Deer Lake and Fort Severn First Nations turning on their new GSM cell phone service
Working with Keewaytinook Okimakanak (http://knet.ca) and Dryden Municipal Telephone System (DMTS - http://dmts.biz), Deer Lake and Fort Severn First Nations turned on their new IP-based GSM network this week in collaboration with Lemko (the cell equipment provider). The new mobile service is delivering a wide range of telecom services throughout their communities and across Northern Ontario.
The leadership in Deer Lake and Fort Severn are committed to providing a choice for their community members and visitors in their community. The new cellular service is bringing our community the best wireless network technology choice in 2009. These new community owned cellular networks and their prepaid customers work on the DMTS cell network through a partnership agreement between KO-KNET and DMTS. The cell phone owners are able to roam on the DMTS next generation network. Other GSM customers can roam on the new DMTS / KNET networks.
The new cellular service is expected to help develop the potential for investment and job creation in the Far North. In addition, it will foster the development of knowledge-based expertise in the partner First Nations.
Keewaytinook Okimakanak's KNET team and DMTS are in the process of installing and operating facilities and have several working sites supporting this mobile network including Deer Lake, Fort Severn, Keewaywin and Round Lake First Nations, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Fort Frances. Additional sites are being installed along the highways west of Thunder Bay to support GSM network users.
“With the success demonstrated in Keewaywin and Round Lake First Nations, the chiefs of Keewaytinook Okimakanak moved quickly to invest in the development of mobile services in the other four KO First Nations including Deer Lake, Fort Severn, North Spirit Lake and Poplar Hill,” states KO Executive Director Geordi Kakepetum. “Mobile IP applications will support the next generation of communication technologies and services to address the needs of First Nations across the north.” Community members in North Spirit Lake and Poplar Hill First Nations hope to have their cell sites operational before this Christmas.
Dryden Mayor Anne Krassilowsky adds, “Congratulations to the leadership of Keewaytinook Okimakanak on this achievement in pioneering these latest communication tools in remote communities in Canada's far north! The DMTS - Keewaytinook Okimakanak partnership and development is outstanding progress in opening more doors of choice to people, business and new opportunities in remote and rural First Nations across Northern Ontario.”
For more information about Keewaytinook Okimakanak latest telecom initiative, visit http://mobile.knet.ca