by Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Oct 31/97) - A local businessman says the GNWT is giving him -- and all other Northern Internet providers -- a high-tech shaft.

As of last week, the GNWT's high-speed digital communications network was set for its final tests, leading to a Northern digital network.

The problem, according to Ivan Simons, president H.R. Thompson Consultants Ltd. and Senga Services -- Fort Simpson's Internet provider -- is that he and numerous other private business people across the North could see their customer base severely eroded because of the GNWT's system.

"Once this is up and running, GNWT employees will be able to personally access the Internet in their offices," Simons says. "Not only will this hurt private business people -- at least half my customers are GNWT employees -- but it will also create the situation where taxpayers are paying for the personal Internet use of government workers."

"I object to the public paying for the non-governmental access this system will provide to GNWT workers. I object as both a taxpayer and a businessman."

"Without the GNWT workers, I might as well shut down the service for the whole community," he says. "There isn't enough of a base for anyone to operate in those conditions."

Senga Services, with more than 100 customers in Fort Simpson, charges $30 per month for 30 hours of Internet access.

Right now, Simons and other Internet service providers (ISPs) rely on links to the South to provide their service. While the government plan would transfer ownership of these links to a conglomerate of Northern businesses called Ardicom -- made up of Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., NorthwesTel, and a consortium of Northern aboriginal organizations -- Simons argues that Ardicom will simply do the same thing, relying on southern connections.

"I built my business with my money -- not through the public purse," he says. "Why should the government then come in and destroy my business while telling the public the North needs more private business in order to succeed?"

That won't be the case, argues Ardicom general manager Ken Todd.

"If you think about how the Internet is used, people aren't going to go into their offices late at night to hack," he says.

In fact, Todd says, Ardicom and the private ISPs can work hand in hand.

"We're not going to compete with the ISPs," he says. "We're going to provide service to them.... They're in a better position to deliver their services to the communities. We'll provide a pipeline -- the backbone -- so the ISPs can provide a service to all the residents of the NWT."

Gordon Robinson, deputy secretary of audit and evaluation with the GWNT's financial management secretariat, also says the goal is to work with ISPs like Simons.

He says the government's goal is to provide high-speed digital services -- especially in distance education and tele-medicine -- to all of the NWT's communities. And, he says ISPs will have opportunities because of the new services that aren't there now.

"It (Internet access) should be cheaper and they should be able to expand their (ISP) markets into those smaller communities," he says. "I would expect that Ardicom will be cost-competitive with their competitors."

As for recreational use of the Internet by GNWT employees, he says managers are already charged with policing this.

Simons is not alone with his concerns. Fort Smith MLA Michael Miltenberger has raised similar arguments in a statement in the legislature and question to Finance Minister John Todd.

"Why re-invent the wheel?" he asked in an interview, referring to private operators like Simons. "There are a whole host of questions and everyone needs to get together before this project is too far ahead."

Miltenberger says that Todd has committed to bringing the ISPs, government and Ardicom together by the end of next month to clear the air.

Stay tuned.