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Call for Letters of Interest

Government of Canada (FedNor) Commitment of $10 Million to Northern Ontario Broadband Connectivity

On April 21, 2005, the Honourable Joe Comuzzi, Minister of State (FedNor) announced that the Government of Canada, through FedNor, would commit 10 million dollars to establish broadband points of presence in unserved Northern Ontario communities. This investment reflects FedNor’s ongoing commitment to promoting regional connectivity and building a knowledge-based economy.

FedNor invites Letters of Interest from communities, First Nations and non-profit organizations to fill the role as community aggregators in the implementation of this connectivity initiative. Successful applicants will work closely with FedNor and act on behalf of participating clusters of communities who are interested in securing broadband services on a regional basis, and develop community-based programs to build demand and encourage adoption.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

• Connect every eligible community in Northern Ontario by March 31, 2008.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Priority will be given to communities having a public institution (ie: municipal office, fire hall, school, health centre).
• Connecting a community is defined as providing a broadband point of presence (PoP).

ELIGIBILITY:
Preference will be given to community organizations that demonstrate the following:

• organizational mandate is consistent with FedNor’s priorities
• an established regional presence, with regional representation
• ability to facilitate partnerships among a wide range of public and private sector organizations
• experience managing projects in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector
• proven track record for aggregating telecommunications & ICT demand among several communities
• knowledge of broadband issues and experience in implementing activities to address them
• potential to leverage additional and/or existing projects in the implementation of this program
• experience in developing ICT awareness (community consultations, workshops, surveys, etc.)

ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES: Broadband Planning and Project Management

• stimulate community interest, identify broadband gaps, develop and execute an RFP for the capital build, propose technical solutions, source matching funds (ie: communities, other government agencies, private sector service providers)
• planning and development of ICT applications which would capture socio-economic benefits which the new PoP offers

While some ICT applications would be a priority for FedNor capital support, the community aggregator may seek funds from other sources to deploy worthy applications which do not qualify for FedNor contributions.
 
LETTER OF INTEREST REQUIREMENTS:
Letters of Interest must be three (3) to five (5) pages in length and include information under the following headings:

1. Organizational Info - Provide contact information, corporate structure and incorporation number; date of establishment; mandate; brief description of internal resources.
2. Experience - Describe experience in the following areas:
   • developing and/or implementing large scale telecommunications or ICT projects, providing stakeholder references (with e-mail and phone number) for each. Briefly describe two or three aggregated Telecom/ICT projects.
   • working with multiple communities an stakeholders;
   • previous FedNor experience, as well as other funding agencies;
   • conducting community consultations, workshops and surveys;
   • working with vendors and service providers on large scale projects.
3. Staffing - Describe project management experience and qualifications of key staff members.
4. Communities - List the communities with which the organization has worked in the past, and any additional communities with which it could work to implement broadband services in Northern Ontario.
5. Approach -
   • Outline your approach in achieving the objectives, including estimated time lines and potential geographic service area.
   • Describe the services to be delivered to achieve FedNor’s broadband objectives, including estimated costing.
   • Describe how the organization might be able to leverage existing activities or projects while executing this program.

Letters of Interest must be received no later than 3:00 PM on Thursday, June 2, 2005. Please submit one electronic copy of the Letter of Interest by e-mail to Theo Noël de Tilly

Note:

This initiative is a FedNor priority, funded under the Connectedness Program, and is subject to all of FedNor’s existing terms and conditions.

For more information, please contact a FedNor Telecom Officer in your area, by calling toll-free: 1 877 333-6673.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/infednor-fednor.nsf/en/fn02291e.html