The BC3 Blog

We are asking all members and interested parties to participate in our survey over the next couple of weeks. We need to hear from you and we need to know your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions regarding BC3. Our goal is to give your voice the power to keep BC3 vital and relevant to the needs of rural Britsh Columbia’s every-growing broadband needs.If you have not received an email message requesting to arrange a brief interview time, please contact BC3 as soon as possible to do so. Your input is very important to BC3.Thank you.   

It was a very interesting three days with much networking of people and organizations plus a number of informative presentations. There was a decided shift this year to having a lot more representation of First Nations communications developments and with good reason due to recent dramatic strides. Another notable development is that there was recognition of a shift towards Internet connectivity now becoming viewed more and more as ‘an essential service’ rather than simply something desirable.

A number of meetings and discussions were held with various individuals and organizations which resulted in resounding and unanimous confirmation that BC3 remains vital in continuing and facilitating advocacy of rural broadband forward. What was most persuasive about this is the variety of needs there are.

BC3 hosted a forum in Kaslo on October 20th in the interest of creating a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) that bordering community groups could use as guiding principles in potential ‘conflict of interest’ situations.

There are no agreed-upon physical boundaries between various community broadband champion groups and as groups expand to get more subscribers it is recogngized that conflict of interest situations may arise. In order to work together in harmony this MOU was produced. It is intended to be a living document and open for refinement and expansion. A special discussion group in the BC3 Forums will be maintained for this purpose.

BC3 wants to say a loud and appreciative ‘Thank You’ to all participants and BC3 anticipates that this MOU will be used and tested by the three communities represented at the Forum in Kaslo (Kaslo/Lardeau  KIN, Crawford Bay ESIS, Riondel RCC.) in the near future and will contribute their input for refining this MOU.

1. Sustainability for the most possible users

2. Individual community Networks working cooperatively in a Non-competitive spirit

3. To work towards individual Networks Interconnectivity

4. Acknowledge a sense of commitment to keep neighbouring communities informed of plans for future growth development & expansion.

5. In the event of an apparent conflict of interest negotionations will be entered to resolve the issues in question.

6. Conflict resolution best practices to be adopted t.b.a.

This is a good place to look for conflict resolution Best Practices information:

 http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/onlinetraining/resolution/index.asp

The BC3 Forums are now online and operational. The free software application that powers the BC3 Forums is ‘phpBB3′ and you can learn more about it at the PHPBB website.

PHPBB won the 2007 SourceForge award for ‘Best Project for Communications’ defined as ‘The best project for talking to your friends or sharing information’ and described as ‘phpBB is the worlds leading Open Source flat style discussion forum software. It includes all the features you expect to find in todays top of the line software’. You can visit the Source Forge awards page here.

The current release of phpBB is version 2 and we have installed and are running the newer version known as ‘Olympus’ Release Candidate (RC) 4 of version 3. This version is expected by PHPBB to be the final ‘Gold’ version which means that has been thoroughly tested and if no more bugs are found it will be the official new ‘current’ version.

To learn more about PHPBB please visit their website.

Welcome and please feel free to use this resource. This area is for visitors to read the latest BC3 news and post comments.

This area is for regular updates of the ongoing progress of BC3. For more information, forums and discussion groups about BC3, rural broadband information, and community groups in British Columbia please visit the BC3 Forums.

Written by Matthew Asham

BC Net’s 7th Annual Conference is taking place on April 17th and 18th at Simon Fraser University - Harbour Centre, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Conference Website is available on the on the BC Net website.

“This year’s theme, Making Connections: Sharing Knowledge for Greater Innovation, highlights the goals of the event: to introduce new ideas, learn and share experiences to enhance research, teaching & learning through technology. Our aim is to stimulate critical thinking about new and better ways to apply super high-performance networks and applications technologies as well as enhance productivity and innovation within the higher education and research community.”

BC3 is pleased to announce that discounted registration fees are available to BC3 members in Rural and Remote Communities. We are very grateful to BC Net for offering this discount. This is an excellent opportunity for youth in rural and remote Communities to learn more about innovations in the advanced technology networking sector.

The Conference Program is also available from the BC Net 2007 Conference Information Page.

Written by Matthew Asham
PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a performance improvement advisory discussing a new and open business model, as an imperative to how management of convergence will realize its potential.

The BC3 recognizes the enormous potential of the co-operative sector in British Columbia and Canada to enhance community economic development, strengthen the public sector, and build modern telecommunication facilities that will foster Community Connectivity in ways never before imagined.

The advisory is available from: pwc.com.

As a member owned co-operative, whos membership reflects both the Public and Private sector, and the ability to define a share structure similar to publically traded companies, BC3 is able to facilitate inter-economics in a manner that fuels Community Economic Development throughout British Columbia. Matched with the voluntary sector, whos membership includes more than 161,000 organizations with almost 12 million volunteers across Canada, the Co-Op community is able to pair all levels of public and private partnership, to further strengthen locally sustainable community economic development through local capacity development, expertise and advanced education.

Written by Matthew Asham

The BC3 held its Annual General Meeting on February 23rd, 2007. A new board was elected, and a new model of co-operation has been born.The new Board of Directors is:

Bob Carter, ESIS
Arvo Koppel, PRiS
Kevin Battersby, Ragged Edge Community
Network Matthew Asham, BCWNS
Penny A.P. Anderson, Yahk Communications
Tyler Dobie, Kaslo InfoNet
Robert Hogben, Prince George Native Friendship Center

As moved at the AGM, updated and audited financials will be produced after the conclusion of our fiscal year.

The BC3 has also instituted a new members-only mailing list. If you have not received a welcome message to the list, please contact Matthew Asham for assistance.

An updated consultation paper will be circulated to the members list shortly, this paper will discuss much of the feedback we recevied during our consultation process this past six months. As well, a new operating model will be commented upon.

Written by Matthew Asham

From the Community ICT blog.

We are in danger of losing a truly Canadian resource. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is using the model and vision that our government is killing.

Did you know that across the world, from Norway to South Africa, from Ecuador to Australia, governments are investing in public internet for communities?

These governments understand why community internet is important to literacy rates, employment rates, and breaking down geographic and cultural barriers. These governments understand the importance of computer and internet literacy to economic growth.

Did you know that much of the world models its community internet on a program pioneered in Canada?The Canadian model is known as the Community Access Program (CAP). It was started by Industry Canada in the mid-1990s. Its impact continues to be felt across Canadian communities both large and small.

Did you know that, as the rest of the world continues to recognize the economic benefits gained by investing in community internet, successive Canadian governments have slowly suffocated CAP by reducing its funding?With the upcoming Conservative budget, CAP will be snuffed out. For good. CAP is a successful program with a proven economic and social impact. It cuts across nearly every community in Canada. It will be lost forever.The Conservative government has offered no new initiative to take the place of CAP. They refuse to comment on this. Instead, Conservatives continue to point the finger at the Liberals rather than talk about what they are actually going to do.

Did you know that the amount of technical information is doubling every two years? It is predicted to double every 72 hours by the year 2010. Now is not the time for Canada to pull their support for community training.

Communities should not have to bear the burden of partisan politics. Our literacy rates, our economic strength, and our social well-being are too important. These are investments in our future.

Well over 20 million citizens have received training or accessed the Internet from a CAP site in the past decade. A recent sample group study has shown that 93% of those who received training at a CAP Site felt that their new skills would positively impact their performance in a work or education environment.

Technology is transforming so fast that much of what we learned three years ago is now nearly obsolete. Our ability to use new technology has a direct impact upon our employment opportunities. CAP delivers this opportunity to communities.

The Conservatives will announce a new budget soon. Unless you speak out, this budget will bring with it the death of CAP. If you think that public internet access is important, please let your local member of parliament know. Please email Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier at Bernier.M@parl.gc.ca.

Now is not the time to stop investing in our communities.

Written by Matthew Asham

The 2007 STRATEGIC Use of Information Technology in Communities Summit is happening February 24th to 27th in Vancouver.

Communities around the world are taking advantage of the Internet to improve people’s lives. Strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) 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.

The 2007 Summit will bring together a powerful mix of community leaders, technology service providers, business, government, researchers, and non-profit organizations that are engaged in using ICTs for development. The diverse program will reflect the local, regional, national, and international make up of the organizers, presenters, and delegates. It will also reflect the organizers commitment to provide delegates with tools that are readily applied to local community projects.

The 2007 Summit will once again focus on how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used in a strategic fashion by communities.

The emphasis for this conference will be how the needs of a community, as defined by and for that community, can be provided on a sustainable basis through the use of ICT. Particular stress will be on communities’ economic well being and social development.

Session information is coming shortly. Register now! For more information, visit www.2007summit.ca.