Rural Ottawa High Speed

When it was announced last week that the City of Ottawa decided to go with Barrett it struck me as odd that they would choose a completely new provider over 2 other bidders with existing networks. These networks would likely only require a few improvements to provide seamless coverage, thus giving more bang for the taxpayer buck.

Storm Internet isn't takin' it laying down ..... In yesterday's Ottawa Business Journal, they let the City have it ....

"The unfortunate part is that it does create an unfair advantage," Mr. Williams said.

"Ultimately it's going to entrench a competitor in the heart of my territory. With the money the government has provided them, that is going to fuel their ability to compete, although that is not what the money was intended for. It's going to fuel their ability to throw money at what we have already done."

"We were in the process of expanding into the places that are affected and that's all been put on hold. I'm taking some grief for that because there are some people who were looking forward to it. But until I fully understand what the city is building through Barrett, I don't have a clear direction to take the company, at least with rural Ottawa," he said.


"Of course I'm concerned. But I know it wasn't the city's idea to give an unfair advantage to an alternate provider. We've been doing this all along without any support and we're still here. And we'll still be the guys doing it tomorrow."