PETERBOROUGH COUNTY, Ont. — In a press release on Tuesday, The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) has asked the federal and Ontario governments for funding support to deliver gigabit Internet to homes and businesses in the region through what it envisions as a $1.6-billion public-private partnership.
EORN said in the news release it would seek to fund the project through a combination of funding from the federal and provincial governments, loans from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the private sector. If funding is approved, EORN is hoping to complete construction in five years and while the organization prefers fibre, it is officially “technology neutral.”
In an email to Cartt.ca an EORN spokesperson added some more detail to its funding request. “EORN has presented a range of funding models to the federal and provincial governments which include potential contributions from the Canada Infrastructure bank as well as the various levels of government. Our analysis of the funding requirements comes from a detailed market failure analysis for the region which would allow us to invest the minimum government grants required to stimulate the maximum private sector investment to solve the market failure problem. The funding models include a range of $200 million-$450 million for both the federal and provincial governments as well as a $400 million-$600 million loan from the Canadian infrastructure bank which we believe would trigger a private sector investment in the range of $300-$700 million,” said the spokesperson.
With the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting the crisis in rural Internet access, the EORN Gig Project aims to provide a comprehensive solution that ensures the eastern Ontario region is able to recover from the pandemic, while supporting economic growth and helping to build vibrant communities for the long term, says the release.
“Demand for broadband is growing exponentially. Half-measures and baby steps won’t get us there. We need a long-term solution,” added EORN chair Murray Jones. “The EORN Gig Project is a lasting investment in our prosperity.” The project proposes to leverage previous investments in network infrastructure and services, including a fibre-optic backbone and other infrastructure across the region built to handle the speed and capacity of the Gig Internet project.
EORN is a non-profit created by the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus and works with governments and community organizations to improve and leverage broadband access to fuel economic development and growth. From 2010 to 2014, EORN helped to improve broadband access to almost 90% of eastern Ontario through a $175-million public-private partnership. EORN is currently working on a $213-million public-private funded project to improve and expand cellular services across the region, with building on that project expected to begin in early 2021.
However, the release also stated that the CRTC “declared 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload internet speeds as a minimum basic service level. Without additional public investment, it is unlikely that parts of eastern Ontario would reach these service levels before 2030.” In fact, the CRTC did not declare 50/10 a minimum basic service level, but instead has set that as a minimum speed goal to be available across Canada by 2030.
In the email to Cartt.ca the EORN spokesperson explained the thinking. “Based on our 2019 regional market failure analysis and the countless letters, emails and calls that we receive on a daily basis from residents, businesses and institutions – allowing the residents of Eastern Ontario to wait until 2030 to achieve speeds of 50/10 is not acceptable. Our market failure analysis indicates that: In 2019, only 46 per cent of rural homes and businesses in eastern Ontario had access to 50/10 across the region. Just 63 per cent of households and businesses in eastern Ontario including separated cities had that access.”
We asked for that market failure analysis, but were told it is not something the organization has yet made public.
For more information about the EORN GIG Project proposal, including which municipalities would be served by the project, please click here.
