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>Downtown mall could rise as Internet communications hub
Date: October 27, 2003
Downtown mall could rise as Internet communications hub
By Mark
McNeil, The Hamilton Spectator
A couple of local entrepeneurs want to transform a major part of Hamilton's City Centre into a $25 million to $30 million telecommunications facility.
Walt Juchniewicz, the owner of Hamilton Teleport in Stoney Creek, and Italo Ferrari, the general manager of Fercan Developments, which owns the Hamilton City Centre, have joined forces to lauch The Hamilton Teleport Network Access Point (NAP) in usused sections of the former Eaton Centre downtown.
An NAP is a traffic exchange junction in the routing hierarchy of the Internet.
There were four original NAPs, funded by the National Science Foundation, which were built in the 1980s when the Internet began to be used by the general public.
More recently, scores of other NAPs have been built to help manage the massive traffic load increases.
The closest NAP is in Toronto at 151 Front St.All Hamilton Internet traffic is routed through there.
The Hamilton NAP would mean Toronto would no longer be needed to handle this city's Internet traffic.
"There are airports and seaports," says Juchniewicz. "In this case it is a teleport, a telecommunications port.
"We're going to take the unused fibre that goes into Toronto from the U.S.
"We're going to bring it into the former Eaton's building and at the same time invite satellite operators to use the centre as a point of presence."
It will merge with Juchniewicz's Hamilton Teleport facility on Green Mountain Road.
Hamilton Teleport is a spectacular looking field of satellite dishes used to beam data, video and audio signals around the world for international clients.
The City Centre NAP would sell ultra-high speed Internet connectivity, data storage and recovery and other technical services to large organizations such as hospitals, telecommunications companies, financial institutions, government departments as well as schools.
The NAP would be connected to satellite technology, so the owners will be able to sell telecommunications services to clients from all over the world.
Juchniewicz hopes to beam broadband Internet service to areas of the world that lack wired infrastructure.
There are Industry Canada grants available to companies that can provide Internet services to remote parts of Canada.
Ward 8 Alderman Frank D'Amico has been helping Ferrari and Juchniewicz with the project, after having visited NAPs in the United States.
"Three major fibre optics lines flow through the city limits of Hamilton," said D'Amico. "The city can take advantage of those fibre-optic highways by building an on and off ramp to create an atmosphere for the high-tech industry and enhance the area economy.
"Having this type of facility helps to reuse and reposition a retail shopping centre, and creates the opportunity for jobs in the downtown core."
How many jobs will depend on how successful it is.
He said Chicago and Miami have "repositioned older buildings into these high-tech centres" and the former Eaton Centre could be similarly used.
Ferrari said he has as much as 300,000 square feet of space available for use for the NAP which he and Juchniewicz expect to open early next year.
mmcneil@thespec.com or 905-526-4687