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

[Brian Beaton]

Thanks for the update James ... After having to use Xplornet in my home
paying $200/month for their KABOOM service (the maximum available) ... I am
SO HAPPY to report that the regional 3G cellular service began selling
Rogers' Rocket hubs at $35 a month so I no longer require the TERRIBLE
Xplornet service. Any one who pushes Xplornet for rural applications beyond
a very basic (and frustrating) home use needs to have their head examined.
The other questions I would ask the xplornet saleman would include:

* Does he and his company only use Xplornet connections for their offices?
Is he using an Xplornet dish at his home? Where does he live? What
experience does he have with trying to operate a business using an xplornet
dish?

* How many Rural Broadband programs did Xplornet apply for? How many did
they get? What other publicly funded programs did Xplornet apply over the
years? 
- They lobbied for all the public dollars claiming to be able to take care
of everyone across the country.

If you want examples of how communities are doing it for themselves, be sure
to check out http://firstmile.ca ... Lots of great stories and examples of
small First Nations in remote and rural locations across Canada building,
owning and controlling their communication utility for their  members ...

Brian Beaton, KO-KNET Coordinator
Box 1439, 115 King Street, Sioux Lookout, ON, P8T 1B9
T: 807-737-1135 or toll-free 877-737-KNET (5638) ext 1251
C: 807-216-5216
F: 807-737-1720
E: brian.beaton@knet.ca 
W: http://knet.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: advisors-admin@tc.ca [mailto:advisors-admin@tc.ca] On Behalf Of James
Van Leeuwen
Sent: June-17-12 7:18 PM
To: michael gurstein
Cc: cracin-canada@vancouvercommunity.net; ''TC Advisors'
Subject: Re: [Advisors] "Xplornet is solving the broadband access divide in
rural Canada"

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

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). 

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


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). 

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

But then, neither is anyone else including senior governments. 


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. 

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. 

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. 

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
> 
> 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>
> 
> 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.
> 
> Anyone care to comment?
> 
> M
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Advisors mailing list
> Advisors@tc.ca
> http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors

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