TeledyN

Broadband Bruce County

How can we know this program is not going to be used to muscle the existing small-operation players out of the picture and replace  them with the well-known regional (and national) telcos?

here is why I ask: gbtel.ca arrived on the scene a few years ago, quite unannounced by your office or the media or anyone else -- I only discovered them because one of them logged into my website and left that curious domain name as part of their email address registration!  It was only that week that I had been featured in the Sun Times for my blasting our local MP about the lack of broadband in Sauble Beach!

So why wasn't the Federal, or the Provincial, or the County, or the Municipal governments hailing these young entrepreneurs and, oh my god dare I say it, ENCOURAGING them?  Instead the various levels of regulators threw up hurdle after hurdle, the latest dig at them I hear on the grapevine involves forcing them to lease Rogers (or is it Bell, does it matter?) towers even if it may not be totally appropriate to their needs, and a ban on allowing them to relocate their existing towers?  

You do realize this is insane.  This is not how you roll out broadband to underserviced areas, but like that USB-Stick being pumped by the paid-advertisement media, this is exemplary on how to fleece those disadvantaged by their choice of a rural lifestyle.

So, to ask again, please I'm interested to know: how is this new initiative going to do anything more than to line the pockets of those corporations who have already established a long history of soaking our local people with inflated rates for inferior service?

Or by broadband, are we to understand instead a pipeline to suck money-bits from e-banks at a greatly increased rate?

Yeah, I am a bit jaded and cynical and suspicious, but I also know that $80/month for 1GB at an effective 400K is not broadband

it is robbery.

On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 11:36 AM, Lisa Brocklebank<lbrock@brucecounty.on.ca> wrote:
> Broadband Bruce County has received official word from the Ontario
> Provincial government that they will help bring high-speed Internet to
> residents and businesses currently un- or under-serviced.
>
> "Since 2007, Ontario has been filling in the rural broadband gaps. I am
> delighted that Bruce County is part of this strategic move. Broadband
> Internet connects rural families and businesses with opportunities in
> commerce, health, education and community enrichment." - Carol Mitchell, MPP
> for Huron-Bruce
>
> The Bruce County is one of 14 Ontario municipalities moving forward with
> plans to build local broadband infrastructure in partnership with the
> provincial government. The province is providing Bruce County with $1
> million for this project, through the Rural Connections Broadband Program.
>
> We plan to partner with an Internet Service Provider to build the
> infrastructure and contribute to the project.
>
> "This is a giant leap forward for the people of Bruce County. We have worked
> diligently to come up with an infrastructure strategy that will provide
> broadband connectivity to most of our residents and advance our county."-
> Warden Bill Goetz
>
> If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
>
> Have a wonderfully warm day!!