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NWT/NUNAVUT
The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission is in the North asking those who live here what they think of their current Internet and phone services.

Jean-Pierre Blais, the head of the CRTC, was in Inuvik June 17 for a discussion of Northwestel's modernization plan. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The commission has made the trip to hold public hearings in Inuvik on June 17 and in Whitehorse on June 19 and 20.

"It was important for us to come North," said commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais. "To our knowledge, it's the first time the CRTC has held hearings this far North. The chance to have a conversation with people directly who are from here is very important to us."

Presenters at the Inuvik hearing included Northwestel, the GNWT, the Government of Nunavut, Falcon Communications GP Ltd., Aurora Technologies, and Eeyou Communications Network.

The purpose of the hearings was to consider Northwestel's four-year modernization plan, a plan which would see over $200 million invested in Northern telecommunications. The CRTC found major improvements of services and costs for phone and Internet services in the North were required during a review in 2011. The current hearings are also part of a review of regulations which apply to Northwestel as a monopoly telecommunications provider in Northern Canada.

The issues with current regulations include the rates competing companies must pay Northwestel to use its infrastructure.

Rob McMahon, representing the First Mile Connectivity Consortium and presenting in partnership with the K'atl'odeeche First Nation, said the obstacles overcome by individuals and organizations to simply take part in the commission's hearings exemplifies the struggles many Northerners face in order to communicate with the world outside their community.

"The cost of transportation inside Canada's far North is prohibitive for many people," he said in his presentation. "However, when we requested a video-conferencing link, our request was turned down because of the prohibitive cost and limited availability of the service. This is just one example of the many barriers – financial, technical, logistical – that individuals, businesses, governments, and organizations in the North face every day."

Some who did make the trip to the hearings still feel that Northwestel's modernization plan still doesn't adequately address the needs of small Northern communities.

The Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, a Nunavut public interest organization, presented during the Whitehorse public hearings.

In the corporation's June 19 presentation, executive director Oana Spinu said an effective plan needs to improve telecommunications access to all 25 Nunavut communities and cannot focus only on regional centres because the territory's population is spread evenly between all communities, as is population growth.

"All communities in Nunavut deserve and indeed require the same level of telecommunication services and any plan that would see some services only available in some communities is incomplete, inadequate, and inequitable," said Spinu.

According to Northwestel, in order to provide a high standard of service and costs competitive with those in the south, which is what many groups and individuals are demanding, the company is going to need subsidies from the CRTC to make it work.

"Customers justifiably want the same range of services as one would see in the densely populated urban markets in Southern Canada and they also want to pay the same price," said Northwestel president and CEO Paul Flaherty during his presentation at the Inuvik hearing. "Therein is the constant challenge we face. In many cases, it is simply impossible to create a viable business case due to the high cost of provisioning and maintaining service and the small number of customers from whom the investment can be recovered."

The commission will use information provided through the hearings and earlier submissions to inform its review of regulations relating to Northwestel.

-- with files from Shawn Giilck

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