"Before we can support long-distance competition in principle, we require some guarantees that all Northerners -- from the small business in Sanikiluaq to the grandmother living in Aklavik -- will be able to afford to have a telephone and to count on the quality of the service," he told the members of the federal telephone industry regulator at public hearings last week.

Arlooktoo was one of a handful of local presenters appeared before two members of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, so the consultation only went the better part of the morning, even though a whole day was set aside. No one appeared with a submission from Iqaluit through a videolink.

The GNWT is not taking on a position on NorthwesTel's proposal for how long-distance competition will work, However, "we feel it is very important that alternatives such as a national, high-cost area fund be considered," Arlooktoo said.

"Competition is good for consumers, but it could have a negative impact for small Northern communities."

Arlooktoo said he is concerned that the level of service be kept up in the communities. Prime concerns are reliability, access and affordability. "The GNWT is NorthwesTel's biggest customer. And we act as a go-between."

Most people in the Eastern Arctic average several hundred dollars worth of phone bills, he says. If there's a family crisis, the monthly bill can be in the $700 to $1,000 range, he said.

Except for three communities in the NWT, there's phones in most houses now, Arlooktoo said.

Also making submissions were the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, Dene Nation Chief Bill Erasmus, J.C. Catholique of Television Northern Canada, Dan Roberts of the NWT Power Corporation and Dick Bushey of the NWT Construction Association.

The chamber is worried that Yellowknife and Whitehorse have been subsidizing the cost of the telephone system throughout the North and the cities are becoming frustrated at the inequality of costs, said Daniel Adam, chairman of the chamber's business development committee.

He suggested that if subsidization continues in this manner, a pan-Canadian telephone system should be considered, so that all Canadians could subsidize service in the North.

On June 26, the CRTC moved to Whitehorse for additional consultations, with input from Fort Nelson, B.C.

NorthwesTel serves about 110,000 people in the North.