Media.Knet.Ca

The KO Thunder Bay Reception / Secretary serves the member First Nations by providing administrative support to the staff and management of the KO Thunder Bay office.

Provides reception, clerical and administrative services:

a) Provides reception function for the office by greeting guests in a friendly professional manner and answering phones and inquiries as necessary

b) Provides general office support such as word processing, photocopying, and processing incoming and outgoing mail and faxes

On behalf of the staff at K-Net Services we would like to thank the people who came to play at the hockey tournaments last week.  We hope you enjoyed the live stream that was done of the games.   Hopefully we will be able to stream more events to share as the communities migrate onto the fiber optic network.  We hope people travel back safely to their communities and had a good time while at the tournaments.   

Sioux Lookout, Ontario - Keewaytinook Okimakanak announces that Dan Pellerin has joined the organization to run K-Net Services.  Dan Pellerin comes with a wealth of experience within the industry, having spent the last seven years as a project manager for the expansion of internet and satellite services in northern Manitoba, Ontario and the Maritimes.  Prior to that, Dan Pellerin was a key member of the team that was responsible for providing internet access to Northwestern Ontario Communities.

KOSSS Student Support Worker and the Wholistic Wellness Student Support Worker

KEEWAYTINOOK  OKIMAKANAK SECONDARY
STUDENT SERVICES (KOSSS)
Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 3C2
Phone: (807) 346-4204 Ext. 1709
Fax: (807) 346-4330
Toll Free: 1-888-893-4111

Myknet.org will be down from 6:30-9:30 pm Tuesday February 17,2009 for maintenance.

The eBario Knowledge Fair occurred on the days of Dec 6-9, 2007 in the small village of Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia.

The United Nation Development Program (UNDP) invited K-Net and Jesse Fiddler was sent to give a presentation on our work in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) here in Northern Ontario, Canada.

The Knowledge Fair had 2 concurrent workshop themes with one focusing on the local Bario ICT accomplishments and challenges, and the other focusing on the UNDP gathering to examine Asian Indigenous ICT and Media issues.

The leadership of Keewaytinook Okimakanak is meeting this week in Sioux Narrows to discuss future directions and opportunities for the organization.

The information gathered from the 3 day workshop is being put together by Mel Stewart of Stewart Communications for presentation to the First Nation membership and staff of Keewaytinook Okimakanak.

As well, the chiefs are meeting to discuss board matters and the managers are meeting to share developments and work plans.

MNDM News Release ...
September 04, 2007 
  
Ontario Invests Over $17 Million In Northern Telecom Expansion - Projects Enhance Economic Opportunities And Quality Of Life Across North

SUDBURY – McGuinty government investments in cellular telephone and broadband Internet services will deliver new opportunities for community growth and a better quality of life for northerners, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci announced today. 

“Our communities need access to reliable telecommunications infrastructure that will allow them to share in the benefits of modern technology,” said Bartolucci, who also chairs the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).  “By expanding services to many more northern communities, these projects open up possibilities in education, health care, culture and business.”

The NOHFC is providing $17.4 million in support of 12 projects that will enhance telecommunications infrastructure across the North.  The projects will provide almost continuous cellular coverage along major highways from Sault Ste. Marie to the Manitoba border and deliver almost complete broadband coverage within that area.  In addition, they will extend coverage to hard-to-service locations such as the James Bay Coast and the remote Far North.  In all, the residents of more than 130 northern communities will benefit from new and enhanced services.  

“These improvements will greatly enhance the lives of residents in affected northern communities by providing them with access to a whole new range of products, services, information and activities,” said Bartolucci.  “The expansion of telecommunications infrastructure will help ensure that all northerners have an opportunity to participate in the global information society.”

Today’s investment is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results in the North.  Other examples include:

• Contributing $250,000 to help Algoma University College establish a computer gaming technology centre on campus
• Investing $2.5 million over four years in the production of Météo Plus, a new television series to be filmed and produced in the Sudbury area
• Providing $67,500 to Geraldton Community Forest Inc. to do preparatory work for an online interactive mapping application that will provide users with a comprehensive view of all the tourism values, natural features and recreational activities Northern Ontario has to offer.

These initiatives are part of the government’s Northern Prosperity Plan for building stronger northern communities. The plan has four pillars: Strengthening the North and its Communities; Listening to and Serving Northerners Better; Competing Globally; and Providing Opportunities for All.

-30-

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Backgrounder
NEW CELLULAR AND BROADBAND INVESTMENTS IN THE NORTH

Twelve new projects will deliver expanded telecommunications services to the residents of more than 130 communities throughout Northern Ontario.

Under its Public Sector Emerging Technology program, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is investing in the following 10 proposals from partnerships and alliances of municipalities, private sector businesses and organizations, federal government and other government-related agencies: 

• The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre:

- $1,650,000 to build on a partnership with Thunder Bay Telephone and FedNor to enhance services for more than 1,000 customers along 210 kilometres of highway in the Red Lake area
- $967,000 to extend and enhance services to residents along Highway 17 west from Thunder Bay to Vermillion Bay and from Thunder Bay south to the U.S. border
- $2,500,000 to provide broadband and telecommunications services to 37 communities and enhance services to another 28 communities along 1,100 kilometres of highways 11, 71 and 17
- $3,400,000 to implement enhanced cellular telephone services affecting up to 11,000 residents in more than 20 communities along 360 kilometres of Highway 17 between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie

• City of Kenora – $1,913,847 to expand cellular coverage to the communities of Minaki, Redditt, Whitedog First Nation, Wauzhushik Onigum First Nation and Pine, and to provide high speed wireless Internet service in the currently unserved communities of Sunnyside, Blindfold Lake, Echo Bay and Black Sturgeon East

• Rainy River Future Development Corporation – $2,500,000 to complete gaps in cellular and broadband Internet services along Highway 11 in the Rainy River-to-Shabaqua area

• Town of Cochrane – $113,423, in conjunction with Cochrane Telecom Services, to offer services to 57 occupied lots in the Silver Queen Lake area of the municipality

• K-Net Services, through Keewaytinook Okimakanak Northern Chiefs Council –  $1,000,000 construct and pilot a cellular demonstration telecommunications infrastructure initiative in Keewaywin and Weagamow First Nations

• Mushkegowuk Council –  $1,000,000 to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany

• Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation –  $331,615 to increase access to high speed Internet in Ardbeg, Bayfield Inlet, Bear Lake, Carling Township, Dokis, Marten River, Nobel, Otter, Pointe Au Baril, Shawanaga and Tilden Lake

The NOHFC’s Infrastructure and Community Development program will assist two projects that rely on effective partnerships to create jobs and improve economic prospects in the North through improvements to infrastructure.  Contributions include:

• $1,000,000 to the recently formed Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission to assist in the development of the Whalen Information and Communications Technology cluster in Thunder Bay’s downtown north core, an effort that is expected to attract inbound sectoral investment around the city-owned Whalen building

• $1,000,000 to Confederation College’s Advanced Technology for Learning Project (the Learning Commons) to produce learning spaces and electronic access across the region in support of the NOHFC’s investment in expanded northern broadband capacity.

A vital component of the Northern Prosperity Plan, the NOHFC works through six unique programs to foster private sector job creation while supporting critical infrastructure and community development projects that build a foundation for future economic growth and enhanced quality of life.

-30-

Contacts:

Ron St. Louis
Communications Services Branch
MNDM – Sudbury
(705) 564-7120

Wendy Parker
Communications Services Branch
MNDM – Toronto
(416) 327-0620

Randy McAllister
Northern Development Advisor
MNDM – Thunder Bay
(807) 475-1210

www.nohfc.com

Meetings on Tuesday, Aug 28, with representatives from Hydro One Telecom in the morning and then with Smart Systems for Health Agency (SSHA - www.ssha.on.ca) in the afternoon helped to identify a strategy for Ontario First Nations to begin exploring ways to access SSHA secure health applications.

Penny Carpenter, K-Net's Business Manager and Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator, met with the people involved in setting up these network connections and who help decide how and when these connections will be established. Carl Seibel, FedNor's Telecom Officer, joined both meeting via telephone.

If you require any information concerning K-Net's work with SSHA, please contact Penny Carpenter at the K-Net office.

The First Nations of Bearskin Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Koocheching and Wawakepewin received visitors from Blair Electronics, Keewaytinook Okimakanak, Shibogama and Windigo on Thursday and Friday of this past week.

Site visits are required to complete the equipment, site plans and community consultations in preparation for the construction of the local broadband connectivity solutions proposed for each community.

This construction work, described below, is being funded by Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC), Industry Canada's FedNor and INAC's First Nations SchoolNet. This Keewaytinook Okimakanak (K-Net) led project is being completed in partnership with the nine First Nations as well as Shibogama and Windigo First Nation.

The team from Blair Electronics was selected as the winning contractor to complete this construction work after a public Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued last month.

From the Request for Proposals that was posted on MERX on July 4, 2007 (click here to see a copy of the RFP) ...

The purpose of the broadband initiative for the nine remote First Nations, which comprise of

• Bearskin Lake,
• Cat Lake,
• Kasabonika,
• Kingfisher Lake,
• Koocheching,
• North Caribou Lake (Weagamow),
• Peawanuck,
• Sachigo Lake,
• Wawakepewin

is to facilitate the installation and delivery of affordable broadband telecommunications infrastructure to the residents, businesses, and public institutions. This service will fulfill the unique needs of these First Nations and will be a partnership that will also take into consideration the training, support and sustainability issues of the project.  This service will be at a minimum, equal to what is considered broadband to the home commonly known as cable/modem or DSL service for the residents of each community. The final solution should be capable of providing and offering competitive monthly rates for users ($39 -$59) and higher end online services for local business and organizations, such as videoconferencing, VOIP,  telemedicine, etc.

This service will allow residents access to services not previously possible with dial up services. Telehealth, distance education, online research and file transfer will now be possible for those that utilize the service. For small business and public institutions remote access to centralized systems, application service providers and tele-work will be possible.