Category Archives: Portfolio

Future Projects

R2B2 is involved in a range of other regional and rural broadband action research activities. This includes relevant university networks such as Digital Futures. We also liaise with social innovation groups (e.g. Evergreen’s Mid-Size City Study), various digital initiatives by the Province of Ontario (e.g. OMAFRA, MEDEI, etc.) as well as federal agencies (e.g. ISED, AAFC, etc.). We welcome new collaborations and seek to ensure the best possible knowledge base for “all things rural Internet.” We do this not only for the sake of top-notch research and innovation, but also for the benefit of everyone living in Canada and Ontario.

Partnership Development

Regional and rural broadband is best understood as a system which is made up of different actors (e.g. rural and urban consumers, large and small telecoms, political leaders, researchers, engineering consultants, information technology firms, etc.), relationships of trust, governance and accountability and design elements such as financing, facilities and information.

After many years, even decades, of efforts to address broadband gaps in rural and remote areas of Canada, we know that changes in one part of the system are moderated by other parts of the system. For example, investment effectiveness is influenced by the quality of information used for the analysis. Improved analytics for investment decision-making are likely to affect change in other areas of the system, such as a shift to include new actors, or to improve existing relationships as well as financing.

R2B2 seeks to develop knowledge to enhance performance in each element of regional and rural broadband, but also to understand what happens when elements of the system change. This knowledge helps to leverage innovation, we believe, and ultimately, improve the delivery, uptake and use of connectivity in rural areas.

Future

R2B2 is involved in a range of other regional and rural broadband action research activities. This includes relevant university networks such as Digital Futures. We also liaise with social innovation groups (e.g. Evergreen’s Mid-Size City Study), various digital initiatives by the Province of Ontario (e.g. OMAFRA, MEDEI, etc.) as well as federal agencies (e.g. ISED, AAFC, etc.). We welcome new collaborations and seek to ensure the best possible knowledge base for “all things rural Internet.” We do this not only for the sake of top-notch research and innovation, but also for the benefit of everyone living in Canada and Ontario.

Other Projects

Town of Caledon

In 2016, R2B2 supported the Town of Caledon with a gap analysis of the current state of connectivity. Caledon conducts community engagement for digital inclusion and innovation opportunities. In 2016, Council established a “Broadband Levy” which collects $300,000 per year, or $11 per household, to facilitate internet services for residents and businesses, in alignment with Council’s Broadband Internet Workplan objective.

Town of Collingwood

Collingwood, Ontario has a thriving and growing business community largely due to its increasing number of new residents as well as seasonal residents and tourists. Local businesses in Collingwood are important stakeholders of broadband-enabled technologies. Some of these businesses operate across the country and around the world. In 2016, we assisted the Town of Collingwood to collect information about the current and future use of broadband as an essential utility. The Town is currently in the process of integrating this information into its planning.

Thematic Studies

R2B2 engages with a range of partners to conduct thematic studies. Some recent topics are:

• Connectivity requirements in precision agriculture technologies
• Telecommuting and home-based business internet access
• Broadband for telehealth (including online mental health services)
• Environmental benefits of rural connectivity

Halton Region’s Rural Broadband Study

Beginning in Fall 2017, and in collaboration with the BDO Canada, R2B2 Project supported the Regional Municipality of Halton’s rural broadband needs analysis. This involves an assessment of internet services in non-urban areas of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. The focus of data analysis and mapping is the availability of broadband connections, the consistency and reliability of connections, and the cost of service. The findings of Halton Region’s Rural Broadband Study will help inform Regional Council about improving telecommunications infrastructure and services in its smaller communities and agricultural areas.

SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT)

SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) is a not-for-profit, collective broadband initiative that is funding the construction of an affordable, open-access, ultra-high-speed fibre-optic regional broadband network for everyone in Southwestern Ontario, Caledon and the Niagara Region.

The project is leveraging $180 million in combined investments by the federal and provincial governments and over $17 million in investments by municipalities across the region. To overcome our region’s longstanding broadband infrastructure gaps, SWIFT has developed a long-term plan to help more than 3.5 million Ontarians to connect and keep pace in a changing digital world.

SWIFT membership is open to any community or organization in southwestern Ontario that needs connectivity to any of its locations. Members benefit from SWIFT’s significant procurement expertise, including aggregated demand, negotiated rates, and support in preparing RFPs for broadband services. As a buying group, SWIFT also ensures greater competition between telecom service providers which will lead to better services at lower prices in member communities.

R2B2 is the research partner to SWIFT which is a fibre-optic network that is in the process of connecting 10% of Canada’s population or 3.5 million people in Ontario to ultra-high speed internet services.  We support SWIFT with analytics (econometrics and geo-spatial analysis), data stewardship and knowledge mobilization. Our role is to ensure that publicly co-funded backbone, middle-mile and last mile broadband challenges achieve the highest possible return on investment.

Since the 2012 feasibility study, R2B2 has worked with SWIFT to strategize regional broadband planning and impact assessment – one of the recognized challenges is the lack of reliable baseline data that is “evergreen” or continually updated for on-going decision-making.

SWIFT’s Board of Directors considers the research partnership with University of Guelph an innovative aspect of its initiative. Municipalities and citizen groups across the region can call upon R2B2 to join in community engagement and knowledge mobilization on broadband issues relevant to their communities. We engage University of Guelph students in this important initiative to develop capacity for their future work related to digital opportunities for small communities and rural areas.