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October 04, 2006
Jon Arnold / Don Fitzgerald
On this week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast, Jon spoke with Don Fitzgerald, who's with the City of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He's the Executive Director of Team Fredericton, and this is the first city in Canada to offer free municipal WiFi, known locally as the Fred-eZone. Don was the subject of a recent posting about this initiative on Jon's blog, and this podcast serves to continue the dialog.
Don described the series of events that led them to offer free WiFi in 2003, as well as the issues and principles around making this a free offering. Fredericton is widely consulted as a model for other muni WiFi initiatives, and Don expressed his skepticism on the viability of offering this on a paid basis. Being in Canada, Don and Jon talked about the physical challenges of making WiFi work, especially during the winter, and surprisingly, usage does not fall off that much when the snow comes. Finally, Don touched on what's coming, with some examples of how they plan to use WiFi to foster closer community between City Hall and its citizens.
Don Fitzgerald
Don is the Executive Director of Team Fredericton, The City of Fredericton’s Economic and Community Development Department. He assumed this position in June of 2002 following a long career in the financial services industry, as well as having been Chief Operating Officer of New Brunswick’s largest independent Internet/Application Service Provider.
Don is a member of the Advisory Committee of University of New Brunswick’s Business School; He is President of Camperdown Developments Inc., the City of Fredericton’s real estate development company; a member of the Board of Directors of e-Novations Comm. Net Inc. – a municipally owned, licensed non-dominate carrier. He is a Past Chairman of the Board of the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival - Atlantic Canada’s largest musical festival and has served on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement, the Fredericton Non– Profit Housing Association, the York Sunbury Historical Society and is a former Chairman of the New Brunswick Division of the Canadian Bankers Association.
Don is a native of Halifax and has a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s University, with a major in Finance. He also holds a Fellowship in the Institute of Canadian Bankers. Don moved to Fredericton from Toronto in 1988 to return to the Maritimes to raise his family. He is married to Colleen and has four children.
Posted at October 4, 2006 09:48 AM
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