April 4th, 2019 – As part of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s Digital Hamilton initiative, the Chamber has released a Digital Infrastructure Report to provide perspective on the current state of digital infrastructure deployment and broadband availability in Hamilton.

To create this report, the Chamber convened a number of internet service providers servicing the City of Hamilton, to offer insight into how the City of Hamilton can facilitate, incentivize, and enhance infrastructure and service levels across the City.

“In this digital age, the ongoing improvement to Hamilton’s digital infrastructure is essential to the economic prosperity of our city. Businesses in Hamilton rely on high speed, dependable,low cost internet connectivity to operate and remain competitive.” said Keanin Loomis, President and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. “It is encouraging to see the City of Hamilton acknowledge the importance of digital infrastructure, by seeking improvement through efficiency and innovation.”

Several improvements to the City’s administration of digital infrastructure utilities have been made, consistent with the suggestions made by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

1. The City has achieved faster processing timelines and fewer complaints in the past year.
          -Ex. the average turnaround time for permit approvals fell from 36 days in 2016-2017 to 29 days in 2018

2. The Chamber recommended the City entertain a flexible approach to the submission and approval of innovative and ultimately cost-effective new technologies.
        -The City of Hamilton has since permitted keyholing as an innovative technology within the City.

3. To encourage and support additional investment in digital infrastructure and broadband availability, the Chamber recommended that the City consider omnibus approvals of more than one permit at a time.
        -The City of Hamilton has since permitted omnibus approvals for large projects.

For continued improvement, the Chamber recommends the City of Hamilton consider the following:

1. Maintain a flexible approach to the submission and approval of innovative and ultimately cost-effective new technologies.
2. Develop or provide access to an online self-service portal that would allow service providers to submit permit requests.
3. Address the growing concern over physical environment saturation in our municipality.

Read the full report here.

 

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Media contact: Bianca Caramento | Policy Analyst | Hamilton Chamber of Commerce | t: 905-522-1151 ext: 230 | e: b.caramento@hamiltonchamber.ca

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