The “ultra-broadband network” will make new neighbourhoods in the area among the “most connected in the world,” said Waterfront Toronto CEO John Campbell at a Tuesday morning announcement.
To be available in the under-construction communities of East Bayfront and West Donlands, the network will offer residents Internet speeds of up 100 megabits per second — 20 times the Toronto average.
“You’ve got a big sandbox to play in now, whereas historically you had enough to get by,” says Joe Deklic, a vice president with Cisco Systems Canada. The network could be “easily adapted” to offer speeds up to 10 gigabits per second. At that rate, downloading a full-length movie would take less than a second.
Planners expect the network to be a major draw for high-tech industries ranging from film to medicine. It will allow for applications “we haven’t even conceived of yet,” says Dan Armstrong, CEO of Beanfield Metroconnect, the telecommunications company tasked with installing the network.
Downtown Toronto is particularly in need of a broadband boost, owing to an Internet infrastructure that is notoriously slow and expensive as compared to other major cities. Part of the problem is that Toronto remains largely dependent on copper-based Internet cables installed in the 1990s.
“We’re stuffing more over those copper cables than they were ever designed to carry,” says Mr. Armstrong. Currently, telecommunications companies only use fiber-optic cables to plug into central community hubs. From there, copper lines carry data the rest of the way.
The Toronto waterfront, in constrast, will run fiber-optic cable directly into a user’s Internet jack. In addition, residents and workers in the development will be able to plug into a community-wide wireless network.
Beanfield is contractually bound to keep Waterfront Toronto among the world’s top seven broadband networks for 10 years after the development’s last building is complete.
“There will be ongoing investment to make sure we’re always on top,” says Mr. Armstrong.
Unlike water pipes or power lines, fiber-optic cable is relatively easy to upgrade.
“The thing about optical fibre is that it essentially has an unlimited capacity, it’s just a matter of changing the lasers on the end of it,” says Mr. Armstrong.
Since the development’s final building will not be opening for another 10 or 15 years, the Toronto waterfront could conceivably maintain a world-leading Internet network into 2036.
In a 2011 report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Toronto rivaled New York for top spot as a “city of opportunity.” While Toronto held its own for livability and sustainability, the city ranked 12th for technology readiness
“If we want to remain a leading global city, investments like ultra-broadband are required as part of a city’s infrastructure foundation, just like other essential infrstructure such as electricity or water,” says Mr. Kelly.
At $60/month, the ultra broadband will be about half the price of ultra high-speed networks available in other cities. Since the low user fees will not be enough to cover the cost of the network, planners will make up the difference using other development budgets.
“You may lose a little bit of money here, but you’re attracting all sorts of end users that will thrive in the environment,” says John Jung, co-founder of the Intelligent Community forum, a New York-based think tank.
Funded in part by public money, Waterfront Toronto has faced criticism in the past for overspending. In April, city councillor Doug Ford called the revitalization corporation a “boondoggle.” Mr. Campbell assured attendees on Tuesday that “no taxpayer dollars will be used to build the network.”
Ultra high-speed networks already exist in many of the world’s top financial centres, including South Korea, Tokyo, Paris and London. Recently, ultra-broadband has also begun to appear in smaller communities.
In 2010, the city of Chattanooga, Tenn., population 170,000, boasted the “fastest Internet in the U.S.,” following the installation of a one-gigabit-per-second broadband network.
The city credits the network with attracting billions in investment, including a Volkswagen assembly plant and a major computer engineering lab. In March, Google.com announced that they were installing an “experimental” ultra high-speed broadband network in Kansas City, Kan.
