Getting Ready - Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation Plans Training for New Service

Iqaluit , NU – The Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation (NBDC) today launched a major study to determine what training would be needed to help residents of Nunavut take the fullest advantage of the new broadband capacity.

The NBDC is planning to make access to high-speed internet service available in every Nunavut community within the next few months. A trained Community Service Provider is standing by in each community. But according to the organization’s Chairperson, Patrick Tagoona, simply making the service available is not enough.

“Broadband could have an incredible impact on the way we work, and learn, and do business”, said Tagoona. “But if Nunavummiut are going to be able to really use this system, to get as much benefit out of it as possible – that’s going to mean training. We want to figure out exactly what people need to know. So we’re going to talk to the real stakeholders - the educators, the artists, the end users, everybody who stands to gain from the system.”

The Training Study will take place over the next four months, and will examine the needs of different sectors and communities likely to be affected by the introduction of broadband services. Lorraine Thomas, NBDC Project Manager, points out that the new technology will impact on virtually every level of Nunavut society.

“We’re already seeing the impact of broadband in education, family connections, and in business – and that’s before the service is really operational, ” said Thomas. “Imagine what will happen when bank managers can meet with businesses in communities with no banks, teachers can talk to classrooms in every community, or carvers can show their carvings to buyers in Tokyo. That’s just around the corner – and we want to be ready for it.”

The study will include a survey of Nunavut internet service providers and adult educators, interviews with key stakeholders in government, business, Inuit organizations, and a review of models from other sectors and regions in Canada. A draft 5-year training strategy will be completed by the end of March, with a final report due in mid-June. The work is being carried out by Aarluk Consulting of Iqaluit. Helen Klengenberg, an Aarluk partner, is excited by both the project and the long-term potential of broadband.
“Through this project, by conducting this research, we’ll actually be building consensus on the shape of broadband development in Nunavut,” said Klengenberg. “It’s not often you get to be part of a movement this important and this exciting.”

Funding to carry out the study has been provided by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Kivalliq Partners in Development, and the Government of Nunavut Department of Education, with additional support from Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation.

For more information, visit the NBDC web site at:
www.nunavut-broadband.ca
or contact:
Lorraine Thomas, Project Manager
Ph. (867) 979-0575, fax (867) 979-0080
Email: info@nunavut-broadband.ca