor Monette as to how committee might go about changing the RFP process to take local companies into consideration, Mr.Murr suggested that the municipality is prohibited from weighting the geographic location of a company. He also noted that a local provider should be expected to have some cost savings that could transfer to a lower bid to the City, which was not the case with this RFP.
Councillor Monette maintained that this broadband contract was good for the rural area. Mr. Murr expressed complete confidence that Barrett Xplore was the right partner.
In response to questions from Councillor Harder regarding the placement of the Wireless towers, Mr. Maduri confirmed that it was a similar technology to cell phone towers, and that they will co-locate on existing cell towers where possible. He confirmed that 2/3 of the new transmitters would be on existing towers or locations. Councillor Harder suggested this was good, as there is often much public opposition to new towers. Councillor Harder expressed her approval of the Preferred Partner. She noted that in her experience with procurement, price is not always the most important factor in choosing a bid, nor is the fact that a company is local enough of a reason to choose them.
Councillor Harder wondered if the applications for the individual new towers would need to come to the Committee for approval. Mr. Murr suggested that they would not, and noted that if the towers are less than 100 feet, only a building permit is needed, whereas over 100 feet industry Canada provisions require site plan agreements. Mr. Maduri confirmed that they would work with local landowners to come to agreements as to the placement of the towers. He suggested that in his experience, people have been enthusiastic about the arrival of broadband and less concerned about the towers, which are of high quality and built to safety standards.
Councillor Harder thanked the Company for bringing their experience to the City and suggested that this agreement would be of great benefit to the residents and businesses of rural Ottawa.
In response to questions from Chair Jellett, Mr. Murr confirmed that there would be no need to come back to committee with each site plan for the towers, and confirmed that if residents were concerned about a particular tower they would likely call their ward Councillor.
Councillor Thompson thanked Councillor Brooks and Chris Cope for their roles in getting the ball rolling on rural Broadband. He expressed his pleasure at the news that rural Broadband would be a reality. As former Chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) and noted that broadband has been one of the biggest concerns across rural Ontario. He invited Chris Cope and representatives of Barrett to attend a ROMA board meeting to present their ideas. He also suggested that perhaps there could be a press conference before the matter went to Council, as it was perhaps one of the biggest news stories since amalgamation.
Councillor El-Chantiry expressed his confidence that the best company was chosen for the job. He noted that since the City was a partner in the project, he wanted to be sure that the City would continue to monitor the situation, be a good partner, and assist the company in their relations with residents. He suggested that his earlier comments were as a result of the City’s past experiences with certain companies. Therefore, he wanted to make sure City staff were monitoring the process and giving Council feedback on what is happening. He also suggested that if there were anything the rural Councillors could do to help, they would do so.
Councillor Brooks stated that rural broadband would be a significant bridge of the urban-rural divide, as it would place rural residents on an even playing field with urban residents. Also broadband would allow rural Ottawa to access the world. He expressed his approval of the project, and congratulated staff for their hard work.
Chair Jellett thanked the representatives from Barrett Xplore for coming in from other areas of the country and suggested it showed the company’s commitment to the project and to Ottawa. He echoed councillor Thompson’s comments regarding Councillor Brooks’ leadership on rural broadband, and thanked staff for all their work. He expressed his excitement that the project was finally nearing completion.
Committee directed that this item rise to Council on March 28, 2007.
That the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend Council:
1.
Endorse Barrett Xplore Inc. (BXI) as preferred partner
in a Public-Private Partnership (P3) to complete broadband coverage in rural
Ottawa; and
2. Authorize the Deputy City Manager of
Planning, Transit, and the Environment, to finalize negotiations and conclude
and execute all necessary agreements with Barrett Xplore Inc. for the design,
construction, financing and operation of the required broadband infrastructure
and service delivery in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Request
for Proposals (RFP), the proposal submitted, the subsequent negotiations
between the parties, and the framework set out in this report.
CARRIED