York Region Research and Education Network

Working with a range of public sector research and education assets, including school boards, libraries, post-secondary institutions, hospitals and local business incubators, Chris project managed the exploration of developing a York Region Research and Education Network.  The purpose the initiative was to provide dedicated high-speed connectivity between York Region's education and research assets in order to foster research, collaboration and innovations in service delivery.

The project envisioned connecting all of the participating organizations via the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network so that they could take advantage of not only high-speed connectivity, but also a range of cloud-based services, internet peering and reduced costs for internet connectivity.

York Region Broadband Strategy

Chris initiated and project managed the development of the York Region Broadband Strategy which provides a roadmap for improved connectivity for businesses, residents and the public sector in York Region.

The Strategy was developed in partnership with York Region's nine local municipal partners (Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Aurora, King, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury and Georgina).  To assist in developing the Strategy, large and small telecommunications companies were also engaged, including Bell, Rogers and Telus, to help shape the strategy's targets, recommendations and work plan.

The Strategy provides a range of recommended actions focusing on three key areas:

  • Education and Advocacy - these actions focus on educating stakeholders on the importance of connectivity to their and the Region's success.
  • Municipal Processes - these actions focus on ways municipal processes, such as access agreements and road re-construction projects, can be leveraged to encourage investments in connectivity infrastructure.
  • Infrastructure Investments - these actions focus on identifying a range of infrastructure investments to improve connectivity for residents, businesses and the public sector.

To view the strategy visit: www.investinyork.ca/broadband.