Media.Knet.Ca

Kasabonika and North Caribou Lake First Nations are two of the seven remote First Nations that received funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and Industry Canada's FedNor to build local cable plants and networks connecting all their buildings (homes and organizations) to their local headends. In Kasabonika and North Caribou Lake, the headend is the C-band satellite dish that is part of the Northern Indigenous Community Satellite Network (NICSN - http://smart.knet.ca/satellite).

Three other satellite-served First Nations that are part of this local cable network construction project are Cat Lake, Peawanuck and Sachigo Lake. Bearskin Lake and Kingfisher Lake First Nations are also part of this project but their cable and internet headends are served by Bell Canada's microwave system.

Koocheching and Wawakapewin First Nations are the other two communities that were part of this nine First Nation local loop construction project.

Blair Electronics got the contract to complete the local loop construction work in each of these communities in the summer of 2007. New Hydro One and Bell Canada requirements delayed the start of the cable network construction project until this summer but these issues seem to be resolved and it is hoped that the seven First Nation cable systems will be completed over the summer and fall construction season.

Yesterday (July 8), Bill Blair, from BE Electronics and Gary Hartwick, a contractor from Keen Consulting in Thunder Bay, flew with three K-Net team members (Jamie Ray, Terence Burnard and Brian Beaton) to Kasabonika and North Caribou Lake. Bill and Gary completed their site survey of the local Hydro and Bell poles and lines for their application to attach the coax cable onto the existing service.

Today, they are flying into Cat Lake and Sachigo Lake to complete the site surveys in those communities. While in the community, Terence is re-peaking the satellite dish with Jamie's help.