The First Mile work in First Nations across Canada (http://firstmile.ca) was well represented at Congress 2017 during the week long event held at Ryerson University in Toronto the week of May 27 to June 2. At the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER), Rob was a member of a panel presenting the chapter he[…]
FMCC Research Associate, Professor Heather Hudson, presented at the Partnership for Progress on the Digital Divide (PPDD) conference. The conference on was held in San Diego on May 24 and 25, scheduled to precede the International Communication Association (ICA) conference. Heather reports that our session had a small but enthusiastic group in the audience, and time for[…]
Brian Beaton and Susan O’Donnell, members of the FMCC Board of Directors travelled to Halifax on May 17 to participate in the Indigenous Radio Workshop at Dalhousie University. The presentations and notes about the day long workshop will be posted on their web site at http://www.indigenousradio.ca/Halifax.php Brian delivered his presentation entitled, “e-Centres: Community-based production/broadcast facilities”. His[…]
People living in Canada’s Northern territories are engaged in a number of community-driven broadband projects – those these efforts face challenges of affordability and local infrastructure capacity. On April 6-7, FMCC coordinator and University of Alberta researcher Rob McMahon travelled to Whitehorse, YK to learn about these initiatives, and to give a public presentation at Yukon[…]
The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) held a conference from March 28-30 called “First Nations Data Governance: Tools for Empowerment”. FMCC coordinator and University of Alberta researcher Rob McMahon travelled to Gatineau, QC to give two presentations at the event. The conference showcased the work of a range of participants, from First Nations community leaders, data[…]
The First Mile Connectivity Consortium (FMCC) filed the attached intervention letter concerning Northwestel’s application for forbearance concerning the delivery of broadband services in the Northwest Territories. We are sharing this document with everyone in the hope that it might be useful to you. If there are problems with the concerns we are raising about Northwestel[…]
In this report we discuss the efforts of the First Mile Connectivity Consortium (FMCC) to shape a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform into a tool for data-driven policy advocacy. This work took place in the context of a lack of robust, accurate data concerning broadband access in Canada’s northern and remote regions. Given this challenge,[…]
The “Smoke Signals of the Future: Information From the Roots” conference in Winnipeg had two presentations on the agenda from FMCC representatives. Both presentations were made by video / skype to participants in Winnipeg. Participants at the conference included members of First Nations across Manitoba with a strong representation from youth. On February 8, FMCC[…]
KNET Director Penny Carpenter and Susan O’Donnell, FMCC Vice-Chair, presented the work of the FMCC to policy-makers at Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) in Ottawa on January 19. Also participating was Tim Whiteduck, Director of Technology at the First Nations Education Council and FMCC Chair. The presentation focused on research completed by FMCC last[…]
Rob McMahon and Heather Hudson presented at this year’s Pacific Telecommunications Council (https://council.ptc.org/ptc17/) conference in Honolulu, HI on January 15 to 18. The session, entitled “Policy and Regulation” included a discussion about the FMCC’s efforts at the recent CRTC hearings on the Basic Service Objective, including our proposals to address digital divide challenges in remote and rural regions. The description[…]