Calling All Muskoka Business and Technology Geniuses! - Business and Technology Centre

We Need Your Input

Muskoka Community Network is facilitating the development of an advanced Muskoka Business and Technology Centre and we need your help.


Our vision is to create a centre of excellence that will support Muskoka business and technology development and to deliver training to further develop the technology workforce, economy, and culture in Muskoka.


We have an appropriate facility with UltraBroadband capacity, but we want your input into the design and capability of this facility. Come and join us on February 25th, 2009 at 1p.m. and contribute to the vision of the Muskoka Business and Technology Centre.

It will be exciting to hear your ideas on:

• What technological capacity your organization needs, but doesn't have access to;


• What human capacity your organization needs in relation to business and technology development, but doesn't have access to;


• What technological capacity Muskoka needs;


• The culture of a community based "Business and Technology Centre";


• How a community based "Business and Technology Centre" might operate.

Some possible ideas include:

• Community Video Streaming Centre


• Video Rendering


• Public Fibre access point


• Application Development


• Shared access to advanced computing resources


• Technology Training Catalogue


• And of course a technology training centre

We encourage you to post a comment on this article to get us all thinking about what this centre might look like.

We hope to see you on Feb 25th, 2009 at 1 p.m. at 440 Ecclestone Drive, Bracebridge, ON. We are located here....http://www.mcnet.ca/servicedirectory/map

Regards,

Muskoka Community Network
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For more information on broadband and technology in Muskoka, visit the Muskoka Community Network website at
www.mcnet.ca

HIGH SPEED INTERNET ARRIVES IN FIVE REMOTE AREAS OF MUSKOKA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGH SPEED INTERNET ARRIVES FOR FIRST TIME EVER IN FIVE REMOTE AREAS OF MUSKOKA

Muskoka, Ontario ─ January 19th, 2009 ─ Muskoka Community Network (MCN) is pleased to announce that high speed internet has arrived for the first time ever in the remote areas of:

· Moose Deer Point, a first nations community
· Bella Lake, Lake of Bays
· Clear Lake, Bracebridge
· Madill Church, just south of Huntsville
· and the outlying areas of Taylor Road, Bracebridge

“High speed is more than a business advantage, it’s a basic business requirement,” said Eric Lindgren, head potter, Lindgren Pottery Showroom and resident, Madill Church.

“In its absence, all communications – be it with customers, suppliers or even the government – are a struggle, and at times counterproductive,” Lindgren added. “I’m looking forward to a substantial decrease in the insanity now that we have high speed in the Madill Church area.”

Additional service is being expanded in the Townships of Lake of Bays and Georgian Bay, as well as the Towns of Huntsville, Gravenhurst and Bracebridge. Please check http://www.mcnet.ca/projects/broadsched/ for more information.

“At a time when the economy is under duress, the extension of high speed to as many people as possible is more important than ever,” said Rob McPhee, Executive Director, at Muskoka Community Network. “In fact, in December FedNor echoed this sentiment with an additional investment of $491,200.00, enabling Muskoka Community Network to continue coordinating the deployment of broadband services and provide training opportunities to the residents and businesses of Muskoka and Almaguin,” added McPhee.

To date, Muskoka Community Network has successfully coordinated the arrival of high speed internet in 18 previously unserviced locations, including the first nation community of Moose Deer Point.

Within Bracebridge:
Portions of Springdale Park
Portions of Falkenburg Station
Stephenson Road 1 near Highway 11
Outlying areas of Taylor Road
Clear Lake

Within the Township of Georgian Bay:
South of the town of Mactier
West of the town of Mactier


Within Gravenhurst:
Ryde
Barkaway
Housey Rapids
West Gravenhurst

Within Huntsville:
Madill Church – just south of Huntsville


Within Lake of Bays:
Tasso Lake
Toad Lake
Blue Lake
Parts of Camp Lake
Bella Lake

Within First Nations Communities:
Moose Deer Point

“Core Broadband was retained by Muskoka Community Network to build the actual infrastructure and we’re proud to have played such a large role in connecting 18 communities to date, said Neil Smellie, Core Broadband. “Having said that, we are incredibly appreciative of the work done by Indigiinet, an internet service provider, whom we sub-contracted to assist in the establishment of high speed within the first nations community of Moose Deer Point. It was Bill Hay, Chairman and CEO of Indigiinet who worked closely with the communities’ Band Council to make it happen.”

This newly established wireless broadband coverage is expected to reach 80 per cent of the unserved population within these areas. Coverage will continue to improve as more towers come on-line. For those unable to access high speed wireless service, satellite high speed may be available.

IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT in these communities, or areas, and would like to determine if you are eligible for high speed wireless on this network, contact a Core Broadband reseller. To find a Core Broadband reseller visit www.corebroadband.ca and click on ISP’S (internet service providers).

You can also find a complete list of ISP’s IN MUSKOKA by visiting http://www.mcnet.ca/servicedirectory/ISP/


About FedNor
FedNor is a federal regional development organization in Ontario that works with a variety of partners, as both a facilitator and catalyst, to help create an environment in which communities can thrive, businesses can grow and people can prosper.

In 2007, Muskoka Community Network secured $1.7 million from FedNor towards the development of an infrastructure to deliver broadband to unserved areas; and through an open bidding process retained Core Broadband to begin building the necessary infrastructure early last year.

About Muskoka Community Network
Muskoka Community Network (MCN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the implementation of telecommunications solutions for the regions of Muskoka and Almaguin, by working with and forming partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

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For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Rob McPhee

Muskoka Community Network

705-646-9044

rob.mcphee@mcnet.ca

OR

Alison Withey

Blue Whale Communications Inc.

705-788-0080

alison@bluewhalecommunications.com

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For more information on broadband and technology in Muskoka, visit the Muskoka Community Network website at
www.mcnet.ca

Industry Canada - Spectrum Operations

To assist in information distribution, Muskoka Community Network has posted this article which is supplied by Industry Canada on January 14th, 2009.
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NOTICE: The following documents are now available.


Gazette Notice No. DGTP-003-08 - Consultation on the Possible Use of the Extended-Ku Spectrum Bands for Direct-to-Home (DTH) Satellite Broadcasting Services
Gazette: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09193.html
Consultation: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09183.html

Gazette Notice No. DGTP-004-08 - Consultation Paper on Using a Portion of the Band 14.5-15.35 GHz for Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) Systems
Gazette: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09194.html
Consultation: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09184.html

Interested parties should submit their comments no later than March 13, 2009.
Reply comments will be accepted until April 17, 2009.

Moratorium on Fixed Services in the Bands 10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.7 GHz, 14.66-14.82 GHz and 15.135-15.295 GHz
SAB-001-08: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09185.html

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AVIS: Les documents suivants sont maintenant disponible.


Avis DGTP-003-08 - Consultation sur l'utilisation possible des bandes de fréquences Ku étendues pour le service de radiodiffusion directe (SRD) par satellite
Avis: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/fra/sf09193.html
Consultation: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/fra/sf09183.html

Avis no DGTP-004-08 - Document de consultation sur l'utilisation d'une partie de la bande 14,5-15,35 GHz par les systèmes de liaison de données commune tactique (TCDL)
Avis: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/fra/sf09194.html
Consultation: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/fra/sf09184.html

Les intéressés doivent présenter leurs observations au plus tard le 13 mars 2009.
En outre, le Ministère offrira aux intéressés l'occasion de répondre aux commentaires reçus. Ces réponses seront acceptées jusqu'au 17 avril 2009.

Moratoire sur les services fixes exploités dans les bandes 10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.7 GHz, 14.66-14.82 GHz et 15.135-15.295 GHz http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/fra/sf09185.html

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For more information on broadband and technology in Muskoka, visit the Muskoka Community Network website at
www.mcnet.ca

Sign up for new best practices workshops today!

Get The Most From Broadband & Technology

With the start of a new year there are going to be new Muskoka Community Network workshops delivered this January. As part of MCN's commitment to delivering technology training education and awareness to Muskoka, we will be running many more workshops over 2009. Our workshops are designed to help Muskoka's businesses and residents get the most benefit from broadband and technology.

All of our workshops are delivered in easily understood language to suit everyone from those who just started using a computer yesterday to more advanced users. We are offering two new workshops, Plan Your Web and Technology Management.

Plan Your Web:
MCN Office, 440 Ecclestone Drive, Bracebridge
January 19th, 1:30pm

The first of two workshops will be a Plan Your Web workshop. This workshop teaches participants about what makes a good website and how to integrate planning website into your business structure. Plan Your Web participants will also learn some of the important points of search engine optimization, picking a good host and website developer plus much more! This workshop is sponsored by the Business Enterprise Resource Network, visit their website here.

Technology Management:
St. Thomas' Anglican Church, 4 Mary Street, Bracebridge
January 28th, 5:00pm

The second workshop is about Technology Management. This workshop covers a variety of important topics for today's business owner. Some of the highlights include developing strategies to cope with advancing technology and obsolescence, security for your computers and on the internet. Plus, the Technology Management workshop will show you how to avoid data disasters and ease recovery. This workshop is hosted in partnership with Muskoka Futures.

To sign up for either workshop or for more information please send us an e-mail at mcn.info@mcnet.ca or call us at 646-9044. Watch out for more information on other upcoming workshops on this blog or on our website.

For more information on broadband and technology in Muskoka, visit the Muskoka Community Network website at
www.mcnet.ca