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Full speed ahead

Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Sep 12/05) - Communicating in rural and remote areas of Canada was a topic of discussion at a federal telecommunications policy conference in Whitehorse last week.

Adamee Itorcheak of Iqaluit was invited to share his experiences from years of working to get Internet access to Nunavummiut, through various boards and through his company, Nunanet Worldwide Communications.

Itorcheak made a pitch as to why "remote" should be added to "urban and rural" when discussing access across the country.

"We have a different kind of situation in Nunavut," agreed Lorraine Thomas, project manager with Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation (NBDC). "If they want to look at remote in Canada, there is no place more remote than Nunavut."

Thomas and Itorcheak work together at the NBDC, a non-profit organization where Itorcheak is a volunteer board member.

They developed Itorcheak's presentation together.

Thomas has been working on Internet access in Nunavut since 1992.

"We are caught up to the rest of Canada now, but I worry about the future," she said. "We need to keep working at it or we'll fall behind."

In August, the last of Nunavut's 25 communities was connected to the world via wireless high-speed Internet.

After years of work, federal subsidies allowed it to happen. Those subsidies need to continue to allow for upgrades and maintenance, she said.

The first set of subsidies allowed for the infrastructure to be built. The $4 million in debt financing left the group with a 15-year debt. An eight-year subsidy from the National Satellite Initiative needs to be stretched through 10 years, she said.

The federal panel's efforts to ensure market competitiveness in telecommunications doesn't mean much in a place like Nunavut, she said.

"By definition, Nunavut is a market failure for telecommunications," she said.

"I have watched companies start and fail so many times. No company is going to get out of it what they put in."

At the same time, no region is going to get as much out of high quality access as Nunavut, she said, noting that, with banks in only three of the 25 communities, moving money around for economic development isn't easy.

High-speed access allows for on-line banking, video-teleconferencing and on-site training, especially important with the cost of travel in Nunavut.

Model that works

With subsidies in place, Yellowknife-based SSI Micro was able to meet the needs outlined in the board's 600-page business plan.

In addition to connecting customers to the web, service providers in each community give SSI Micro feedback on what people want and what is or isn't working.

Those people on the ground are the critical link to making the system work, said Ryan Walker, SSI Micro communications.

Audio and slide presentations from the conference are posted on the panel's website and a web-based discussion forum is open this week.

The Telecommunications Policy Review Panel was established earlier this year to review access and regulation of services across Canada.

It is expected to make recommendations to the minister of Industry by the end of 2005.