FMCC Member Broadband Communications North will receive $9.9 million from CRTC Broadband Fund

Congratulations to the Broadband Communications North (BCN) team in Manitoba for securing funding to connect Tadoule Lake, Barren Lands, Lac Brochet, Pukatawagan, and Shamattawa! This is among the first funded projects announced through the CRTC Broadband Fund — Phase 1 was for satellite broadband projects anywhere and broadband projects in Yukon, NWT and Nunavut. CBC[…]

Empowerment through Connectivity: 2018 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Community Report

From https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018-Indigenous-Connectivity-Summit-Community-Report_EN.pdf Recommendations to ensure access for all One of the biggest connectivity challenges in Canada, for those who have access, is that its broadband prices are among the highest in the world. When the CRTC declared all Canadian households should have high-speed broadband as a basic telecommunications service in 2016, it called on the[…]

Northwestel asks feds to consider operating costs for infrastructure investments

Company president Curtis Shaw made the statements to standing committee in November From https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/northwestel-connect-to-innovate-1.4960892by Sara Frizzell · CBC News · Last Updated: January 3 Northwestel began offering 15 mbps internet in September 2018. (Travis Burke/CBC) Northwestel asked the federal government to consider the “unique characteristics” of northern operating costs when making decisions on major infrastructure investments. Company president Curtis Shaw spoke at a[…]

Huawei Technologies shipping 5G base stations to Europe, Middle East & South Korea

From https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/huawei-has-shipped-10k-5g-basestations-outside-china/d/d-id/747713 Huawei Has Shipped 10K 5G Basestations Outside China 11/20/2018 Huawei said it has now shipped more than 10,000 5G basestations to operators in Europe, the Middle East and South Korea in a sign of momentum for the next-generation technology and its biggest supplier. Ken Hu, the Chinese vendor’s rotating chairman, cited the figure as[…]

Northern remote communities partner with academics to test mobile mesh networking technology

From https://news.uoguelph.ca/2018/11/u-of-g-computer-scientists-part-of-2-13-million-project-to-improve-data-sharing-in-northern-remote-places/ U of G Computer Scientists Part of $2.13-Million Project to Improve Data Sharing in Northern, Remote Places Friday, November 2, 2018 Nic Durish It’s called Canada’s digital divide, one that University of Guelph researchers aim to help bridge. Improving communications, information-sharing and health and environmental monitoring through better mobile connectivity in Northern and remote[…]

ISED Connectivity in Rural and Remote Areas gets poor grades from Auditor General

From http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201811_01_e_43199.html 2018 Fall Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada Report 1—Connectivity in Rural and Remote Areas Table of Contents Introduction Background Rural and remote connectivity 1.1Accessibility to broadband high-speed Internet continues to lag behind for certain population groups in Canada, notably communities in rural and remote areas. This is despite[…]

New CRTC Broadband Fund investing $750M in rural & remote telecom infrastructure

The new CRTC Broadband Infrastructure fund will use comparative selection process and includes community consultation requirements, including with respect to “any established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights” (para 219-224). From https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-television-telecommunications/news/2018/09/crtc-announces-details-of-the-broadband-fund.html CRTC announces details of the Broadband Fund $750-million fund to improve broadband Internet access services in underserved areas September 27, 2018 – Ottawa-Gatineau – Canadian[…]

KRG receives millions to construct FTTH and sub-sea fibre network to serve Nunavik remote communities

From https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2018/08/remote-inuit-communities-will-benefit-from-first-time-access-to-modern-high-speed-interne.html Remote Inuit communities will benefit from first-time access to modern high-speed Internet Nunavik residents to get new or faster Internet access thanks to investments from governments of Canada and Quebec August 22, 2018 – Kuujjuaq, Quebec Internet access is more than just a convenience: citizens, communities, businesses and institutions need it to find information, offer[…]

KNET and WJBTN access ISED funding to expand network services in remote First Nations

From .. https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2018/08/rural-and-remote-communities-in-northern-ontario-will-benefit-from-faster-internet.html Rural and remote communities in northern Ontario will benefit from faster Internet Residents in six communities to get new or faster Internet access thanks to Government of Canada investment August 2, 2018 – Sioux Lookout, Ontario Internet access is more than just a convenience: communities, businesses and institutions need it to offer new services and create new[…]

All 14 Nunavik communities to get cellphone, mobile service

From http://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674all_14_nunavik_communities_to_get_cellular_service/ Nunavik May 31, 2018 All 14 Nunavik communities to get cellphone, mobile service Service should be rolled out in three or four weeks SARAH ROGERS A Tamaani technician checks out some of the service providers’ equipment in Kuujjuaq during upgrades done in 2015 to implement 4G technology throughout the region. Starting next month, Tamaani and[…]