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Waterfront Toronto has announced plans to install an "ultra-broadband" network in Toronto's east waterfront neighbourhood. The network, which will serve the under-construction residences and commercial properties of East Bayfront and West Donlands, will be 500 times faster than a typical North American household link.

"One of Toronto's newest neighborhoods will start life with some of the fastest Internet connections in the world as developers tempt bandwidth-hungry residents and business into the one-time industrial wasteland."

"Modeled on similar undertakings in Seoul, Tokyo, Stockholm, London and Paris, the new area on the shores of Lake Ontario will offer Internet connections that are 500 times faster than a typical North American household link, meaning it will take seconds to download or edit a movie."

"If we want to remain a leading global city, investments ... in ultra-broadband are required as part of the city's infrastructure foundation just like other central infrastructure such as electricity and water," said Evan Kelly, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers."

"Developers say the new Internet connections will offer speeds of up to 10 gigabits a second for businesses or 100 megabits for residential use, a crucial draw for the residential and commercial space planned for the mostly disused industrial land to the east of downtown Toronto."

"Having this sort of capacity available to residents will allow for a whole new world of applications we haven't even conceived of yet," said Dan Armstrong, chief executive of Beanfield Metroconnect, the telecommunications company that won the Internet tender."

"The revitalization of the Toronto waterfront is expected to cost C$35 billion ($36 billion) in mostly private funds over 25 years."

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original source Reuters