First Nations Innovation - Publications

Conference Papers and Proceedings
#53 (2013)

To read or download, click on the link in the reference.

Publication #53 2013, September - Indigenous Broadband Policy Advocacy in Canada's Far North

Reference: McMahon, R., Hudson, H., Fabian, L. (2013) Indigenous Broadband Policy Advocacy in Canada's Far North. The Role of Advocacy in Media and Telecom Policy: A by-invitation experts' workshop. New America Foundation. Washington, September.

Abstract: In 2012, Canada’s communications regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), initiated a consultation on infrastructure and services in the northern territories. The consultation included the CRTC’s first public hearings in the far North, where remote and sparsely populated communities are currently served by a single terrestrial incumbent and a few satellite operators. A national group of indigenous broadband policy advocates seized on this opportunity to intervene in the broadband development process. The First Mile Connectivity Consortium, a nonprofit coalition of academic researchers and First Nations technology organizations, argued that Aboriginal organizations themselves could provide telecommunications services in many northern communities. This case study demonstrates how research and advocacy can be introduced in regulatory proceedings.