Competition in Internet creating jobs in Ottawa

As many residents know by now, I and colleague Diane Deans are asking our City Council colleagues to support the CRTC's recent decision to make fibre-to-the-home networks available to competitors. I've spoken so far a lot about the advantages for residents in having multiple providers from which to choose. Last week, I received a letter that serves as a good reminder that competition also helps create jobs and supports small Ottawa businesses.

Kendall Lougheed wrote to me to say:

I am the owner of Microworks which has been in business for over 30 years.  I appreciate your support for the CRTC decision. I own a small business that integrates Bell Wholesale services to small and medium sized businesses. Many of these integrations involve unique and innovative solutions for our customers and our success relies on the availability of these services. Apart from my own business as a source of employment for myself and over 20 employees and consultants, there are other benefits to the City of Ottawa including the export of ongoing Internet and professional services to the rest of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.

While Bell is a major employer in its own right (with hundreds of employees directly engaged to provide the kind of wholesale services the CRTC is insisting continue), the rules have spun off a whole industry that is also driving jobs and innovation. I believe that when the shift happens to fibre-to-the-home, we'll see companies finding even more ways to help independent ISPs be competitive on more than price, with innovative video or business application offerings.

There are good reasons why both Toronto and Calgary have supported the CRTC's pro-competition rules. Many residents already look to independent ISPs to offer less expensive Internet services or avoid data caps. But it bears keeping in mind that a city such as Ottawa, with its rich history of telecommunications innovation, is one of the most likely places to see good jobs created when innovation is allowed to flourish at the edge.

Want to know more? I recently chatted with CBC's Robyn Bresnahan about why this is such an important issue for the residents of Ottawa. Listen below.