Introduction Background In August of 2000, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (RMOC) completed a strategic plan for Ottawa's export economy with the assistance of the ICF Group, consultants from San Jose, California. This strategic plan, commonly referred to as the "Generators Report," proposed several key initiatives that would support Ottawa's export industries and in turn have positive spin-off effects for the rest of the region's economy. One of the key initiatives put forward by the consultant was referred to as "Ottawa Connects: A far reaching Telecommunication Initiative for the 21st Century." While the ICF Group recognized that broadband networks were being developed particularly in urban Ottawa, the consultant suggested that through this initiative, the RMOC could go beyond the basics and accelerate the building of an advanced broadband network across the entire region for the 21st Century. According to the ICF Group, a state of the art telecommunication infrastructure could be likened to the basic road and highway infrastructure built in the early years of the 20th Century. Electronic connectivity of people, enterprises and institutions would likely have the same stimulating effect on innovation and economic development, as did the basic transportation networks built nearly 100 years ago. The Ottawa Partnership (TOP), a public/private sector advisory committee to City Council on business and educational matters, endorsed the Generators Report and the telecommunication initiative. In October 2001, TOP held a workshop with community leaders to develop a broadband vision statement for Ottawa as a first step in implementing the recommendation. Ottawa's Broadband Vision At the October 2001 broadband vision workshop TOP, brought together a diverse cross-section of community leaders, including education, health, cultural, government and business representatives to prepare a vision statement for the deployment of broadband connectivity throughout Ottawa. Participants at this workshop developed the following broadband vision:
In May 2002, City Council supported the vision statement and agreed that through the 20/20 process a Broadband Plan for Ottawa would be developed. Building on this community vision, the Broadband Plan is Ottawa's strategy to bring affordable, high quality and equitable broadband access to all its citizens. Further details regarding the outcomes of this community workshop are provided in Appendix B. Community Consultation Prior to the development of the Broadband Plan, and while the plan was in draft form, staff completed a number of consultation sessions with the community. At these sessions, feedback was requested on the vision statement and strategies supported by TOP and on the concept of the City leading a broadband connectivity effort. Some of these sessions were held as part of the Charting a Course1 effort while others involved specific focus group sessions with key stakeholders such as the telecommunication carriers, developers, business group representatives and the City's MUSH (municipality, universities, schools and hospitals) representatives. The feedback from the various sectors is summarized in Appendix B. TOP and the City also hosted a launch of the draft Broadband Plan in November 2002, which was well attended by the stakeholder groups interested in this initiative. The Broadband Plan and the Ottawa 20/20 Growth Management Principles The Broadband Plan supports the Ottawa 20/20 Guiding Principles in the following ways: A Responsible and Responsive City - The Broadband Plan addresses the needs of the City of Ottawa residents and businesses for access to broadband telecommunications services. These needs were identified in the October 2001 workshop in Ottawa and were endorsed by TOP as important requirements for the City's new Broadband Plan. The plan is also the result of extensive research and consultation with key stakeholders as well as the community at large. A Caring and Inclusive City - Some Ottawa residents are currently unable to access broadband services based on their chosen place of residence within Ottawa. This is especially problematic where entire communities are without access, as is the case in some rural areas, contributing to a form of "digital divide" and a significant inequity between urban and rural Ottawa. Implementation of the Broadband Plan is the first step in ensuring these services will be available for all residents of the City. A Creative City rich in Heritage, unique in Identity - Ottawa's uniqueness and reputation as a technology centre and a place where people want to live and work will be enhanced through this initiative. Implementation of the Broadband Plan will support Ottawa's Global Marketing initiatives by helping to distinguish Ottawa as a leader among the most connected cities in the world. A Green and Environmentally Sensitive City - Reduction in disruption of roadways and coordination of tower installations will help reduce the environmental impacts of the telecommunication infrastructure in Ottawa. Ubiquitous broadband access will help to make home-based businesses and tele-working more feasible, throughout urban and rural Ottawa. This in turn will allow some residents to avoid daily commuting and lower the requirement to expand/build new infrastructure in the community. A City of Distinct, Liveable Communities - No matter where one lives in Ottawa, broadband services will be available to enhance living, working, learning and recreation from the home or within one's community. High-speed access will continue to stimulate the development of innovative services such as Altogether-OTTAWA, launched on January 21, 2003. This free service allows individuals and community groups to communicate and collaborate on-line within their communities of interest, be they geographic or virtual. An Innovative City where Prosperity is Shared by All -A connected society by way of broadband will be an innovative society where ideas and transactions in the market place are transferred efficiently and at low cost. Wealth is created through these transactions and through the savings which reduce the bottom line in business ventures. This wealth is shared throughout a community by way of government taxation and down stream economic multipliers and supply chain transactions. A Healthy and Active City - E-health applications are among the most exciting broadband applications being developed. Local high technology companies such as March Networks have already piloted telehealth services. Although of value to everyone, some of these services will be particularly helpful to residents outside the urban area who have longer commutes to health care providers. 1 The Charting a Course report and subsequent series of public consultations set out a framework for the preparation of Ottawa's Official Plan and other high level documents that will guide the growth of the community over the next 20 years. Next: What is Broadband? |
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