[Advisors] "Xplornet is solving the broadband access divide in rural Canada"

[James Van Leeuwen]

I was on a panel June 1 at the FCM conference in Saskatoon, addressing =
the topic of rural broadband.=20

Other panelists representing community broadband were Al McCully of =
Parkland County (AB) and Laura Bradley of EORN.

There were two panelists from industry, Bernard Lord of CWTA and a nice =
fellow from XplorNet.

Al and Laura each focused on their own initiatives, one local (Al's) and =
one regional (Laura's).=20

I provided a quick tour of public/community broadband initiatives around =
the world, including Australia's NBN.=20


In the audience Q & A after panelist presentations, the XplorNet rep =
went out of his way to point out that they have built their nationwide =
network with private money.

The implication was that private networks built with private money are =
inherently superior to public networks built with public money.

It is likely that few if any of the 50+ municipal officials in the =
audience would have known better coming into the session.

In Canada, this failing argument is still the best leverage the private =
network operators have to protect themselves from a strengthening trend =
towards government intervention and public control of networks.

Witness the US Ignite initiative that the Obama Administration just =
rolled out last week.


XplorNet's rhetoric around "solving the broadband access divide in rural =
Canada" relates only to fulfilling requirements for accessibility =
(coverage).=20

They are doing little to fulfill requirements for capability, =
reliability and affordability.=20

But then, neither is anyone else including senior governments.=20


For now, any industry or government rhetoric around enabling rural =
Canadians to compete effectively in the global economy rings pretty =
hollow in Canada.

Most economic development professionals in the U.S. will tell you that =
their communities now require affordable, reliable symmetric access at =
100 Mbps (at least) to meet basic economic development objectives.=20

The only way Canada's rural communities are going to meet such =
requirements is if they do it themselves, like Parkland County and =
Eastern Ontario already have.

All three of us representing the community broadband solution made this =
point repeatedly and emphatically, which may have compelled the XplorNet =
rep to go on the offensive with his comment.=20

It remains to be seen whether any of the municipal officials in the =
audience took the message to heart.


It matters a great deal whether Canada's rural communities have the =
broadband solutions they need to participate fully and effectively in =
the economies of the 21st century.=20

I therefore encourage everyone to make the same point we did to =
community and municipal interests, consistently and emphatically:


"Nobody is going to do it for you".



JvL







On 2012-06-17, at 12:08 PM, michael gurstein wrote:

> http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/752383#ixzz1y4iolCJE
>=20
> Xplornet Announces $125 Million in Additional Private Investment
> DigitalJournal.com ... of Xplornet's rural broadband strategy and the
> company's strong execution. ... that: "Xplornet is solving the =
broadband
> access divide in rural Canada, ... =
<http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/752383>
>=20
> Xplornet aims to bridge the urban/rural digital divide by ensuring =
that
> every Canadian, regardless of where they live, has access to =
broadband,
> thereby enabling them to compete effectively in the global economy and =
gain
> access to essential government and educational services. For =
additional
> information, please visit www.xplornet.com.
>=20
> Anyone care to comment?
>=20
> M
>=20
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