I would like to express my utter disappointment in the Town of Olds' decision to sell O-NET to Telus.
Much like the dissolution of the Olds Institute, I find this decision to be a short-sighted slap in the face to the innovative, passionate volunteer community we have here.
While I understand that a choice such as this would certainly make sense to an accountant, one who only sees the world in black and white terms, assets and liabilities, such a person is incapable of seeing the "soft values" of a project like O-NET.
A locally-owned and operated internet service provider, committed to providing local employment, reinvesting in local concerns, and making Olds the first community in the country to be a gigabit-networked town put our community on the map.
We became a beacon, a shining example of a town that fostered innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits that would benefit us all.
As O-NET was being created, the volunteer committees involved approached the large telecom companies in hopes of fostering a partnership.
They all refused unequivocally to join with us in our project. While I understand the fiscal responsibility in freeing up the town's credit to fund unavoidable and necessary infrastructure repairs and upgrades in the near future and beyond, selling this valued utility at any price, let alone one that doesn't cover the project's debt seems like a ill-considered, knee-jerk response to the situation.
Rhetorically, I would ask: Where was Telus when we, the residents and businesses in Olds were putting this project together?
Has Telus committed to reinvesting profits from this service here in our community, or will our service fees simply line the pockets of shareholders and executives in Vancouver?
Has Telus committed to keeping the jobs O-NET provides here locally? What will happen to our installers, our sales people, our IT support team? The cynic in me already knows the answer.
I fully expect these jobs to end up dispatched from Calgary, maybe my consumer inquiries will go to a call centre in who knows where, and the consumer experience for our local residents will suffer for it.
There were other paths we could have considered besides this one. We could have sold equity to individuals in the area. This could've kept ownership local while freeing up some of the Town of Olds' credit.
Instead, the Town of Olds has decided to destroy yet another thing that makes this town unique, to the detriment of us all.
This concludes my rant, and I thank you for your time. If it would be beneficial to present these comments in person, I am willing to do so, but I think I've said all I can in this email. Wildly disappointed in this decision.
Matt Prizeman,
Olds
