 | Nunavut |
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News stories and press releases related to broadband development and Inuit Communities in Nunavut. Post your links to interesting articles below |
| Congratulations to IsumaTV for their 'Digital Indigenous Democracy' Project! |
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July 28, 2011 -- Congratulations to IsumaTV! Today, the organization announced that Canada Media Fund Experimental Stream approved a $1 million investment in IsumaTV's newest initiative, Digital Indigenous Democracy, for 2011-12. Read more about IsumaTV's Northern Indigenous TV Network (NITV) in the First Mile report (pg. 53). Visit Isuma.tv to watch over 2,600 indigenous films in 46 languages from around the world. IsumaTV's website supports both high-bandwidth and low-bandwidth Internet connections. |
| Aboriginal Youth Learn about Science and Technology at National Science Camp |
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August 9, 2011 - A press release from AANDC announced that this week, 50 First Nation and Inuit youth from across Canada will gather in Iqaluit to take part in the 2011 National Aboriginal Science and Technology Camp. At the camp, they will learn about science, traditional knowledge, cultural awareness and more. The camp is funded by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada through its First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy (FNIYES), which helps youth gain work experience, get career information, develop skills and ultimately find employment. Click here for the full press release. [ Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada ] |
| Poor Arctic communications threaten development, Canadian sovereignty: study |
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September 3, 2011 -- According to an article in the Globe and Mail: "A recent study suggests weak northern communications networks are holding back economic development and impairing efforts to enforce Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic." According to the Globe, the report concludes that "private business is unlikely to fill the gap", and public investment is a requirement: "There is simply no manner under which a small, remote, isolated market can compete in an industry characterized by constantly increasing product quality at an ever-decreasing price." |
| Nunavut Schools to Benefit from Improved Internet Access |
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Iqaluit, Nunavut, February 14, 2012 A Press Release from Infrastructure Canada announced that public schools in Nunavut now have access to improved Internet. It notes: [The] dedicated bandwidth and satellite capacity, is made possible thanks to a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut, the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation (NBDC), and SSi Micro Ltd, the operator of the QINIQ network... The classroom connect project includes an investment by the Government of Canada of up to $2.1 million. The Government of Nunavut has committed $1.8 million to support NBDC's core operations since its inception in 2003 and will allocate 12.5 megabits per second (Mbps) of satellite bandwidth to classroom connectivity as well. Read more here |
| Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation conducting Internet access survey |
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Mar. 8, 2012 An article in Nunatsiaq News notes that the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation is conducting a survey on Internet access and use. It notes: [NBDC has] built two online surveys on their website: one for householders and one for businesses. The purpose of the survey is to measure the social and economic impact of high speed Internet in Nunavut, the corporation said. And this, the corporation said, will help them build a case that shows how and why high speed Internet is important to the territory’s economy. That, in turn, will lend support to efforts aimed at encouraging more investment in broadband by governments and others. Read the full article here. |
| New technology maps Inuit knowledge |
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An interesting article from today's Nunatsiaq News. Dr. Fraser Taylor, a geographer from Carleton University in Ottawa, is working with Inuit to update maps to include naming the places around their communities with traditional, Inuktitut names using free software that he invented. The software is called Nunaliit. According to the article, it "allows anyone to map just about anything in a very unique way—using not just maps and text but audio, video, photographs, graphs and any other form of information that helps viewers understand the place". For one example, see the Arctic Bay Atlas. To support this work, Dr. Taylor received a $516,323 grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and is expecting a matching grant from the Ontario government. He hopes to use the grant to improve computer hardware and software so that more northern communities can create and modify maps. According to the article: Taylor says its crucial to record that perspective now: language and local knowledge — of the land, the ocean, the weather, the animals and more—are disappearing due to rapid social, climactic and economic changes. “We use local and traditional knowledge as a dynamic concept. It’s changing all the time. And Inuit know it’s changing and they’re very keen observers of their own environment. So we’re trying to capture the perspectives of change and all aspects of change from the viewpoint of those most affected by it.”
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| Norwegian Space Centre assesses feasibility of Arctic satellite system |
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An article from the Globe and Mail, published July 11, 2013, describes a feasibility study on satellite-based broadband in the Arctic by 2020. From the article: Norway may provide high-speed Internet in one of the few places left on Earth where it’s not available: the Arctic. The Norwegian Space Center has teamed up with Telenor Satellite Broadcasting to assess the feasibility of a new satellite system covering northern areas outside the reach of current geostationary communications satellites. |
| Iristel opens second wire line phone service in Iqaluit |
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Aug 8, 2013 - An article in Nunatsiaq News Online describes a new project from VoIP telephone service provider Iristel, which broke ground in Iqaluit this week. According to the article: The Toronto-based telecom company now offers service to residential and business customers on its VoIP network to all Canada’s 13 provinces and territories. Its arrival in Iqaluit means that residents of the Nunavut capital have an alternative to Northwestel for wire-line phone service.
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