Broadband connections for First Nations identified as priority by leaders
National Chief Phil Fontaine presented a list of First Nation priorities to the Federal government at the May 31 Cabinet Retreat. This gathering was the follow up to the roundtable discussions hosted over the past winter. At the meeting, Chief Fontaine highlighted the need for "enabling broadband connections and access in all communities". Click here to read the entire AFN press release.
At the June 14 - 16, Chiefs of Ontario gathering in Eagle Lake First Nation, the new Regional Chief Angus Toulouse spoke about the need for broadband connections for all the First Nations across Ontario. On the last day of this gathering National Chief Phil Fontaine shared the AFN priorities with the Chiefs in Assembly and once again emphasized the need to deliver broadband connections in all First Nations across the country.
Now the challenge will be to ensure First Nations receive the support required to meet the MINIMUM broadband requirement of two-way symmetrical bandwidth of T1 (1.5M) capacity that will support interactive two-way video conferencing that is necessary for telehealth applications. This definition of broadband was established by the National Broadband Task Force in 2001. Unfortunately various internet-only service providers are advertising their connectivity solutions as broadband when in fact these connections will not deliver two way symmetrical bandwidth.