Olds Fibre Network

Location: Olds, Alberta

Partners:

Town of Olds, O-NET (a municipally-owned ISP), private contractors

Summary:

Olds built Canada’s first community-owned, open-access fibre optic network in a rural setting. This PPP involved the town collaborating with local businesses and private technology providers to deploy high-speed broadband.

Impact:

Enabled economic diversification, tech startups, remote education, and telemedicine in a town of fewer than 10,000 people.

Project:

Community-owned broadband infrastructure

Participants and Stakeholders:

Public Sector:

Town of Olds (Municipality)

Private Sector: O-NET (ISP arm of Olds Institute), private contractors

Civic Sector: Olds Institute for Community & Regional Development (a non-profit)

Leadership: Local municipal council, O-NET Board

Consulting Vendors: Technology integrators, fibre deployment consultants (not all publicly named)

Value Role Mapping:

Municipality: Infrastructure investment, policy

O-NET: Operations, service delivery

Institute: Strategic vision and funding coordination

Value Contributions:

Orchestration: Town of Olds

Operations: O-NET

Enablement: Olds Institute

Implementation: Contractors

Goal:

Deliver gigabit internet through a municipally owned, open-access broadband network

Roadmap & Results:

Discovery & Design-

Success Factor: 90%+ community support achieved via stakeholder engagement through Olds Institute

Planning & Configuration-

Funding Model: $13M total investment including public debt, private investment, and grants

Pilot & Build-

Result: Fibre-to-the-premises tested in business district; 40% uptake in pilot areas

Execution & Launch

Result: Town-wide broadband with symmetrical gigabit service

Governance & Scaling-

Result: Attracted tech startups and remote workers; improved real estate demand

Impact: Digital GDP growth est. 3.5–4% over 5 years (Olds Institute report)

Four value framework lenses:

B2B (Business-to-Business): Value created between private sector actors.

B2C (Business-to-Consumer): Value created from businesses or service providers to individual citizens.

G2B (Government-to-Business): Value delivered from public sector to business ecosystems.

G2C (Government-to-Citizen): Value delivered directly to citizens by government programs or PPPs.

B2B:

O-NET’s wholesale access enabled local ISPs and businesses to offer bundled services.

Contractors and technology vendors gained long-term operational contracts.

B2C:

Gigabit-speed internet for households improved access to streaming, telework, and e-learning.

G2B:

Local economic development via digital infrastructure attracted remote tech companies.

Municipal control allowed preferential service for local innovation hubs.

G2C:

Digital inclusion: elderly, students, and rural residents gained equitable internet access.

Affordable pricing through non-profit delivery model.

Value Framework Dimensions:

Economic Value (EV): Cost savings, revenue generation, asset optimization.

Functional Value (FV): Usability, access, infrastructure, reliability.

Experiential Value (XV): Citizen satisfaction, wellness, empowerment, trust.

Social or Public Value (SV): Equity, inclusion, environmental sustainability, capacity building.

Strategic or Ecosystem Value (ESV): Ecosystem enablement, innovation platform, new business models, systemic change.