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 College about the FNI and FMCC team’s research. Rob’s visit was sponsored by UAlberta North and Yukon College.
Rob provided an overview of the FMCC’s work and facilitated a discussion with in-person and remote (via livestream) participants. Participants discussed some of the opportunities and challenges associated with local infrastructure in Yukon, and noted applications including language revitalization efforts by First Nations in the territory – as well as how connectivity issues such as latency are impacting their work. As well, participants discussed affordability barriers and the need to support local technical capacity, particularly in communities outside of Whitehorse.
Rob McMahon at the CBC Yukon studio
While in Whitehorse, Rob did an interview with Leonard Linklater on CBC radio’s Midday Cafe. A Soundcloud recording of this interview is available here.
Rob and the FMCC team look forward to continuing these conversations and learning more about community-driven broadband in the Yukon.