Mushkegowuk and Wabun First Nations getting broadband services installed
NOHFC News Release
Bringing Broadband Service To Western James Bay - McGuinty Government Providing High-Speed Internet To Three Communities
April 28, 2009
Ontario is helping three First Nations in western James Bay connect to the information highway.
The Mushkegowuk Council is bringing high-speed Internet connectivity to Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany First Nations, the three northernmost communities along the western James Bay coast. Funding from the province is helping with equipment purchases and installation of about 500 kilometres of fibre optic cable to connect the communities.
Access to broadband technology will give residents, businesses and community organizations access to online commercial and educational opportunities as well as access to a range of government and other public services.
QUOTES
“By expanding telecommunications infrastructure to these three remote First Nation communities, we will greatly enhance the lives of the residents by providing them with access to a whole new range of services and benefits of modern technology.”
- Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Chair of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).
QUICK FACTS
- The NOHFC is providing an additional $500,000 toward this project under its Emerging Technology Program which invests in telecommunications infrastructure projects that help bring broadband Internet and cellular service to Northern Ontario. In 2007, the NOHFC announced an investment of $1 million in the more than $8 million project.
- The Mushkegowuk Council will establish a community-based entity, called the Western James Bay Telecom Network, to administer the project.
LEARN MORE
- Find out more about the NOHFC’s six programs
- Read about the member communities of the Mushkegowuk Council
Anne-Marie Flanagan, Minister’s Office, 416-327-0655
Michel Lavoie, Communications Branch, 705-564-7125
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First Nations get high-speed Internet access
Posted By The Daily Press, April 28, 2009
Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany are getting high-speed Internet service.
Mushkegowuk Council has announced it is bringing the service to the three northernmost First Nations along the western coast of James Bay.
The province is providing funding to assist with the purchase of equipment and the installation of about 500 kilometres of fibre optic cable to connect the communities.
“By expanding telecommunications infrastructure to these three remote First Nation communities, we will greatly enhance the lives of the residents by providing them with access to a whole new range of services and benefits of modern technology,” Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle, chairman of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), said in a news release.
Access to the broadband technology will give residents, businesses and community organizations access to online commercial and educational opportunities, as well as access to a range of government and public services.
The NOHFC is providing $500,000 toward the project under its Emerging Technology Program.
Mushkegowuk Council will establish a community-based entity called the Western James Bay Telecom Network to administer the project.
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Communities get high-speed Internet
April 25, 2009 - Posted By BRANDON WALKER
There was much to be excited about during NEOnet's annual general meeting, held yesterday at the Dante Club in Timmins.
The organization's Timiskaming and Gogama-Foleyet area broadband project in 2008 brought high-speed Internet to nearly half of its goal of 17 communities.
Those communities include: Coleman Township, Chaput Hughes, Goodfish, Temagami North, North Milne, King Kirkland and Latchford.
NEOnet partner Ontera went forward with winter construction of towers and anticipates the remaining communities will have broadband service very soon.
By December of last year North Eastern Ontario Communications Network, or NEOnet, helped 720 small rural businesses connect to satellite Internet with close to $400,000 in FedNor funding.
NEOnet is also working with NorthernTel to implement broadband in Mattagami, Wahgoshig and Matachewan First Nations.
The organization has plans to bring residents wireless access through 80 different "hotspots" in Northeastern Ontario, in libraries, chambers of commerce, arenas and parks. NEOnet and Northern-Tel are engaged in making that a reality.
Chairman Michel Desjardins said there were challenges in 2008, but the non-profit organization achieved many of its goals.
He acknowledged support received from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, FedNor and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Partnerships with Ontera and NorthernTel also played a large role in the organization's success, he said