HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOD-067-09Clari~~gton
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REPORT
CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COM/~MITTEE
Date: November 16, 2009 ~e 5D lu fia~l ~ l~ P~~6aO~ ~G
Report #: COD-067-09
File #
Subject: INFORMATION REPORT
BROADBAND EXPANSION
By-law #
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee
recommend to Council the following:
THAT Report COD-067-09 be received for information;
Submitted by: L~~G~
rie Marano, H.B.Sc., C.M.O.,
Director of Corporate Services
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Reviewed by~ T "v "~
Franklin Wu,
Chief Administrative Officer
CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-4169
REPORT NO.: COD-067-09
PAGE2
BACKGROUND AND COMMENT
1.1 At the meeting of February 9, 2009, Council received Report #COD-014-09 Broadband
Expansion Opportunity -Provincial Program dealing with an opportunity to make
application for a grant under the Rural Connections Broadband Program offered through
the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Under this
program the province would fund up to one third (1/3) the cost of the infrastructure with
the balance of the funding coming from the private sector partner and the municipality.
At that time Council adopted the following recommendations allowing for an application
for funding as indicated:
o THAT Report COD-014-09 be received;
o THAT the Municipality of Clarington make an application to the Ministry of Agriculture
Food and Rural Affairs for funding from the Rural Connections Broadband Program
for the provision of high speed internet service for the public and private sectors
within the Municipality of Clarington on the basis of no cost to the municipality, other
than possible in kind contribution and consulting cost identified herein;
o That the Director of Corporate Services be authorized to sign the application and any
resulting agreements associated with the program;
o That the Manager of Purchasing be authorized to proceed with the evaluation of the
submissions and select the Internet Service Providers and establish the terms of an
agreement for the supply, installation and operation of broadband distribution
network within the municipality;
o That funding in the amount of approximately $15,000.00 for the provision of
consulting services be provided from account # 100-16-163-00000-7160 with costs to
be included in the grant application for funding to the extent possible and from the
Region and the grant;
o THAT staff work with the Regional Municipality of Durham to develop an in kind cost
sharing arrangement for the municipal contribution to the project; and
o THAT staff report to Council on the results of the application to the province and with
the final recommendation on the candidate for Council approval.
REPORT NO.: COD-067-09
PAGE3
1.2 The required application was prepared and submitted in time to meet the deadline for
submissions and subsequently the Municipality was informed by the OMAFRA by letter
dated June 19, 2009, that our application had not been successful. A copy of the letter is
attached as Schedule "A".
1.3 At that time, there was an expectation that a second date for an application in 2009 would be
established by OMAFRA and a new application could be prepared and submitted. However,
repeated inquiries to OMAFRA failed to provide a new intake date for the Broadband
Program.
1.4 By letter dated July 20, 2009, we received notice from the Ontario Ministry of Government
Services providing information on the Industry Canada Broadband Program indicating that
the first phase of the Federal Broadband Program would involve an extensive, time limited
mapping exercise to identify and validate unserved or underserved geographic areas,
followed by a competitive call for applications in late summer 2009. Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) were asked to verify their coverage areas by July 24, 2009 and all citizens
were encouraged to participate as soon as possible to inform the program. Copy of the
notice is attached as Schedule "B°.
1.5 On September 1, 2009 the Province.of Ontario announced their partnership with the Federal
government to bring high speed internet to more residents and businesses in rural and
Northern Ontario. Competed applications had to be submitted by 4:00 P.M. (EST) October
23, 2009.
1.6 Under this new partnership the Federal government would fund successful projects up to a
value of 50% and the Province would fund an amount up to one third of the eligible project
costs. However, the Provincial support was contingent on successful application to the
Federal program.
1.7 Under this new program applicants could include private companies, consortiums and not for
profit organizations (including municipalities) that can build and operate telecommunications
infrastructure.
1.8 Given the new requirements, Clarington, the Region and area municipalities were not in
a position to make application for a grant as we are not in the business of building and
operating internet systems that would be in competition with the provide sector.
1.9 In early October, staff of Clarington, The Region of Durham and area municipalities of
Scugog, Ajax, Pickering, Uxbridge and the Township of Brock had discussions amongst
themselves and with a representative of OMAFRA to better understand what, if anything
REPORT NO.: COD-067-09
PAGE 4
could be done to improve the coverage in our respective areas.
1.10 Following the discussions and additional information from the OMAFRA it was concluded
that each respective agency would approach known ISPs to determine if they were
planning to make. application and to determine 'rf there was anything we as a group could
do to assist. This was met with some degree of success in that we were able to
determine that some ISPs were in fact in the process of preparing applications.
However, barring the provision of statistics on unserved or underserved households in
the area, there was little that we could contribute.
2. FINANCIAL
2.1. Beyond staff time to review the new program and attend meetings there are no financial
implications to this program.
3. CONCLUSION
3.1. Under the new Federal initiative to improve broadband coverage the focus is on
improving broadband coverage first to residential areas and secondly to businesses
nation-wide. At the Federal level the competition for grant money is nationwide while
the Federal Provincial Partnership was aimed at improving broadband coverage in the
respective provinces. With the requirement that applicants build and operate the
network this essentially ruled out many municipalities save those who were already set
up to offer similar services.
3.2. This report has been reviewed for recommendation by the Purchasing Manager, and is
presented for information.
Attachments:
Schedule "A" - Letter by OMAFRA dated June 19, 2009
Schedule "B" -Letter by MGS -Ministry of Government Services dated July 20, 2009
Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs
4th Floor
1 Stone Road West
Guelph, Ontario N1G 4Y2
Tel: (57 91 826-347 9
Fax: (5191826-4336
Miniatire de ('Agriculture,
de ('Alimentation et des
Affaires rurales
4° 8[age
1 Stone Road West
Guelph (Ontario) NiG 4Y2
T61.: (5191926-3419
T€16c.: (5191826-4336
Rural Community Development Branch
Friday June 19, 2009
Franklin Wu
Chief Administrative Officer
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, Ontario
L1C 3Ati
Dear Mr. Wu:
SCHEDULE "A"
rte.
~~'Ontario
lJr'
JUL 0 3 2009
MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE
Thank you for submitting an application under the Rural Connections Broadband Program.
Funding decisions aze based on the merits of each individual proposal in comparison with other
proposals as it relates to readiness, commitment, broadband gap to be covered, and benefits to
the community.
Further to your eazlier conversation with Mr. Dino Radocchia, Manager, Rural Investments Unit,
Rural Community Development Branch, this letter confirms that based on the information
provided your application, your project will not be funded under Intake Two of the Rural
Connections Broadband Program. I can assure you, however, that your municipality's
commitment to developing Ontario's rural economy and making Ontario's rural communities
stronger is appreciated.
Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rick Hansen, Broadband
Coordinator, Eastern Region at 613-283-7002 ext. 111.
Sincerely,
Vv~
Martin Bohl
Director,
Rural Community Development Branch
c. Rick Hansen, Broadband Coordinator, Eastem Region
Ministry Headquarters: 1 Stone Road West, Guelph, Ontado N1 G 4Y2 Pidt Ontario Freshriess $
Bureau pdndpal du ministPre: 1 Stone Road West, Guelph (Ontario N1G 4Y2 ,7
Cueillez la fraicheur de I'OMario
NDdr
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SCHEDULE "B"
Ministry of Government Services
Office of the Corporate Chief Strateglat
I d IT Strategy, Policy and Planning Branch
Mlnlstbre des Services Gauvernementaux
Bureau tlu stretega en chef de I'Informadon pour 18
fonctlon publlque
Direction dea stratAglea, tlea palltlquea et de la
planlflcatlon en matl8re d'ITI
~ry-
~r- Ontario
5°i Floor, Ferguson Block
77 Wellesley Street West, Toronto ON M7A 1 N3
Telephone: (416)327-2085
Facsimile: (416)327-2190
July 20, 2009
Edifice Ferguson, 5e stage
77, rue Wellesley Ouast, Toronto ON M7A 1N3
Telephone: (416)327-2086
Telecooieur: (4161327-2190
As you may know, Industry Canada (IC) has $225 million to extend broadband coverage across Canada.
The objective of this Federal Broadband Program is to provide unserved and underserved Canadian
households access to broadband services (minimum 1.5 Mbps), including broadband coverage for First
Nations communities. This initiative represents an important opportunity for the continued expansion of
broadband access in Ontario.
For this program, eligible applicants include the private sector or consortiums of companies, not-for-profit
organizations, and provincial/territorial entities that build and operate broadband infrastructure. Program
details are available on the Industry Canada website at http //www is oc ca/sic/site/719 nsf/ena/home.
The program provides for federal funding of up to 50% for projects covering First Nations communities;
however, project areas can be funded up to an additional 50% from other federal First Nations funding
programs.
The first phase of the Federal Broadband Program involves an extensive, time-limited mapping exercise
to identify and validate unserved or underserved geographic areas, followed by a competitive call for
applications in late summer 2009. ISPs (Internet Service Providers), municipalities, businesses, citizens
and any organization with knowledge of this issue are invited to assist with mapping broadband.
coverage by providing their input.
I would encourage you to access Industry Canada's interactive broadband maps and provide your
feedback online regarding the availability of broadband coverage within your respective geographic area.
The Industry Canada website can be found afwww.ic.gc.ca/broadbandmaos. There is also a hotline toll-
free number for those without Internet access at 1-800-575-9200.
Everyone can play a crucial role in ensuring remaining gaps in rural and remote regions of the province
are accurately identified and in encouraging applications to the Federal Broadband Program for any
unserved or underserved areas. Please note that ISPs are being asked to verify their coverage areas by
July 24th, and we encourage all citizens to participate as soon as possible to inform the program.
For current information on broadband and related initiatives in the Province of Ontario please visit
htto://www.digitalontario.mos.oov.on ca.
I would like to thank you for your efforts and I encourage you to share this information with any of your
relevant contacts.
Sincerely,
Barb Swartzentruber
Strategic Projects Manager
Ministry of Government Services