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NunatsiaqOnline 20121025: EDITORIAL: Its time for movement on Arctic telecoms

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EDITORIAL:AroundtheArcticOctober25,20129:30am

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ItstimeformovementonArctictelecoms
NUNATSIAQNEWS Youknowhowbaditcanget. Itsthegovernmentemployerwhoblockswebsitestosavebandwidth.Itstheinternetlinkthatdies inthemiddleofanemaildownload.Ormaybeitsthecellphoneifyoureluckyenoughtoeven getcellservicethatneverworkswhenyouneeditthemost. NoregularpersonwhoreadsthisespeciallyanyArcticresidentreadingthisontheinternet candenythatatoptobottomoverhaulofnorthernCanadasricketytelecommunicationssystemis longoverdue. Thecompanieswhoselltheseservices,andnow,evengovernments,knowwhatyouknowabout howbaditcanget. Forsome,theOct.6,2011softwareglitchthatthrewtheAnikF2satelliteoutofwhackformostthe daywasabigwakeupcall. Withinaweek,GovernmentofNunavutofficialsmettofigureouthowtobettercopewithsucha screwupinthefuture. Butevenbeforethat,atthebehestofJointTaskForceNorth,PublicSafetyCanadaandother governmentagencies,abureaucraticgroupcalledtheNorthernCommunicationsandInformation SystemsWorkinggrouphadalreadydelvedintotheissue. ThetitleoftheirAugust2011reportsaysitall:AMatterofSurvival.Theybeganworkonitaftera lesswellpublicizedcommunicationsmeltdownthatoccurredinAugust2009.Thiswasduringthe OperationNanookexercisenearIqaluit,whenemergencyrespondersdiscoveredtheircellphone andinternetconnectionsrepeatedlyfailed. Atthesametime,acomplexmenuoffederalgovernmentbroadbandsubsidiesforruralandremote regions,deliveredthroughIndustryCanada,isduetoexpireby2016. Sowhatshouldgovernmentdo? First,territorial,provincialandfederalgovernmentsshouldtakeagoodlookatwhat,intheArctic, amountstoanewtechnology:underseafibreopticcable. Theleadingproponentofthistechnology,afirmcalledArcticFibreInc.,planstoinvestsome$600 millionofprivatemoneyinanunderseacablebetweenEuropeandAsia.Thiscablewouldpass throughwatersoffNunavut,Labrador,Nunavik,theNorthwestTerritoriesandAlaska. ArcticFibrehasjustappliedforthethenecessarylicences.Theyreliningupcustomers.Iftheyget therequirednumberoftelecomfirmstosignon,especiallyinAsia,theywillbuildthisline.When thathappens,52percentofNunavutspopulationwillgethighspeedtelecommunicationsata dramaticallylowercost. NogovernmentwithjurisdictionoveranysectionofCanadaseasternArcticcanaffordtoignorethis opportunity.ShouldtheGovernmentofNunavut,forexample,ignorethisdevelopment,theywould likelyendureamajorpoliticalembarrassment. Someplayershavegiventhefibreopticproposalafrostyreception.TheNunavutBroadband DevelopmentCorp.,forexample,arguesagainstitonthebasisofparity:itcantdeliverequallevels ofaccesstoeveryNunavutcommunity. Ofallthepossibleobjectionstofibreoptic,thisistheweakest.Ifgovernmentsweretoapplythe parityprincipletootherformsofvitalinfrastructure,nothinginNunavutwouldevergetbuilt. Pangnirtungwouldnotreceiveanewdockuntilallothercommunitiesalsoreceivedanewdock. Iqaluitwouldnotreceiveahydroelectricdamuntilallothercommunitiesalsoreceiveda hydroelectricdam.Andsoon. Heresamorerealisticapproach:asktheCRTCtodefineanewminimumacceptablestandardof serviceforthosecommunities,suchasGriseFiord,thatwillnotenjoyaconnectiontoafibreoptic cable.Thenlobbygovernmentstoensureitscarriedout. Anotherobjectiontounderseafibreopticismoresubstantial.Wouldsuchacablebevulnerableto www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674its_time_for_movement_on_arctic_telecoms/

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NunatsiaqOnline 20121025: EDITORIAL: Its time for movement on Arctic telecoms

damagecausedbyshorefasticemovement?Isthereariskofcatastrophiccablecutsthatcannot berepairedduringtheArcticslong,darkwinters? Telesat,whosedominantpositioninCanadianArctictelecommunicationsisobviouslythreatenedby ArcticFibresproposal,isfondofraisingsuchobjections. ButGreenland,anArcticcountrywhereice,glaciersandalongdarkwinterareanormalpartoflife, nowusesafibreopticcablethatwasfinishedin2009,connectingNuukandQaqortoqtolanding pointsinIcelandandNewfoundland. Anda1,400kilometrefibreopticcableconnectsNorwaytothetownofLongyearbyen,locatedon Svalbard,aremotecollectionofArcticislandsthatareiceboundformuchoftheyear. AsforTelesat,theyreproposinga10yearplanoftheirown.Underit,theyreinvitinggovernments tospend$120millionoverthenext10yearstobuycurrentlyunusedspaceonthreeofthefirms satellites.Telesatwouldspend$40millionofitsownmoney.Theresult?AllofNunavutwouldenjoy whatTelesatcallstruebroadbandinternet. Thisleadstothesecondmeasurethatgovernmentsshouldinsistonavalueformoneyauditof thecurrentbroadbandsubsidysystem,whichhasexistedsinceabout2004. Telesatandotherplayers,suchastheNDBCandtheSSIGroup,whichoperatestheQiniqbrandin Nunavut,havemadeuseofIndustryCanadagrantsandsubsidiesforyears.Avalueformoney auditwouldrevealwhetherthesefundshavebeenusedefficiently. GiventhatTelesaturgesmoregovernmentspendinginthefuture,itsessentialthatIndustry Canada,beforemakinganydecisiononTelesatsproposal,doathoroughaudittoreviewtheuseof whathasalreadybeenspent. Third,governments,alongwiththeCRTC,needtodevelopacomprehensivelongtermplanfor upgradingnorthernCanadastelecomsystem.TheCRTCsrecentrejectionofNorthwestels proposeduseofAstralbenefitsmoneymakesthedevelopmentofsuchaplanevenmoreurgent thanbefore.JB

(4)Comments:
#1.PostedbyRandomGuyonOctober25,2012 Internetspeedisbasedon2factors.ThroughputandLatency.WhatTelesatisproposing increasesthroughput,butitdoesnotfixthelatencyissue.Thisisnotaviableoptionlongterm. Deviceswillstarttointegratemoreandmoreipbasedcommunicationsthatarelatency dependant(IPtelephony).Webserversarestartingtocloseincomingconnectionsfasterand faster.Itsnotuncommonnowtoseeawebserverclosingaconnectionat500700ms.As securitybecomesmoreandmoreimportant,wewillseesecurityappliancesclosingthese connectionsevenfaster. Simplyput,theproposalbyTelesatisntalongtermsolution.Itsasolutionbuiltfortheneedsof rightnow.510yearsfromnowpeoplewillneedaheckofalotmorethanTelesatcanprovide. Theonlyanswerisafibretrunk. #2.PostedbymaypisompationOctober25,2012 howlongwillittaketogetoursatellightupgraded??? #3.PostedbyNorthgasmonOctober25,2012 Anothergreateditorial,Mr.Bell.Asusual. Justwantedtoaddthatfibreopticwouldgivenortherncommunitiesthemeanstoachieveproper telecommunication,butitneedstohappeninaregulatedandcompetitiveenvironmentorelseit doesntwork. HereinYellowknife,wejustgotafibreopticlinkacrosstheMackenzieRiver.Surethedownload speedhasimprovedsomewhatduringlowtraffichours,butourbandwidthisstillcappedand about15timespricierthaninEdmonton.Youtubeandthelikesareheavilythrottledanduploadis ascrappyasever. ThatsbecauseNorthwestelenjoysamonopolyandtheyhavenointerestinofferingtheir customersabetter,cheaperInternet.HopefullySSIslegalefforttodisbandthisracketwillpay offsoon.RightnowallwehaveisafibrelinkwithouttheInternetthatcomeswithit. #4.PostedbyPutugukonOctober25,2012 ThemainlandportionofNunavutcanbejoinedtotheNorthAmericanfibrenetworkbyusing microwavetowersatafractionofthecostoflayingundersealine. TowersshouldbeplacedalongtheroadroutesthathavebeenproposedinKivandKitsothatthe towerscanbeservicedmoreeasilyinthefuture. Clearly,aEurope/AsiafibrelineisnottheonlysolutiontoNunavutscommunicationneeds.

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NunatsiaqOnline 20121025: EDITORIAL: Its time for movement on Arctic telecoms

Realistically,acombinationoftowersandfibreisneeded. ManyplacesinruralNorthAmericagothemicrowavetowerrouteinsteadofrelyingonsatellite whenthereisnoaccesstoafibreopticline.Nunavutneedbenodifferentbyignoringthis obviousoption.

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NunatsiaqOnline 20121025: EDITORIAL: Its time for movement on Arctic telecoms

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