Looming layoffs among major players in the tech sector won’t set back the wiring of the high-speed Alberta Supernet, say officials.
Major partners in the $300-million deal announced last fall, including Nortel Networks, Cisco and Calgary-based Axia NetMedia and Wi-LAN Inc., have seen their share prices plummet in the battered tech market, and both Cisco and Nortel have announced a series of massive layoffs within their operations.
But the Alberta Supernet, a three-year project to extend broadband Internet access throughout the province, is still a priority for the consortium of companies led by Bell Intrigna.
“This project has been noted as one of the premiere projects for ICT not only in Canada but worldwide,” says Robert Lai, vice-president and general manager for Bell Intrigna. “I think this project is something they very much look forward to, to enhance their position in the marketplace.”
Cisco Systems Inc., the leading maker of networking equipment for the Internet, has announced plans to cut its full-time workforce between 3,000 and 5,000 regular jobs. Nortel Networks, the world’s No. 1 supplier of fibre-optic systems equipment, is slashing 10,000 jobs, or 12 per cent of its international workforce.
In a statement, Cisco said it would continue to aggressively manage costs and monitor attrition, “and we’re presently evaluating our situation in Canada in light of recent corporate announcements and market conditions.”
But Cisco Systems spokesperson Willa Black said the Alberta Supernet project will not be affected. “It is absolutely full steam ahead. We view that as a highly strategic priority for us corporately. It will remain unimpacted,” Black told Business Edge.
Provincial Innovation and Science spokesman Val Mellesmoen says the government is also confident the Supernet, to be completed by 2004, will remain on track despite the economic challenges faced by some of the partners.
Lai added Bell’s contract with the government should be finalized within the next four to six weeks, with construction beginning as early as this spring. Every hospital, school, library and government facility in the province will be connected to the network.
“When you have the complexity of a consortium and a very large project, there needs to be a lot of due diligence done to make sure that, once we put the shovel in the ground, it will be a very successful project,” said Lai.
