AD~net
Algoma District Community Network
|
AD~net Algoma District Community Network
|
|
|
AD~net Algoma District Community Network
Annual Report 2005
April 20, 2006 PO Box 668, RR#1, 1 Collver Road ssalon, Ontario TheCanada P0R 1L0 www.adnetalgoma.ca
Table of ContentsMessage from the President and Chair of the Board I am pleased to report ADnet has had a successful and meaningful year. It initiated a process of internal re-examination that led to a re-confirmation of the ADnet vision. This in turn will lead to the publication of new strategic and business plans in 2006. ADnet continues to work with its membership through the Algoma District and with like-minded organizations through out northern Ontario to further the cause of providing the state-of-the art technology to all potential users and closing the digital divide. I wish to thank our dedicated staff for all their hard over the past year. It is with regret that I have to inform you that our Market Development Officer – Emile Malvaso – resigned his position in January 2006 to seek other challenging opportunities in the information technology field. While strictly speaking, his departure is outside the scope this report, I would feel remiss if I failed to recognize his years of dedication and service to ADnet. He will be missed sorely. Meanwhile, our Executive Director, Wilf Lefresne and our Administrative Assistant, Darlene Walsh, continue to provide yeoman service. I am also thankful for the support the organization receives from the all levels of government. The municipalities throughout the District continue to provide unqualified backing and encouragement. Projects such as the Cellular Telephone expansion would not have been possible without the continuing fiscal assistance of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) and FedNor. ADnet thanks them for their help. The work of ADnet would not be possible without the volunteer contribution of the hard working members of the Board of Directors. Their never failing support has made my job doable and I wish to thank them for their help. In closing, I want to thank all ADnet members, financial supporters and the residents of the Algoma District. Your contribution has led to our overall success. Thank you,
Peggy Storey-Inkster Board of Directors(As of December 2005)
Staff
Introduction
The report covers the period from January to December 2005. Implementing the Cellular Telephone Project continued to be the major activity for ADnet during the year. The scope of this project is to provide digital cellular service along the highway 17 corridor from Sault to White River and the northern Algoma Region communities of Hornepayne and Dubreuilville as well as along the highway 101 corridor from Wawa to and including the community of Chapleau. It also involves a software upgrade of the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC), which was relocated from Marathon to Thunder Bay, and the addition of digital capabilities to the existing cellular sites at White River and Wawa. Superior Wireless Incorporated (SWI) of Thunder Bay is installing and operating the cellular service. ADnet selected SWI as the private sector vendor partner of choice in 2004 after an extensive and comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is providing $3.5 million in funding support for the $5.9 million project and the Federal Economic Development Initiative in Northern Ontario (FedNor) is providing $500 thousand. SWI will contribute a minimum of $1.9 million towards the project. SWI installed and made operational a little more than 70 percent in 2005 with the remainder scheduled for completion by June 2006. Once again, the year ended on a positive note when the Southern Ontario Library Services (SOLS) (on behalf of the provincial Ministry of Culture) advised ADnet they wanted ADnet to continue to act as their agent for the administration of a contract to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to identified libraries across northern Ontario. The Board and staff appreciated this vote of confidence in ADnet’s ability to meet the users’ needs in a quality manner. This will be the fourth year that SOLS selected ADnet to fulfill this role. ADnet joined with the other four community-based, information communication technologies, not-for-profit, champion organizations in northern Ontario – 807 Network (Thunder Bay), NEOnet (Timmins), NetCentral (Sudbury) and Blue Sky Network (North Bay) – in the development of two studies and reports for NOHFC and FedNor. One report will identify gaps in the existing and projected cellular coverage while the other will do the same for broadband coverage. NetCentral is the lead organization for these studies and will submit the reports to the funding agencies in the spring of 2006. These two projects are an excellent example of the coordination and cooperation displayed by the regions across northern Ontario to present a unified and consolidated approach to the implementation of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT.) Destiny SSM invited ADnet Executive Director Wilf Lefresne and ADnet Board member Charlie Whitfield to serve on their IT Strategy Steering Committee. While they were asked to participate as individual in their fields of expertise, it affords them the opportunity to ensure that ADnet’s voice was heard in this important forum. The Steering Committee performs the oversight and policy function for the consultants producing the IT Strategy for the City of Sault Ste. Marie. The final report is due in the spring of 2006. ADnet Five Year ProjectionADnet undertook an extensive review of its strategic planning status during 2005. Charlie Whitfield volunteered to head up a small group of Board volunteers to review the process and make recommendations. The Board received the report in October 2005. The study group confirmed the vision and mission as follows: Vision ADnet is recognized as a leader and preferred partner for initiatives that enable residents and organizations, in the communities served, to fully benefit from the opportunities available in a knowledge-based economy Mission In order to achieve our Vision, ADnet will:
The study group also confirmed that the major five-goals identified during the major planning session in 2004 remain valid. These goals are: 1) ADnet will be a Successful Client-Oriented Organization generating adequate resources to carry out its mission consistently across the Algoma District on a continuing basis.
2) ADnet will be the Recognized Leader in furthering the use of information technology and applications for economic development in the Algoma District.
3) Through its ICT mandate, ADnet will be recognized as a driver of Regional Economic Development in the Algoma District.
4) ADnet will provide Excellent Service to its members and Stakeholders in the district.
5) ADnet will recruit quality people to the Board and Staff ensuring outstanding organizational performance in pursuit of our Vision. Project SummariesBroadband Infrastructure ProjectThis project completed all the contractual agreement requirements in 2005. The Broadband Infrastructure Project was the driving force behind the creation of ADnet. It was its original project starting in 1998. The project provided broadband points-of-presences (PoP) or, in project terminology, Service Access Points (SAP), in 25 communities through out the Algoma District. The SAP’s and associated network connectivity was installed by a Joint Venture partnership of PUC Telecom and ONTelcom (now Ontera) under contract with ADnet. NOHFC and FedNor provided funding support. The infrastructure installed under this project provided the framework under a competitive environment for the rollout of the libraries project, some school board connectivity, and other miscellaneous information technology services to a wide selection of public and private sector users. Cellular Telephone ProjectRollout of the Cellular Telephone Project (CTP) showed significant progress in 2005. Superior Wireless Incorporated (SWI), the prime contractor, finalized the network design, ordered the equipment and began installation work. The initial activity was the software upgrade to the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) to enable it to handle the expanded network and the new digital services. With the software installed and fully tested, installation and operational cutover proceeded apace with the addition of digital capability at existing sites in White River and Wawa. By the end of the year, service was up and running at the new cell sites in Chapleau, Baldhead Mountain (Hwy 17), Montreal River (Hwy 17), Ryan (Hwy 17), and Bellevue (Hwy 17) with Dubreuilville and Hornepayne due for activation in January 2006. The schedule calls for completion of the remaining work on cell sites along the Hwy 101 corridor, at Searchmont and in the Batchawana Bay area by June 2006. The new service is an expansion of the existing Superior Wireless Incorporated (SWI) network. The operational mode is compatible with the Bell Mobility technology and the CDMA and 1X format. It can handle Bell based Blackberry services. Libraries ProjectThe scope of the Libraries Project is to provide high-speed connectivity and Internet access to libraries in the ADnet and NEOnet catchment areas as well as other selected locations in northern Ontario. The Libraries Project is sponsored and funded by the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) on behalf of the provincial Ministry of Culture. ADnet administers the project on their behalf. The total number of libraries now benefiting from this project is 46. This project is fully funded until December 2006. Recurring Activities ADnet continue to participate in a number of recurring activates throughout 2005. Telecommunications Advisory Group (TAG)TAG is part of the ADnet awareness programme. The purpose of the TAG is to act as a venue for all persons with an interest in Information Communications Technology (ICT) to meet, network and exchange knowledge and ideas. There are no membership fees or obligations. Each session has a featured speaker with a question and answer period followed by a round table where attendees can provide updates in their activities and point out other items of interest. The sponsoring members of TAG – ADnet, the SSM Innovation Centre (SSM IC) and the SSM Economic Development Corporation (SSM EDC) - met in May 2005 to review the TAG mandate and examine its operation. The increasing numbers attending each get together, which has reached upwards of 60 individuals on occasion, augurs well for the continuation of these awareness sessions. The sponsors concluded the TAG was a valuable venue for the development and expansion of ICT capabilities within the Algoma District. They agreed to maintain sponsorship of the regular meetings at noon on the last Friday of the month. Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce Technology CommitteeThe SSM CoC Technology Committee meets monthly. Its mandate is to keep abreast of developments in Information Technology and inform the CoC membership of technology which may be of benefit to their enterprises. Membership consists of a broad range of individuals that have an interest in the exploitation of ICT in the conduct of commercial enterprises. The ADnet Executive Director prepared an article on Wireless Communications and WiMax for inclusion in the Chamber’s bi-monthly newsletter. Regional Networks for OntarioADnet continued as an active member of the Regional Networks for Ontario (RNO) with the Executive Director serving on the RNO Board of Directors. The RNO has been working with the provincial Management Board Secretariat to get additional funding for broadband projects and to allow active participation of Community Based Networks (CBN) in the provisioning of connectivity to provincial entities such as Smart System for Health (SSHA). Destiny SSMADnet continued to work with Destiny SSM (www.destinyssm.com) on the development of strategies involving Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The Destiny SSM Managing Director and the Destiny SSM consultants met with the ADnet Executive Committee in the spring of 2005 and scheduled follow-on meetings with the Board for February of 2006. During these meetings, ADnet continues to emphasize the need to include Algoma District resources in the development of plans and processes for the exploitation of ICT in the region. Community and Staff VisitsDirectors and staff continued to visit communities through out the District. In January, the President and staff met with the Northeastern Mayors Group in Wawa to provide an update on the Cellular Project. This was followed by visits to White River and Chapleau later in the year. The Market Development Officer held regular meetings with the municipals staffs and community development organizations through out the district on a regular basis. The organization used the feedback received from these visits during the strategic planning process. Board of Director ActivitiesThe Board of Directors (BoD) maintained the meeting concept first adopted in 2002 based on the principle of assigning a specific theme to each meeting. In some months, a special Board activity took the place of a regular meeting. ADnet publishes the minutes of its Board meetings on the ADnet website at www.adnetalgoma.ca. In addition, all Board meetings are open to the public. The following is a summary of the Board’s annual activities: February - Annual Plan Review March - Financial Review and AGM Preparation April – Annual General Meeting and election of directors. May - Inaugural Board Meeting and Election of Officers June – BoD Development Session July/August – No scheduled meetings. Available at the call of the President as necessary September - Project Review November - Panning Session Review December – Committee meetings only At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April, the BoD welcomed Hans Hinding of the Northern Credit Union and Ralph Barker of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission as new directors and bid a heartfelt farewell to Dr. Lynn MacKenzie of Algoma Family Services. The BoD provided a unanimous vote of thanks to Lynn for her years of dedicated service to ADnet. They also acknowledged the service of Greg Punch of the Group Health Centre who retired from the Board earlier in the year. The Board noted in particular that Greg was one of the original stakeholders that signed the ADnet incorporation papers in 1998. Unfortunately, Ralph Barker resigned from the Board in the November due to changed personal circumstances. The Board decided to operate with a reduced number for the remainder of the year. The Executive Committee exercised the By-law 1A option of leaving the position vacant until the Annual General Meeting. It is the Board’s intention to publish a revised business plan in 2006. This plan will take into account the changing ICT posture in northern Ontario as well as examine the financial options that are best suited to ADnet’s vision, goals and objectives.
Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
