First Nations get connected.Remote First Nation communities in Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it will soon have the Option of connecting to multimedia services, including high-speed Internet See broadband. access, tele-health, e-commerce and tele-education. K-Net Services, a regional broadband network linking First Nations, will work with communities served by satellite to determine their information technology need for accessing high-speed data connectivity. The service will cost each community $2,700 per month. "Each First Nation will decide to what degree it wants to participate," says Nishnawbe Aski Nation Nishnawbe Aski Nation (ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᑲᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒫᐎᓐ (Anishinaabe-aski Ishkoniganan Ogimaawin), unpointed: (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy. He says in the past, First Nations have not benefitted from resource development. "With this new information technology, we are in control. It's a top priority with the NAN chiefs," Beardy says. Delegates from 41 of NAN's 49 communities met in Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. in February to participate in the First Nations Connect conference. Also attending the conference were representatives from NAN Tribal Councils, the information technology (IT) industry and the federal government. The conference showcased IT advances already made in many of the remote communities and previewed the online opportunities that may soon become a reality. Connecting remote First Nations to the world via multimedia services is a partnership between Keewaytinook Okimakanak (K-Net), Industry Canada Industry Canada is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for regional economic development, investment, and innovation/research and development. The department employs 6104 FTEs across Canada. and Telesat Canada Telesat Canada is a Canadian satellite communications company owned by BCE Inc. and founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario as well as having offices in the United States and Brazil. . "In the past we had to wait a couple of days for a newspaper in our communities," says K-Net executive director Geordi Kakepetum. "Now we can open our computer and read today's headlines. We no longer will have to charter flights to attend meetings. We can turn on our television and meet through video conferencing See videoconferencing. (communications) video conferencing - A discussion between two or more groups of people who are in different places but can see and hear each other using electronic communications. ." Topics at the Thunder Bay conference included information and communication technology in the areas of health, education, network infrastructure, First Nation communities, economic development, community planning, women and youth. Telesat is making two channels on its new Anik F3 satellite available for the federal government to use to serve public institutions in remote areas of Canada. The two channels, or transponders, are able to provide enhanced multimedia connections for remote communities. |
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