BC Broadband Conference, June 2 and 3, 2008
Vancouver BC
Open Source Solutions is hosting the 4th Annual BC Broadband Conference. The Conference will take place in Vancouver at the Plaza 500 Hotel and Conference Centre. This year the Conference will explore the Broadband Ecosystem that has grown up to service this new sector. There will be discussions on products, technologies and business opportunities as well as attendees from all parts of the BC Broadband industry. Click here for more information.

FirstVoices Capacity Building Project – 2007/08 Provincial Premier’s Award
March 10, 2008
The First Peoples' Heritage, Language and Culture Council, Network BC, and partners were again recognized by Premier Gordon Campbell as a finalist in the Provincial Premier's Award for Excellence and Innovation for their collaboration on the FirstVoices Capacity Building Project at a ceremony in Victoria. For a news release, click here

FirstVoices Capacity Building Project - 2007/08 Vancouver Island Regional Premier's Award
February 26, 2008
The First Peoples' Heritage, Language and Culture Council, Network BC, and partners were honoured by Premier Gordon Campbell with a regional Bronze Premier's Award for Excellence and Innovation for collaboration on the FirstVoices Capacity Building Project at a ceremony in Victoria last night. To view the news release click here.
 

2008 ICT Summit - February 22-24, 2008
First Nation Technology Council Pre-Conference - February 21, 2008
Communities around the world are taking advantage of the Internet to improve people's lives. Strategic use of information and communication technologies is helping create social and economic change in health, education, culture, and to increase civic engagement. But the benefits are not evenly distributed. "Digital divides" persist in urban and rural communities, among First Nations and others. For registration information visit www.ictsummit.ca.
 

Wireless Access to Improve Internet Service for Yahk
January 22, 2008
YAHK - A federal and provincial investment of $75,000 will improve broadband services and introduce high-speed Internet access to the Yahk-Kingsgate area and other nearby rural communities. The funding is provided through the Canada-B.C. Municipal Rural Infrastructure (CBCMRIF), which is enabling communities across B.C. to become healthier, greener and more sustainable places to live. To view news release click here.
 

Improved Internet Access for Kootenay Communities
January 19, 2008
NAKUSP – A federal and provincial investment of more than $47,000 will improve broadband service and provide Burton, Edgewood and Fauquier residents with expanded access to high-speed Internet.  The funding is available through the Canada-B.C. Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CBCMRIF), which enables communities across B.C. to become healthier, greener and more sustainable places to live. To view news release click here.
 

CRTC Approves initiatives to expand rural broadband services
January 17, 2008
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today approved several initiatives that will benefit Canadians with disabilities and expand broadband services to rural and remote communities. The major local telephone companies were also directed by the Commission to finalize proposals for the dispersal of the funds in their deferral accounts. To view news release click here.
 

FirstVoices Capacity Building Project - Regional Finalist
January 9, 2008
The First Peoples' Heritage, Language and Culture Council and Network BC have been selected as regional finalists in the 2007/08 Premier's Awards Promoting Innovation and Excellence. The nomination is in the Partnerships Category for collaboration on the FirstVoices Capacity Building Project. This project fosters language preservation and revitalization in First Nations communities while at the same time building technical capacity and digital literacy.

News Archive

Overview

British Columbia is one of the most connected provinces in Canada. 74 percent of households have an Internet connection and 64 percent are high-speed or broadband connections. No one can dispute that British Columbia is on the information highway and rapidly increasing speed, but despite our high rate of connectivity, there remains a digital divide - a line demarcated by geography, income, education level, literacy, age and ethnicity - that determines who is online in British Columbia, and who is not.

Telecommunications and Internet links do more than enhance personal communication; they also facilitate the delivery of new educational, health care and other services, and they encourage the revitalization of rural communities by allowing the people living in those communities to participate in the global electronic economy. Increasingly, these services must be broadband, or high capacity, to have real impact.

At present, high-speed broadband is available in the more populated areas of the province. On the positive side, 89 percent of the population live in a community where broadband is available. Looking at the community count, the picture is less rosy. Of the 366 provincial communities being tracked for broadband access, 151 do not have access. 76 of these remote communities are First Nations or communities in proximity to First Nations. These unconnected communities are small and there is little business case for commercial carriers to make the investment required to bring high-speed services to these communities.

The provincial NetWork BC project is leveraging the telecommunications purchase by the public sector to bring services to these communities. If vendors want to sell telecommunications to the provincial government in the future they will need to be involved in providing a solution to these underserved communities.

BC's plan to bring broadband to all communities is described on these pages.

Overview of the plan