Strategic Directions Strategic Direction 1: Extend Broadband Infrastructure The City will work with non-profit, public and private sector partners to ensure there is high quality, equitable broadband access to all Ottawa addresses, both urban and rural, within five years of Council's adoption of the Broadband Plan. Policy 1: Broadband Coverage in Rural Areas The City, in partnership with volunteer organizations such as ORCnet, (Ottawa Rural Communities Network) will facilitate the extension of broadband coverage to areas of rural Ottawa not yet served by telecommunication carriers. Where possible, the City's current telecommunication towers will be leased to wireless providers as base locations for their antennae in rural Ottawa in order to facilitate the extension of wireless broadband service to sparsely populated areas. In existing tower locations where a higher City-owned tower could extend the reach of wireless broadband service, the City will, upon receipt of an acceptable business case from a wireless carrier, replace the existing tower with a taller tower where this is technically feasible. If possible, the tower being removed will be redeployed to provide coverage to a new unserved area. Where technically feasible, Telecom Ottawa will make its infrastructure available as a backbone for a reasonable fee for wireless service providers to extend their broadband reach in rural Ottawa. The City, together with OCRI and ORCnet, will prepare a business case analysis for eight new towers (see Figure 5) that will complete the wireless broadband coverage for rural Ottawa. This analysis will evaluate ownership scenarios, funding models, including accessing provincial and federal government infrastructure programs and other sources of revenue to best offset the requirement for direct funding from the Municipality. Policy 2: Broadband Infrastructure for New Developments In consultation with the City's telecommunication carriers and other appropriate stakeholder groups, the City will undertake a business case analysis for provisioning all new development with broadband services. Policy 3: Broadband Infrastructure for the MUSH Sector The City will work with ORAN (Ottawa Regional Advanced Network) to facilitate broadband connectivity for all MUSH (Municipality, Universities, Schools, Hospitals) sector members, including those in rural Ottawa. ORAN is a non-profit corporation currently being established by OCRI to represent the broadband connectivity application requirements of this important sector in Ottawa. Next: Strategic Direction 2: Manage the Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure |
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