Registration to close November 7th
NORTH BAY, ON – Canada’s first annual Rural and Remote Broadband Conference announced today the panel members who will engage with conference attendees in North Bay on November 12-14.
There are three excellent panels comprised of government, industry and First Nations leaders which will tackle a number of broadband’s most compelling challenges.
They are:
- Government’s Role in Addressing the Challenges of the Rural Digital Divide.
Developing government policy that supports Broadband development in non-urban regions. A conversation between government and private sector.
Panelists include Fausto Iannialice, director of broadband and digital strategy branch, Ministry of Infrastructure; Angela Lawrence, CCSA vice-chair and general manager, Hay Communications; Geoff Gillon, executive director, Rainy River Business Development Corporation; Vincent Gagné, director government relations, Telus; Rick Hodgkinson, president and CEO, Galaxy Broadband. The panel will be moderated by Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien.
- First Nations Broadband Connectivity
Opportunities and challenges of new models, partnerships and Duty to Consult obligations.
The panelists are Alfred Loon, president and founding member, Eeyou Communications Network; Chief Paul Burke, Fort Severn First Nation; Jesse Fiddler, KNet data management specialist; Lisa Severson, communications and stakeholder relations officer, Eastern Ontario Regional Network. The moderator will be Moderated by: Mike Marcolongo, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
- Collaborating to Build a Stronger Rural and Remote Broadband Ecosystem.
Discussion between various organizations that have established or are in the process of establishing Broadband projects.
The panelists are Brian McCullagh, director of business development at Vianet Inc.; Jim Pine, CAO of the County of Hastings, co-lead EORN; Gianni Creta, president and CEO of ENVI Network; Chad West, manager of IT, Municipality of County of Kings (N.S.); Mitch Thomson, executive director, Olds Institute for Community & Regional Development (Alberta).
Information sharing and collaboration are key themes of the conference, and these panel sessions will not disappoint.
The conference’s roster of speakers, as previously announced, include Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade; Chris Seidl, executive director, telecommunications for the CRTC; and chairman and co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum, John G. Jung.
The agenda for the gathering to be held at the North Bay Best Western is available here and will be well worth attending for anyone looking to better understand rural and remote broadband challenges, engage with other stakeholders, and explore options to collaborate to find effective solutions.
Sponsors of the event include Calix (founding sponsor), Clearcable Networks, OEC Group of Companies, Ontario North Consulting, Fonex, Telonix Communications Inc., Gosfield North Communications, Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), mbsiWAV, Bell Canada, TVC Communications Canada, Corning, Eagle Telecom, Adtran, Nexicom Systems, Tourism North Bay, IBI Group and Vianet. Cartt.ca is the media sponsor.
For more information, please contact conference organizer Amedeo Bernardi at amedeo@amedeobernardi.ca.
