Paul Ralph, BES, RPP, MCIP, Commissioner, Development Services Department

Transcription

1 Public Report To: From: Report Number: Development Services Committee Paul Ralph, BES, RPP, MCIP, Commissioner, Development Services Department DS Date of Report: September 20, 2018 Date of Meeting: September 24, 2018 Subject: Broadband Strategy File: B Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide an update on activities occurring in the city that will position Oshawa as a gigabit city and receive Council endorsement of a broadband strategy. A number of strategic directions are outlined with respect to ensuring that Oshawa will achieve this objective, a summary of which is included as Attachment 1. Attachment 2 provides an overview of broadband trends and issues and Attachment 3 shows the location of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation s (OPUC) fibre optic infrastructure. In addition, on September 10, 2018 the Development Services Committee referred a letter dated August 18, 2018 from David O Keefe (Attachment 4) concerning lack of broadband services in the rural area to staff for a report. This issue is addressed in this report. The Oshawa Strategic Plan identifies Economic Prosperity as a strategic goal that includes the development and maintenance of safe and reliable infrastructure. One of the identified actions includes the need to develop and implement a city-wide broadband strategy in partnership with community stakeholders that will capitalize on existing infrastructure, attract and grow the creative economy and support Oshawa s selection as a Smart21 community. 2.0 Recommendation That the Development Services Committee recommend to City Council: 1. That, pursuant to Report DS dated September 20, 2018, the Broadband Strategy be endorsed by Council. 2. That the letter dated August 18, 2018 from David O Keefe concerning the lack of broadband services be referred to the Region of Durham and the Region be requested to address the rural broadband issue in its Region wide Broadband Strategy and that a 107

2 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 2 copy of Mr. O Keefe s letter be forwarded to the telecommunication companies, (e.g. Bell, Rogers, Telmax) to request their strategy to service rural areas. 3.0 Executive Summary Not applicable. 4.0 Input From Other Sources The following have been consulted in the preparation of this report: City Manager Director of Innovation and Transformation Commissioner of Finance/Treasurer Commissioner of Community Services Commissioner of Corporate Services Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation Region of Durham Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce Downtown BIA Smart Cities Challenge Working Group Other municipalities that have undertaken broadband strategies such as York Region, City of Toronto and Town of Stratford. 5.0 Analysis 5.1 Background Over the last half-decade, businesses and residents have identified fast, reliable, accessible and available internet connectivity as a priority for economic development and social equity. As part of the modern global economy, there is a recognition that the citizens and businesses of Oshawa need connectivity that is world-leading in its speed and accessibility. In response, the City s Development Services Department undertook an initiative to assess broadband availability and usage in Oshawa, and to provide strategic directions with respect to improving broadband internet accessibility, affordability, and availability. This study aimed to provide an understanding of broadband infrastructure in Oshawa, and how the City can facilitate and encourage the expansion of this infrastructure to meet anticipated demand, and to ensure access and affordability for businesses, residents, and visitors. By many measures, broadband internet and data usage is growing consistently and substantially amongst Canadians. Attachment 2 provides a high level summary of recent broadband trends and issues. This growth in usage has been led by the rapid adoption of newer, higher-speed and higher-capacity devices such as smartphones and tablets. Smartphone penetration in Canada has gone from just over a third in 2011 to more than 70% in Furthermore, according to Cisco projections, mobile data traffic will grow five-fold from 2016 to 2021 to 340 Petabytes per month (the equivalent of 85 million DVDs 108

3 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 3 per month). Mobile data is poised to become the preferred form of broadband connectivity for consumers into the future. This has implications for existing broadband network providers. The Region of Durham is currently undertaking a Regional Broadband Strategy. Phase One of the Strategy is complete, and it describes emerging trends and needs of various sectors of broadband users. The Region s strategy, to-date, documents the lack of broadband availability in rural areas, explores possible roles that the Region could play in improving broadband coverage and access and recommends connectivity targets for residential, business, and institutional/government users. These targets reflect the general trend towards increasing connectivity across all sectors. Oshawa has been supporting deployment of broadband and advanced telecommunications infrastructure for a number of years. Examples of this include encouraging telecom companies to lay fibre optic cable at the same time as the City undertakes trenching in the road allowance; accommodating the location of telecommunications towers; encouraging the inclusion of telecom infrastructure within City facilities; and exploring opportunities for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) through the TeachingCity initiative. The City also advanced (although not successful in obtaining funding) an application under the Smart Cities Challenge to address the digital divide in certain vulnerable low income areas of the City. The strategy below builds upon the City s current and past activities. 5.2 The Opportunity Broadband is now essential to economic growth. Broadband connects residents and businesses to billions of devices and users around the world creating a digital overlay to our physical world that has revolutionized how we work, play, live, learn, govern and inform our residents and relate to the world. To continue to be competitive in the global economy, Oshawa s objective should be to become one of Canada s most technologically advanced communities, by making Oshawa a gigabit City. A gigabit city is a community that has established high speed fibre networks (supporting upload and download speeds in excess of 1,000 Mbps) allowing residents and businesses to easily connect and benefit from global connections and the digital economy. This would enable Oshawa to: Drive digital innovation and the growth of value-added jobs Increase Oshawa s competitiveness as an international business location Build Oshawa s Reputation as a Smart City Bridge the Digital Divide Support better service delivery Fortunately, Oshawa is well on its way to being a true gigabit city. In 2016, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) assessed the City of Oshawa s strengths and weakness as an intelligent city. ICF is a non-profit research organization that focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy. They found that Oshawa ranked in the Top 20% of Intelligent Communities that they have analyzed globally with respect to the quality of our broadband infrastructure. One of the weaknesses related to Digital Equity 109

4 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 4 and the concept that everyone in the community deserves access to broadband technology. In addition, there was an absence of digital inclusion for small and medium sized businesses. However, being competitive today will not be adequate to servicing our future needs. The remainder of this report outlines a number of strategic directions that will allow us to advance the objective noted above. 5.3 The Broadband Strategy - Strategic Directions Oshawa s strategy focusses on the following areas: broadband policy, private sector collaboration, infrastructure enhancements, marketing and addressing the digital divide Broadband Policy Modern telecommunication services are fundamental to future economic prosperity, global competitiveness and social development. In particular, fixed and mobile wireless broadband internet access services are catalysts for innovation and underpin a vibrant, creative, interactive world that connects Canadians across vast distances and with the rest of the world. Canadians are using these services, for example, to find jobs, manage their investments, conduct business, further their education, keep informed on matters of public concern, consult with health care professionals, and interact with all levels of government. A country the size of Canada, with its varying geography and climate, faces unique challenges in providing similar broadband internet access services for all Canadians. Private sector investments, as well as funding programs from various levels of government, support the expansion of these services outside densely populated urban centres. Despite these efforts, many Canadians, particularly in rural and remote areas, do not have access to broadband internet access services that are comparable to those offered to the vast majority of Canadians in terms of speed, capacity, quality, and price. In December 2016 the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC-496 with a view towards ensuring that Canadians can access innovative service offerings that enhance social and economic development. As part of the policy the Commission adopted a universal service objective that established service level criteria. The goal is to ensure that: Canadian residential and business fixed broadband internet access service subscribers should be able to access speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload, and to subscribe to a service offering with an unlimited data allowance. The CRTC has in essence declared broadband services essential with respect to maintaining an advanced quality of life and supporting a dynamic economy. The inclusion of broadband should be considered in the development of policies and programs such as the Official Plan, Community Improvement Plans and capital projects, and as a policy: 110

5 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 5 Action 1: Recognize broadband as an essential utility and factor the need for the growth and maintenance of this infrastructure into the City s policy and program development activities. The majority of Oshawa, with the exception of the rural areas, is offered private sector internet services that would achieve the CRTC service level objective. However, for various reasons (affordability, aging infrastructure, dead zones) some residents and businesses are routinely using the internet at speeds below the CRTC targets. The City is participating in a pilot project conducted by CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) that examines the availability and speed of internet service within the community. The pilot confirmed that Oshawa is well-served, and that our download and upload speeds are average and as competitive, as other communities in Canada, Ontario and Durham Region. However, tomorrow being average will not be good enough - broadband will be a crucial factor for companies involved in such matters as: The Creation of intellectual property The Creation of digital media content E-commerce International business A number of other jurisdictions have come to the same conclusion and as best practice established their own broadband speed targets that are used in the development of their services, policies and programs. These targets are often based on five year intervals and reflect the general trend towards increasing connectivity across all sectors. The proposed connectivity targets for Oshawa are provided in the table below. Timeframe Table 1: Connectivity Targets for Oshawa Micro & Small Business Medium & Large Business, Institutional, Government and Post-Secondary Institutions Residential Current to 2022 Up to 100/100 Mbps Up to 1 /1 Gbps 50/10 Mbps 2023 to 2028 Up to 500/500 Mbps Up to 10/10 Gbps 100/25 Mbps 2029 to 2034 Up to 1/1 Gbps Up to 50/50 Gbps 150/50 Mbps Action 2: Endorse the broadband speed targets in Table 1 of Report DS-18-XX as the City s objective with respect to positioning Oshawa as a gigabit City. These targets would be monitored through the continued use of CIRA for example Private Sector Collaboration New Development and Existing Neighbourhoods Discussions with the major telecom providers have confirmed that their current practice is to provide fibre optic connections within new greenfield subdivisions. This ensures that 111

6 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 6 future residents will be able to access high speed internet services if they so desire. With respect to existing areas, with older telecommunication infrastructure, the major telecoms have recently embarked on the modernization of their networks. In April 24, 2018, Bell Canada announced an investment of more than $100 million to bring its all-fibre optic network directly to approximately 60,000 homes and business locations throughout the City of Oshawa. A dense fibre (broadband) network throughout the City will further accelerate investment and innovation. Mr. George Cope, President of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada noted, A city widely recognized for its innovative economic development initiatives, Oshawa understands the essential role advanced communications networks play in driving growth and innovation in urban centres that are evolving for the future. We appreciate the support and cooperation of the city and all our partners in ensuring Bell can rapidly deploy the world's most advanced broadband network technologies throughout the City of Oshawa. Fully funded by Bell, they are building on Bell's existing fibre to the neighbourhood network. They are working in close cooperation with the City and the Oshawa Power & Utilities Corporation (OPUC). The deployment will include more than 240 kilometres of new fibre installed underground and on several hundred Bell and OPUC poles. The affected residents and businesses in the city are anticipated to have access to all-fibre connections beginning this fall. The fibre infrastructure will support gigabit speeds allowing residents and businesses to download a 10 Mb photo in a tenth of a second or an entire 3 Gb High definition movie in just 24 seconds or upload a 500 Mb business plan to the cloud in only 4 seconds. Staff has also met with Rogers Telecommunications and TelMax Telecommunications to discuss their plans for expanding their broadband networks in Oshawa. TelMax is an Oshawa based company recently established to offer broadband and internet services within the city. Both companies have extensive plans to deploy fibre throughout most of urban Oshawa which began in Having multiple internet service providers (ISP) in the city ideally will ensure robust broadband within both new and existing neighborhoods, provide choice to both residents and businesses and improve affordability driven by more competition in the marketplace Municipal Consent Process As part of the deployment of new broadband/fibre infrastructure across the city, companies require City concurrence and approval to use our road rights-of-ways and poles. Making approvals straight forward, simple and quick should be a priority with respect to becoming a gigabit city. Development Services staff are already improving its approval policies and procedures. Staff are also introducing the concept of municipal access agreements with utilities which are a common tool to facilitate agreement on the terms of installation and maintenance of utility infrastructure that is installed within City owned road allowances. These agreements also support City needs to ensure that boulevards are not disrupted by equipment installations and restored to an acceptable condition in a timely manner to minimize disruption to the community. The process for developing and amending these policies and procedures as needed, along with the authority for entering into municipal 112

7 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 7 access agreements should be delegated to the Commissioner of Development Services and Director, Engineering Services to allow for the creation of an expedited approvals system. Action 3: Work in conjunction with the private sector to continue to streamline the municipal consent approval process Dig Once The City of Pickering has introduced a Dig Once concept for future city road construction. Dig Once means that the standard design specification for future city road construction projects includes an additional conduit to accommodate future broadband requirements. The conduit will then be in place to accommodate fibre optic cable as and when the City wants to have it installed. Pickering s Corporate Services staff have worked together with staff in Engineering & Public Works in order to begin implementing Dig Once. Over time, as road construction proceeds, they believe Dig Once will ensure that broadband service can be accommodated with only an incremental increase to the cost of future road construction projects. The City of Pickering, in its information technology strategic plan identified a Dig Once program as a means to support its broadband and community initiatives. This program was referred to Oshawa staff for a report. The Dig Once concept was initially developed for U.S. Federal Road Projects as a means to pre-install conduit in large scale projects to facilitate easier access to remote and rural communities. This approach would ideally reduce private service provider costs and thereby make lower population areas financially feasible. The City of Pickering adapted this large scale principle to the local community and has completed one road project to date. The concept is intended to facilitate early adoption of new services by insisting utilities to use that City provided conduits at the City s cost. The program is too new to assess its success in identifying priority corridors and aligning with utility servicing strategies. Staff have discussed this initiative with neighbouring municipalities, Durham Region and telecom utility companies and have concluded that City investment in providing empty conduits on road reconstruction projects is not a prudent use of resources for generally the following reasons: Utility infrastructure is installed to meet local area needs as planned by utilities making it nearly impossible to predict where conduit will be needed in advance. Each telecom provider has unique design requirements and equipment needs making conduit requirements difficult to predict. This relates to size, length of run and ideal termination points. Major utility upgrades are more effectively installed comprehensively rather than trying to link to disconnected lengths of spare conduit. Technology changes may obviate the need for conduit in all areas making route selection very difficult. 113

8 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 8 Because Oshawa is a higher density urban area for a majority of the community, telecom companies are able to support installation costs based on revenue potential thereby not relying on city provided conduits. Road reconstruction projects are usually one to two km per year resulting in a very low rate of installation. The City does currently encourage use of joint trench where possible during retrofit projects as well as mandated coordination for new subdivisions. Utilities are consulted during any City road reconstruction project and offered the opportunity to install any upgraded services. City staff will continue to monitor the Dig Once discussion and make recommendations to current priorities where clear financial and community benefits are possible. Action 4: Monitor Dig Once policies and programs of the Region of Durham and area municipalities and adopt new practices where benefit is demonstrated and continue to consult with telecom providers on City road reconstruction projects Infrastructure Enhancements Oshawa Power and Utility Corporation (OPUC) Role While the private sector is stepping forward to improve broadband connectivity and internet services, there are gaps within the community that they will not address. Put simply, the private sector will only invest in new technology and infrastructure where they can make an expected return on their investment. This was confirmed when staff met with the telecommunication firms to discuss their future plans. This means that providing enhanced service to certain areas will not be a priority. This will likely affect rural Oshawa and a few of our employment areas. For example part of the Stevenson Industrial Park area in the Wentworth Street West and Stevenson Road South area, is a dark zone with only a limited level of broadband coverage. This is having an impact on the existing firms in the area and their ability to do business in the global economy. The lack of broadband in the area makes it harder to attract new development as well as companies engaged in higher-value knowledge based activities. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to work with the Oshawa Power and Utility Corporation (OPUC) with respect to expanding their fibre backbone network into the underserved areas. OPUC currently has over 95 kilometers of fibre-optic infrastructure in place across the city (see Attachment 3). The City is a primary user of this network allowing us to connect our facilities to each other. OPUC is assessing options for expanding its network including moving north along Simcoe Street North and west along Taunton Road West. The expansion of OPUC s network would make it easier, and more affordable, for internet service providers to connect clients and properties in the area. Recently, the City and OPUC established a program to begin reinvesting some funds from energy savings projects at our community centres into projects that would support further economic development and growth. The extension of the OPUC network was noted as a possible project. 114

9 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 9 Action 5: Work with the OPUC to extend its fibre backbone to under-served areas such as employment areas including the Stevenson Industrial Park, Northwood Business Park and Highway 407 employment area and the Riocan commercial centre Downtown BIA A number of cities have either installed or paid for a free WiFi network in their downtown areas as a means of supporting businesses, attracting new companies and enhancing the visitor experience. This was done to address a lack of private sector interest in doing so. The plan for downtown revitalization, Plan 20Twenty, notes as an action item the need to investigate a pilot project for Downtown broadband connectivity. The City is also in the process of undertaking a number of streetscape improvements in the core that will encourage greater use of the public realm. Enhanced connectivity should be factored into the overall environment that is being created. Action 6: Work with the Downtown BIA to prepare a business plan for a free WiFi Network in the downtown Rural Areas When the CRTC released its broadband policy it also established a pool of funding to help communities increase connectivity in rural areas. The way the program was structured, Oshawa was expressly excluded from participating despite the fact that a significant proportion of the city is rural and will remain so. Given the Region of Durham has also identified the lack of service in rural areas as an issue in Phase 1 of its Broadband Strategy, staff are recommending that we collaborate to ensure that all rural areas in the Region are eligible for support from other levels of government. Improved broadband service in the rural areas will help residents, farm businesses and other business within rural areas. The City also received a letter dated August 18, 2018 from David O Keefe concerning the lack of Broadband services in the rural area (see Attachment 4). On September 10, 2018 Mr. O Keefe made a presentation to the Development Services Committee and during that meeting Mr. O Keefe s letter was referred to staff for a report. Mr. O Keefe has identified a legitimate concern for the rural areas. It is recommended that Mr. O Keefe s letter be referred to the Region of Durham so that this issue can be addressed in the next Phase of the Region s Broadband Strategy. It is also recommended that the letter be sent to the telecommunication companies (e.g. Bell, Rogers, Telmax) to identify the need for improved rural broadband services and to request what their strategy is to service rural areas. Action 7: Collaborate with the Region of Durham to include rural Oshawa as part of the CRTC s rural programming and support any funding application they may make and request the Region to address rural broadband issues in its Broadband Strategy Canadian Internet Registration Authority In , the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) approached Oshawa with respect to participating in a pilot project involving a limited number of Canadian municipalities. The pilot allowed residents and businesses in the community to test their 115

10 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page 10 internet speed for free, using a program developed by the CIRA. The test confirmed that Oshawa has wide spread internet availability and average speeds comparable to other communities in the GTA. Rural areas and priority neighbourhoods are exceptions to the general conclusions. For example, internet speeds in the Lakeview Neighbourhood are lower than other parts of the City as a whole and well below CRTC stated broadband targets for Canadians with broadband speeds ranging from as low as 6.2 mbps. In this area, affordability is one of the major factors affecting resident s ability to use the internet to its full potential. Staff recommends that the City continue to participate in the CIRA initiative so that we may benchmark Oshawa s progress toward becoming a gigabit city and identify any ongoing gaps that may need to be addressed. Action 8: Continue to work with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) to monitor broad band utilization across the community Use of City and OPUC Poles Many Smart City activities use Internet of Things (IoT) technologies based on the deployment and connection of various sensors. The information collected and analyzed is used to improve operations as well as planning and coordinating municipal services. Examples include: Improving mobility options and travel times by integrating information on multiple transportation modes (transit, biking, ride sharing, walking, driving, taxi, etc.) and their availability, location and timing in conjunction with local traffic conditions. Maximizing parking availability for visitors, residents and workers by creating a real time availability, location finding and booking system. Using lighting infrastructure to monitor and adjust to public safety issues and disturbances by establishing a connected network of sensors. Establishing network of environmental quality sensors across the City to provide real time information on local conditions and support planning initiatives to improve air quality and adapt to climate change. Many of the sensors are deployed on municipal light poles and utility poles. In addition, small scale telecommunication devices also use this infrastructure to improve and/or close gaps in the quality of cell phone service. For Oshawa to fully participate in smart city activities, and lead with respect to the development of additional innovative solutions to urban issues, the City should collaborate with third parties to use our infrastructure. Action 9: Explore the development of policy/procedures and potential fees to allow third parties and smart city projects to attach sensors (and other devices such as broadband equipment) using City and OPUC light/utility poles, buildings, right-of ways and other assets. 116

11 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page Marketing Employment Areas with Fibre Economic Development Services works with potential investors requesting information on available space and properties in Oshawa. Often they require information on broadband availability as a key criteria for business expansion and relocation decisions. Economic Development promotes broadband availability in Oshawa s commercial and industrial employment areas, as a value proposition, to businesses, realtors and investors through investment attraction initiatives. Quite often this information is not readily available and requires multiple inquires to respond to investors questions. As a best practice, some municipalities have worked with property owners to systematically collect the information, and make it available to the public. Having a list of properties that are giga building certified may also put pressure on other owners to upgrade their facilities to remain competitive. Action 10: Collect and publish information on employment locations that have fibre to the building/unit Community Improvement Programs Oshawa s Community Improvement Programs (CIP) in the Downtown and in the Wentworth Street West Corridor are in place to assist property owners within the program areas with the financing of improvements and associated building systems enhancements. Leasehold improvements such as the installation of telecommunication infrastructure including, but not limited to broadband internet and wireless internet are eligible. The goal of this program is to help focus employment intensification within the Community Improvement Areas and stimulate job growth and prosperity. There is an opportunity to further promote Oshawa s Community Improvement Programs to encourage broadband infrastructure improvements. Action 11: Continue to highlight and actively promote the use of the Community Improvement programs for property owners and tenants to get fibre to their unit in strategic locations Free WiFi Free public WiFi supports the Oshawa Strategic Plan s theme of Safe and Reliable Infrastructure and goal of implementing a city-wide broadband strategy, as well as aligns with the City s Communications Strategy strategy to support a richer digital presence and ensuring opportunity for all to participate in engagement opportunities and to be informed of City services, programs and initiatives. Action 12: Explore WiFi opportunities for large event/gathering spaces such as Lakeview Park celebrations, sports fields, Memorial Park, etc. 117

12 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page Promote Oshawa for Data Centres Commercial data centres have been demonstrated to be key to the success of technologybased industries, many of which run their businesses based on cloud infrastructure (data centre-driven storage and operations solutions). In addition, there is growing worldwide interest in the development of blockchain applications such as crypto currencies (bitcoin). Given OPUC s fibre backbone and ability to provide innovative energy solutions, there is an opportunity to undertake targeted marketing activities aimed at this industry. Action 13: Advertise and promote Oshawa, together with OPUC, as an attractive place for data centres to help Oshawa leverage existing infrastructure and attract technology based industries requiring cloud infrastructure Addressing the Digital Divide In 2017/2018 Oshawa participated in Infrastructure Canada s Smart City Challenge but were not successful in obtaining funding for our project. The focus of the City s submission was to establish a community-designed Digital Prosperity and Wellbeing Partnership to enhance economic and social equality across the City, beginning in one of Oshawa s vulnerable low-income neighbourhoods Lakeview. The Lakeview neighbourhood was identified as a priority neighbourhood in the Region s Health Neighbourhood Initiative and was selected as a focus for the Smart Cities Challenge. The project aimed to improve residents ability to acquire and use technology for finding and accessing services and resources to increase their economic and social participation. To achieve this, Oshawa proposed a number of activities. The first entailed improving broadband coverage and internet access in the priority neighbourhood along with the bulk purchase of equipment and data plans. The affordability of internet assess was seen as a significant barrier with respect to lower income residents and families ability to fully participate and benefit from the growth of an increasing digital world and economy. The other aspect of the project involved empowering community co-design through establishing a core group of community stakeholders and developing technology applications such as an artificial intelligence service platform. The artificial intelligence platform would allow a person to articulate their needs and then help chart their own path forward with respect to resolving employment, financial and social services issues. Subsequent to the Challenge application submission, a number of the stakeholders have continued to discuss options with respect to closing the digital divide in the priority neighbourhoods. Building on partnerships created through the Smart City Challenge represents an opportunity to better integrate and connect these areas with the rest of the city. Action 14: Following up on the Smart City Challenge Collaborate with the City s postsecondary institutions, OPUC, School Boards, non-governmental organizations, and the Oshawa Public Libraries to explore the creation of WiFi hot spots across the priority neighbourhoods and ways to improve the affordability of internet access. 118

13 Meeting Date: September 24, 2018 Page Financial Implications Financial implications related to projects stemming from the strategic directions in this report will be reported on separately as appropriate. 7.0 Relationship to the Oshawa Strategic Plan This report addresses Economic Prosperity and Financial Stewardship and in particular Action 5 under Safe and Reliable Infrastructure which reads as follows: develop and implement a city-wide broadband strategy in partnership with community stakeholders that will capitalize on existing infrastructure, attract and grow the creative economy and support Oshawa s selection as a Smart21 community. Kyle Benham, Director, Economic Development Paul Ralph, BES, RPP, MCIP, Commissioner, Development Services Department 119

14 Attachment 1 Summary of Strategic Directions Action 1: Recognize broadband as an essential utility and factor the need for the growth and maintenance of this infrastructure into the City s policy and program development activities. Action 2: Endorse the broadband speed targets in the following Table 1 of Report DS as the City s objective with respect to positioning Oshawa as a gigabit City. Timeframe Table 1: Connectivity Targets for Oshawa Micro & Small Business Current to 2022 Up to 100/100 Mbps 2023 to 2028 Up to 500/500 Mbps Medium & Large Business, Institutional, Government and Post-Secondary Institutions Up to 1 /1 Gbps Up to 10/10 Gbps Residential 50/10 Mbps 100/25 Mbps 2029 to 2034 Up to 1/1 Gbps Up to 50/50 Gbps 150/50 Mbps Action 3: Work in conjunction with the private sector to continue to streamline the municipal access approval process. Action 4: Monitor Dig Once policies and programs of the Region of Durham and area municipalities and adopt new practices where benefit is demonstrated and continue to consult with telecom providers on City road reconstruction projects. Action 5: Work with the OPUC to extend its fibre backbone to under-served areas such as employment areas including the Stevenson Industrial Park, Northwood Business Park and Highway 407 employment area and the Riocan commercial centre. Action 6: Work with the Downtown BIA to prepare a business plan for a free WiFi Network in the downtown. Action 7: Collaborate with the Region of Durham to include rural Oshawa as part of the CRTC s rural programming and support any funding application they may make and request the Region of Durham to address rural broadband issues in tits Broadband Strategy. Action 8: Continue to work with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) to monitor broad band utilization across the community Action 9: Explore the development of policy/procedures and potential fees to allow third parties and smart city projects to attach sensors (and other devices such as broadband equipment) using City and OPUC light/utility poles, buildings, right-of ways and other assets. 120

15 Action 10: Collect and publish information on employment locations that have fibre to the building/unit. Action 11: Continue to highlight and actively promote the use of the Community Improvement programs for property owners and tenants to get fibre to their unit in strategic locations. Action 12: Explore WiFi opportunities for large event/gathering spaces such as Lakeview Park celebrations, sports fields, Memorial Park, etc. Action 13: Advertise and promote Oshawa, together with OPUC, as an attractive place for data centres to help Oshawa leverage existing infrastructure and attract technology based industries requiring cloud infrastructure Action 14: Following up on the Smart City Challenge Collaborate with the City s postsecondary institutions, OPUC, School Boards, non-governmental organizations, and the Oshawa Public Libraries to explore the creation of WiFi hot spots across the priority neighbourhoods and ways to improve the affordability of internet access. 121

16 Attachment 2 Broadband Trends The most important trend in broadband is ubiquitous and constant connectivity, and businesses and consumers desire to be constantly connected at fast speeds. This trend coincides with a general move from wired to wireless connectivity for everyday uses of broadband. This desire to be connected will continue to be the driver of competition, innovation, and expansion of broadband networks into the future. There are several other trends, or important developments, in broadband that municipalities should be aware of so that staff and council can respond appropriately. Broadband over LTE (Wireless): Current LTE speeds are already in excess of the CRTC s broadband standard. This means that, in many cases, a user s broadband access will be faster on LTE when compared to their typical wireline access. As speed is the first priority for users, they will tend to migrate some of their use to broadband over LTE. Several carriers, including Xplornet, and Verizon and AT&T in the United States, are using wireless technologies to expand outside of major centres, instead of installing fibre. This is because they can deliver broadband internet (50+ Mbps) via wireless at a much cheaper cost compared to fibre. This wireless opportunity to expand broadband still exists in Oshawa, and is in a fledgling state with small players. In order for this opportunity to be capitalized upon, it must be competitive with wireline services. As wireline infrastructure is already so developed throughout the city, initial capital for wireless carriers is the main impediment to widespread broadband over LTE services. Internet of Things (IoT) providers could initiate the build-out of these kinds of networks. 5th Generation Carrier Wireless (5G): Currently in the City of Oshawa, 4G/LTE service has been launched by the major network providers, using compatible wireless devices. While 4G is delivering broadband speeds in excess of the 50 Mbps standard, consumer demand for data is leading to wireless network capacity issues. Globally, Cisco expects mobile data traffic to expand sevenfold between 2016 and In order to meet this excessive demand for data, work has already started on the next generation of wireless broadband technology 5G. Data use is being driven by frequent viewing and sharing of video through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as the growing popularity of video streaming services such as Netflix. The academic sector also uses a growing amount of data (for example: 4K resolution video streaming/collaboration). Ericsson, a world leader in communications technology and services projects that by 2021 video 122

17 (including embedded video in social media platforms) will account for approximately 70% of mobile data traffic. Standards for 5G are still in development globally, but targets are for gigabit speed, with the objective of improving coverage and capacity, and significantly reducing latency. The 5G networks would be deployed primarily through a higher density of small cells and in-building distributed antenna systems, in addition to traditional towers. Due to the growth of 5G technology, Oshawa will see an increased demand from traditional carriers for use of city infrastructure (street poles, buildings, etc.). Already at this pre-5g stage, the inclusion of or provision for distributed antenna systems (DAS) inside new office and residential buildings has become common. Full deployment of 5G technology in Canada is not expected until 2020 at the earliest, however some carriers have already begun preparations for the equipment changes that will be required. Internet of Things (IoT) Defined as the interconnection via the internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data, IoT promises to change the way we live. In particular, by installing transmitters and sensors on infrastructure, performance metrics can be collected and used to improve, repair, or otherwise change the infrastructure or the way services are delivered In particular, new smartphone apps have and will appear that enable new delivery of city services, either on the City s initiative or through private developers. The collection and use of data gathered through these apps or through sensors is one of the key planks in any Smart City strategy. As part of IoT, the evolution of new untraditional wireless networks (noncellular and non wi-fi) will occur to enable machine-to-machine communication (M2M). Networks, either on licensed or unlicensed spectrum, will be developed by the private sector to carry this type of M2M traffic. The Digital Divide Digital Divide is a blanket term used to describe the gap between those that have access (through service availability, but especially affordability, etc.) to information and communications technology (ICT), and those that do not. In the context of broadband in Oshawa, digital divide is usually used to refer to the unaffordability of highspeed internet access for people with lower income living in priority neighbourhoods Lakeview, Gibb West, Downtown Oshawa, Central Park and Beatrice North. According to Statistics Canada data, about 60% of the lowest quartile of income earners in Canada have access to broadband internet at home (using 5 Mbps, the old standard). This compares with the highest income quartile, of which 98% have access to broadband at home. 123

18 In addition, ACORN, a social advocacy organization, surveyed members in 2016 and found that 83.5% of those surveyed found internet access to be extremely expensive. The same survey found that 59% of respondents paid for internet by forgoing other household expenses. Results from a survey of users during the first phase of the Toronto Public Library s Hotspot Lending Pilot reported that 79% of participants did not have internet access at home due to the high cost of connectivity. The Oshawa Public Library has also begun a hotspot lending program, starting with ten devices. The program has proved to be a success with demand exceeding availability. They is currently a waiting list for residents wishing to check-out one of the hotspot devices CRTC s definition of broadband has changed twice over the last decade, making it a moving target of sorts. As broadband becomes more affordable, at the same time, the standard of what broadband is moves to a higher speed. Lower-income individuals will have access to older connections and slower speeds when compared with higher-income individuals. It is the cost of the service itself that will always drive the digital divide. The digital divide is being addressed somewhat through programs such as Rogers Connected for Success low-cost internet service, the Oshawa s Public Library hotspot lending and wi-fi programs, and the Oshawa s Seniors Citizens Centre s digital programs. Government-owned Broadband Networks: There are numerous regions in Ontario who have observed the large investments being made by broadband providers, but have not seen similar investments made in their community. Carriers focus their attention and resources on the largest consumer and business markets. In many cases, this non-investment in more rural areas is due to a lack of a commercial business case for the provider. As a result, smaller municipalities have banded together into groups such as EORN (Eastern Ontario Regional Network) and SWIFT (South-Western Integrated Fibre Technology) to plan, fund and build broadband networks in their communities. EORN and SWIFT have both been able to acquire funding from senior levels of government by demonstrating the need and formulating an executable plan of delivery. The networks themselves become government-owned and operated, similar to other crucial infrastructure like water and wastewater systems or electricity. Gigabit Speed Availability: Although 50 Mbps is the CRTC s relatively new standard for what is considered broadband speed, the majority of providers have moved beyond this target to make 1000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps, the objective. Gigabit speeds are becoming more widely available via cable or fibre internet services. For wireless providers, gigabit speeds will be the objective as 5G technology is implemented across their networks. 124

19 Attachment 3 OPUC Broadband Infrastructure Map of Oshawa Existing OPUC Dark Fibre Network 125

20 DS Attachment 4 Expansion of Cable and Phone Lines to the Columbus Area David O Keefe M.F.I.P.P.A. Sec. 14(1) Thursday, 16th August 2018 Oshawa City Council 50 Centre Street South Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 3Z7 City Council, I am currently a resident of North Oshawa bordering on the south end of the town Columbus neighbouring onto the new 407. The area surrounding the small town of Columbus has seen massive growth over the past several years, however there have been no improvements or efforts to improve our area or livelihoods which brings me to the reason for this . To date, our area still has no access to internet. There are currently no cable or phone lines which would allow us to have access to this basic essential service. Due to this, residents are forced to obtain satellite internet which is costing us hundreds of dollars a month only to provide inconsistent services and limited accessibility. This lack of basic infrastructure is putting a financial burden on residents and impacting families, students and small businesses who rely on it. The lack of internet and inconsistency of the services are also placing residents security at risk as home alarm systems require a stable internet connection to communicate with the alarm companies. I respectfully request action be taken to address this issue within our community, and urge your assistance in expanding these basic services into our neighbourhood. Respectfully, David O Keefe 126