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Unfinished paperwork delays territorial wireless Internet

Negotiating federal maze "has taken way longer than we could ever have expected"

JANE GEORGE

The Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation says it will be able to start offering its high-speed wireless access to the Internet in 25 Nunavut communities by January at the earliest or by April 2 at the very latest.

But it's certain not to happen by Christmas, as the group had first planned.

Lorraine Thomas, project manager for the NBDC, says unfinished paperwork is holding up the release of $750,000 in satellite bandwidth, which the federal government's National Satellite Initiative has promised to give the network every year for the next 10 years.

The NBDC did receive $3.85 million towards the total $9.5 million cost of buying and installing satellite dishes for the wireless network in every community, but it can't receive any free bandwidth until it gets its paperwork finished.

"That has taken way longer than we could ever have expected. It's long and involved," Thomas said.

Last summer's federal election and resulting changes in departments and staff responsible for the program made the process "more complex," Thomas said.

But the final approval for the subsidized bandwidth access, according to Thomas, should be automatic.

Meanwhile, the NBDC has completed setting up its equipment in all Nunavut communities except Chesterfield Inlet, Whale Cove, Arviat, and Baker Lake. This should be done by Christmas, weather permitting.

Once this equipment is in place, it's to the financial benefit of the NBDC and its partner SSI Micro Inc, which also helped finance the network with contributions in kind, to start offering service to Nunavummiut immediately, because the debt to set up the network's equipment will be payable.

But without the $750,000 in bandwidth, the NBDC can't go ahead.

"In October, we realized that the final paperwork wouldn't be quite ready so we started working on an interim solution, looking for a group that would, on the strength of commitment, loan us bandwidth or cash until such time as the final paperwork was through," Thomas said.

What group this is, Thomas wouldn't say, but if this stop-gap help comes through, then the NBDC can start taking on customers in January. Otherwise, the delay could last until April.

Thomas said trained community service providers are "ready and waiting" to sign up customers in each community, and when the network is launched, customers who are registered will be the first to receive service.

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