The City of Oshawa, together with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), are launching a free Internet Performance Test (IPT) specifically for the municipality. It will allow the City to better understand the speed and quality of Internet access within Oshawa. This is a first step toward ensuring local infrastructure is prepared to face the opportunities and issues of a digital economy.
It will also benefit households and businesses. They will be able to use the test to determine if their individual Internet access is sufficient – in terms of speed, performance, and adherence to standards – to meet their specific needs.
The reliability of the IPT results increases with the number of participants, so the City is encouraging all residents and businesses to test their Internet connection for free at https://performance.cira.ca. The free Internet testing will be available from February 27 until August 27, 2017. The results of the testing will be used to support programs and policies to promote an advanced, diversified economy in Oshawa.
Background
- The city has achieved an economic transformation driven by growth in more knowledge-based and service-oriented industries. This has diversified the economy and new areas of opportunity are emerging.
- Key sectors in Oshawa’s expanding economy include: advanced manufacturing; energy; health services; multimodal transportation and logistics; and information technologies. These sectors require high-quality Internet access to thrive. The municipal government will use IPT results to continue to understand how best to support these economic stakeholders as they mature.
- Social equity is also key component of Oshawa’s Strategic Plan. Ensuring all members of the region can access, participate in, and benefit from the digital economy is essential to the Plan’s success.
- Developing the downtown core is another priority and CIRA’s city-wide testing methodology helps map areas with strong connectivity and those where upgraded infrastructure investment may be required to attract business investment.
- Oshawa’s test is built on CIRA’s Internet Performance Test infrastructure. CIRA’s City-Internet Performance Test program allows local municipalities to quickly leverage CIRA’s testing infrastructure to deploy a test using the standard global M-Labs protocol.
- CIRA will use IPT results from across the country to monitor and report on the health of Internet connectivity nation-wide. In addition to Oshawa, Leduc Alberta, Hamilton, Ottawa, Mississauga, Burlington, Kitchener, Stratford and Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia have all launched their own tests, with more to come.
Executive quotes
“Oshawa has transformed its economy over the last decade. The information technology sector is now among our fastest growing, and institutions such as the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Durham College, Trent University Durham and the Spark Centre are helping to lead the charge. Having the Internet infrastructure to support and sustain the growth of value-added jobs in the community is essential.”
- John Henry, Mayor of Oshawa
“Oshawa is delighted to be among the leading-edge communities that are participating in the Internet Performance Test initiative. The intelligence we gain on the broadband needs of our residents and businesses will help identify what more we can be doing to strengthen our growing innovation ecosystem. It will also allow us to focus on continuous municipal improvements and to think about new ways of delivering services to all our residents.”
- John Aker, Chair Development Services Committee
“Oshawa is facing the same challenges – and has the same opportunities – as cities across the country and around the world. The digital economy is already affecting almost every traditional economic sector, and the best way to prepare for new ways of doing business is to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place. Just like access to transportation corridors are essential to resource, or manufacturing-based economies, so too is access to a robust, modern Internet infrastructure for information-based ones. The IPT will help Oshawa better understand the current state of Internet access and identify where additional investment and policy are required, so all residents have the opportunity to participate in the digital future.”
- Dave Chiswell, VP of product development at CIRA
About the Canadian Internet Registration Authority
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. CIRA also develops technologies and services that help support its goal of building a better online Canada. The CIRA team operates one of the fastest-growing ccTLDs, a high-performance global DNS network, and one of the world’s most advanced back-end registry solutions. For more information on CIRA’s work to help Canadian municipalities address their needs to Internet measurement, visit http://performance.cira.ca.
