June 10, 2004
In 2003, four years of perseverance paid off for a group of highly dedicated partners who sought to increase both paging and high speed internet services for Manitoulin Island and area.
In January of 1999, a partnership formed between the LaCloche-Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC), Northern Communications, and FedNor with the goal of enhancing paging service on Manitoulin Island since many areas did not have adequate service and pagers did not work. This was particularly important for the medial profession, firefighters, and service/sales people covering the Island from other areas. About 15,000 people would potentially benefit from this increased service, which would include most of Manitoulin, Killarney and parts of the North Shore.
With government incentives and the commitment from the partners, the project quickly grew to include digital wireless internet service. As the project grew, so did the project team. The private partner, Northern Communications, brought other firms on board so that by the time of the official launch in October 2003, five private partners were playing a role in the project.
Marg Hague, former General Manager of LAMBAC says, “This project is testament to what can be done when people from varying backgrounds work together with a common goal. Our private partner, Mike Shantz of Northern Communications, worked tirelessly to secure other private sector firms to come to the table. Likewise, our federal colleagues put in endless hours. The combination of each partner’s area of expertise, combined with their dedication, made it all happen.”
The upgraded service has been a boost to the local business economy. Margaret Hague says, “The economic spin-off of a initiative like this is huge. From real estate offices to developers to our full range of SME’s, these two services help each of them do their jobs better and faster. It’s a huge convenience and very important to our economy.”
Documents that used to take twenty minutes to send or download can now be done in seconds. This has far-reaching implications – youth doing research projects for school projects, people looking for employment opportunities, local area businesses searching for financial or product information – it’s now all at their fingertips. Arguably, the greatest community benefit thus far has been in the provision of emergency services. For instance, the Gore Bay Fire Department now uses pagers. In the past, if a volunteer fire firefighter didn’t hear the alarm, he/she would not go to the fire. In addition, when a fire alarm sounded, it caught the attention of people who would go to the fire, often causing traffic jams. With the new pagers, it means more volunteers can get the call, regardless of where they are, and be able to respond to an alert. It’s safer for firefighters and the community is better served.