Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Fort Franklin (Sep 10/01) - The tendrils of the information age have reached to the shores of Great Bear Lake.

Deline's late move to connect with the Internet will kick into even higher gear after self-government is attained, says Sahtu negotiator Danny Gaudet. Down the road, the technology will make possible a more streamlined way of governing, he says.

Gaudet sees the connection as a self- government linchpin. With several levels of government and agencies operating in the tiny town, putting everything on one computerized network after negotiations conclude "will make things more efficient and organized," he says and adds that Deline's 650 residents are "over-governed."

"The duplication is overwhelming, and it's not getting better, it's getting worse. It over-complicates people's lives in the community."

An exhaustive community effort and $200,000 invested reached a milestone last week, with the celebration of wiring three key buildings in Deline to a high-speed Internet portal or gateway.

The next stage, according to Deline's information technology manager Sean Lynch, is wireless hookups between ordinary houses and the satellite which drives NWT's high speed Internet.

Until now just Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik and Fort Smith had high-speed Internet access.

It took two-and-a-half years of planning and work to wire the three buildings, and bring Deline to a point last week that warranted a party with dignitaries like Premier Stephen Kakfwi.

The three buildings connected belong to the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, the Band, and the Deline Land Claim Corporation. A Bank of Montreal branch was also hooked in. So far, 50 workstations are connected.

Funding came from a variety of federal and territorial government sources. Most was spent on high-tech hardware like router switches, Lynch said.

What makes the leap forward possible is technology called a local area network, or LAN. It allows everyone to hook into just one portal.

Northern Internet portals are supplied by satellite signal provider Ardicom. While Northern-owned, the company still wanted about $3,000 a month for each portal in Deline, said Gaudet. The LAN cut costs "considerably."

Lynch says that "because of the size of the community, there's not a good business case for an Internet service provider." The Sahtu are fielding inquiries from other remote NWT and Nunavut communities. Officials plan to forge a business which will show others how to copy Deline's Internet blueprint.