Getting Gigabit: Newmarket speeds ahead

NRU
Aug. 27, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

A pilot project to add high-speed broadband infrastructure is intended to give Newmarket a competitive edge over its York counterparts, and drive business and innovation.

At the August 25 committee of the whole, Newmarket council voted in favour of implementing a gigabit corridor pilot project. A gigabit corridor is a high speed network capable of handling a gigabit of data and is said to be “100 times faster” than commercially-available internet.

Newmarket economic development officer Christopher Kallio told committee members that a gigabit community would drive economic development and job creation in Newmarket.

“There are several examples around the world where communities have built or will build high speed internet capable communities. They’re really doing this to compete and differentiate themselves for the future.”

“What we are finding as we take an initial look is that high speed connectivity, competitively priced broadband, coupled with a spirit of collaboration in the community will be required to drive economic growth in the future,” said Kallio.

Newmarket Economic Development Committee chair Jim Gragtmans told NRU that a gigabit corridor would be a huge benefit to Newmarket’s future.

“We’re doing it both from an economic development and also quality of life from a resident’s perspective. Newmarket sees it as an important next step towards its evolution, that it has these kinds of communication corridors in place.”

In his presentation to the committee of the whole, Gragtmans said adding a gigabit community would address three of the economic development committee’s initiatives: developing and evolving an intelligent
community, helping to develop a postsecondary education strategy and driving development in the Yonge-Davis corridor.

Gragtmans said that broadband infrastructure would help drive the creation of collaboration tools and data analytics. It will drive “line of business” applications - providing critical government services such
as transportation, energy and economic development to businesses - and custom applications to spur development and research. He called high-speed broadband the “roads of the future.”

“Roads and streets by themselves are not very helpful. When you start to put homes, institutions and businesses on those streets, they start to become increasingly meaningful.”

Councillor Joe Sponga said that voting for the pilot project was a “no-brainer.”

”That’s where the industry is going, and we have to keep up if we want to have a sustainable community and a sustainable way of life.”