ICT Infrastructure as Public Infrastructure – Connecting Communities to the Knowledge-based Economy & Society

This report provides a summary of findings from the Community Wireless Infrastructure Research Project. This research investigated the development of public broadband infrastructure, and was conducted from April 2006 to March 2008 by a team of researchers from Ryerson University, York University and the University of Toronto.The specific questions that guided our research were as follows:• What is the rationale for publicly-owned and/or controlled ICT infrastructure?• What examples of public ICT infrastructure exist in Canada today?• What are the different models and best practices of public ICT infrastructure in terms of deployment, technology choice and innovation, investment, governance, adoption and use?• What are the public benefits of community-based/public ICT infrastructure provision?• What public policies and supports are necessary to promote and sustain public ICT infrastructure?We addressed these questions through case study work with our research partners (The City of Fredericton, Île Sans Fil in Montreal, K-Net and the Lac Seul Wireless Network in North Western Ontario, and Wireless Nomad in Toronto), as well as through extensive study of the broader context for public ICT infrastructure development.