Introduction

This report covers the period January to December 2001.

By every standard, ADnet can be considered to have had a very successful year. The major milestone was the finalization of the formal contract between ADnet and the Joint Venture of ONTelcom and PUC Telecom which was signed on July 11, 2001. Various members of the Board of Directors participated in the negotiation process with many insightful inputs. Special mention needs to be made of the assistance of Directors Charlie Whitfield, Michael Corbett, Greg Punch and Julian Piwowarski. The completion of this activity allowed the staff to move on and concentrate on project management and roll out.

The year started with the Launch Presentation held at the Bushplane Museum in Sault Ste. Marie on January 25, 2001. This all day event was co-hosted by PUC Telecom, ONTelcom and ADnet. The morning session was by invitation only for ADnet’s member’s executives, District dignitaries, Federal and Provincial sponsors, and representatives from other northern community based networks. The senior executives of the host organizations addressed the attendees and thanked the appropriate agencies for their support to date. The attendees were also treated to a hands-on demonstration of leading edge technology including video-teleconferencing, internet telephony, broadband internet applications and the latest in wearable computers. After a break for lunch, the afternoon session was opened to ADnet’s members’ staff, potential users and customers, and members of the general public who also had the opportunity to view the hardware and try out some of the applications. All told, approximately 150 people took part in the activities.

February 20, 2001 found the ADnet executive and staff back in the Bushplane Museum once again. Minister Dan Newman, Northern Development and Mines and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) chose the same venue to announce their Flagship program. The telecommunications portion of the program offered funding to develop and implement projects to close the gaps in cellular telephone coverage along the King’s highways in the District. The executive authorized the staff to proceed with the preparation of a submission to partake in the cellular telephone Flagship offering.

The ADnet staff was very busy in March, April and May putting the cellular telephone submissions to together and preparing, issuing and managing a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to engage a consultant to conduct a Feasibility and Technical Study (F&TS) as the first step in the project. Concurrently, they continued to take part in the protracted ADnet – Joint Venture (JV) contract negotiations which, as noted, were successfully concluded in July.

May also saw the expansion of the network when the Service Access Point (SAP) in Wawa was activated and joined the operational SAP in Blind River and the two SAP’s in Sault Ste. Marie. The Wawa SAP was in place in time for the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) annual conference that was held in Michipicoten Community Centre in early May. ADnet and the JV co-sponsored a display booth in the associated trade show that included a direct connection to the local SAP to highlight the uses and advantages of broadband. The President joined the staff for the official reception on the first night of the conference.

The staff used the routine summer period to start development of the Local Infrastructure Development (LID) project. The overall project objectives were identified and the search for partnership started. This eventually led to an arrangement with East Algoma Community Futures Development Corporation.

In September the cellular telephone F&TS was finalized. The resultant draft business plan indicated a viable capital project was possible and the staff proceeded to work on a capital funding request. Negotiations with the various partners and funding agencies took place throughout the fall and early winter and into the new year.

October saw the executive and staff take part in the annual Northern Ontario Business Awards (NOBA) ceremony, held in 2001 in Timmins. This event corresponds to the anniversary of the founding of the Community Based Network (CBN) movement as it was at the NOBA dinner held in Sault Ste. Marie in 1998 that the principals signed the papers that lead to the creation of the CBN’s. Each year since then, representatives from the CBN’s have held a meeting in conjunction with the NOBA This year was special in that it was decided to create a more structured relationship that would allow a consolidated response to Information Technology and Telematics issues affecting the north. The result was the creation of the Committee of Associated Networks of the Northern Districts of Ontario (CANNDO). This unincorporated association operates under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The annual ADnet planning session was held at the Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie in mid-November. ADnet was amongst the first organizations in the District to use the new Collaborative Meeting and Decision Centre. This new, multi-media facility is purpose-designed as facilitation and planning centre for private and public sector organizations. Proprietary software guides the participants through the planning process in logical steps. It can also serve as a video-teleconference centre for remote meetings.

Near the end of November, ADnet Directors and staff took part in series of Broadband Roundtables held in Blind River and Wawa. Brent St. Denis, Member of Parliament for Algoma-Manitoulin, initiated the series in response to the National Broadband Task Force report that was released in July. It was an opportunity for the general public, IT professionals, service providers and interested parties to get together to exchange views on all aspects of the broadband conundrum.

ADnet closed the year by once again making a donation to the United Way in lieu of exchanging the traditional Seasons’ Greeting. We received many compliments on the e-mail card we sent to our associates explaining our decision.

Objectives and Progress 2001

ADnet was able to make significant in roads on all its objectives for 2001.

Objective One for 2001: To work with the selected vendor to put in place the necessary infrastructure to establish high-speed, high-bandwidth access points of presence in the population centres of the Algoma District.

The installation of the Sault Ste. Marie and area main route fibre optic backbone and two SAP’s in Sault Ste. Marie was completed. A SAP and connectivity opened in Wawa. ADnet staff assisted also assisted with the site surveys.

Objective Two for 2001: Provide support where required to facilitate establishment of additional carriers in any communities that do not have competitive options.

ADnet continued to support the JV with its marketing activities. It arranged meetings with various ADnet members to introduce the JV services and products.

Objective Three for 2001: To place ADnet on a firm financial footing that will ensure long term sustainability

ADnet negotiated a contract for operational contributions from the private sector that places the organization on a sustainable financial footing at the current level of operations for at least three more years.

Objective Four for 2001: #1 ADnet will ensure clear and concise understanding of the objectives with members.

#2 ADnet will ensure there is an effective feedback mechanism in place from members to board and staff.

ADnet increased the web site content and provided a feedback page. It also increased the frequency of visits and briefings to the communities in the District. It enhanced its working relationships with the Community Futures Development Corporations and other regional economic development organizations.

Objective Five for 2001: To support the development of economic growth within the Algoma District.

ADnet continued to work with the economic development agencies throughout the District. It was an active participant in the Sault Ste. Marie Mandate for Growth Committee.

Objective Six for 2001: To work with the membership, potential membership and community interest groups to develop proposals and identify applications in either the stand alone or partnership mode.

ADnet continued to provide facilitation services to the membership. It was instrumental in developing and getting approval of NOHFC submissions on behalf of Bruce Mines/Plummer Additional Township Medical Clinic and Matthews Memorial Hospital. Assistance was also provided to the Algoma Family Services in the development of an RFP for IT services.

Objective Seven for 2001: Staff, board and members are fully informed of District initiatives. Identify and participate in initiatives and opportunities in telecommunication development.

The staff provided both oral and written monthly reports to the Board as well as posting similar reports on the ADnet web site. Minutes of all meetings were likewise posted to the web site.

Objective Eight for 2001: To promote telecommunications education within the District with respect to the opportunities for implementing value added applications.

ADnet continued to promote telecommunications education by participation in forums like FONOM and the Broadband Roundtables. It took part in the IT Expo at Algoma University College and gave presentations to Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)

Activities Summary

Broadband Infrastructure Project

As noted previously, the contract with the JV was finalized in July. Not only did this complete a major milestone, but it allowed the staff to move on and concentrate on other aspects of the project. One of the first activities was to work with the JV to prepare and submit to NOHFC the initial request for capital funding and a follow-on request for administrative funding. This turned into a major learning experience and unfortunately took longer to resolve than anticipated. In the end, and with the cooperation of all concerned, the bumps on the road were overcome early in 2002. ADnet thanks the management and staff at NOHFC, FedNor and the JV for their help and understanding.

ADnet and the JV continue to hold regular staff level project coordination meetings at 2-3 week intervals and executive level review meetings on a quarterly basis using either teleconference technology or face-to-face venues. These meetings proved to be very valuable in keeping the project on track and avoiding problems.

Negotiation of the right –of –ways for the fibre optic cable between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury took a little longer than expected and delayed the 2001 SAP roll-out schedule. These issues are now resolved and the project will be back on schedule by July 30, 2002.

As the infrastructure roll-out takes place, the staff will be placing more emphasis on the marketing aspect of the project.

Cellular Telephone Project

After the announcement by NOHFC of the cellular telephone Flagship program in February, ADnet started the process of forming partnerships ADnet signed a MoU with Superior East Community Development Corporation, subsequently renamed Superior East Community Futures Development Corporation (SE CFDC), and the North Eastern Communications Network (NEOnet) to submit a request for funding to NOHFC to conduct a F&TS. The original intention was to provide coverage along the Hwy 17 corridor from White River to Sault Ste. Marie and from Wawa over to and including the Township of Chapleau. At this point we were approached by FedNor who offered to provide addition funding if we were willing to extend the scope of the study to include all of the Algoma District and the Hwy 101 corridor from Chapleau to Timmins including the adjacent communities. NOHFC agreed to participate in the funding of this all encompassing approach. Subsequently we received approval for a F&TS not to exceed $150,000.00. After a fair and open RFP process, the firm of Ed Hoshizaki Community Consulting from Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay was selected. They conducted the study from April to July and presented their final report in August. The results indicated that a viable and sustainable project was possible. Capital funding proposals were submitted to FedNor and NOHFC in October. A number of meetings with the agencies were held during November and December to clarify the project scope, coverage and funding formulae. It anticipated that funding approval will be granted in 2002 and the vendor selection process can begin. (Editorial note: A RFP was issued to the industry on March 22, 2002.)

Local Infrastructure Development (LID) Project

The LID project was conceived by Emile Malvaso, the ADnet Market Development Officer and developed to the project conception stage by Shawn Heard, General Manager of the East Algoma Community Futures Development Corporation. Shawn and Emile worked together in the further development of the project, initially as part of the ADnet membership services benefit and later as part of a formal partnership under the terms of a MoU. The concept behind LID is a natural follow-on from the original ADnet Broadband Infrastructure project that will see the establishment of SAP’s in the twenty-six ADnet communities as it will suggest a solution to the local loop issue. The LID will identify the infrastructure requirements to provide broadband access to every building in the targeted twenty-seven communities; identify the best technical solution; identify the business case for the implementation of the suggested solution; and identify the associated costs. The main deliverable of the project will be a specific solution for each of the twenty-seven communities that joined the project as partners.

Emile spent most of 2001 formulating the partnerships and preparing the funding requests that were submitted to FedNor and NOHFC in the fall. It is hoped that funding approval will be received early in 2002 and a consultant can be hired. (Editorial note: A consultant was hired in April 2002.)

Libraries Project

The libraries project was brought to our attention by Director Michael Corbett who also serves on the Board of Ontario Library Services – North. The purpose of the project is to provide enhanced Internet connectivity to all the libraries in the Algoma District. Funding is provided by the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and is administered by the Southern Ontario Library Services with whom ADnet will have to sign a formal agreement. One of the key factors in ADnet being selected to carry out this project was the ability to leverage the benefits of the broadband infrastructure project by using the SAP’s as points of departure for the provision of the service. The current plans are to have all the connectivity in place and the systems up and running by end of July 2002.

Committee of Associated Networks of the Northern Districts of Ontario (CANNDO)

Since the founding of the CBN’s in 1998, there has been an informal working relationship among the five northern networks: - 807 Northwest Network in Thunder Bay, NetCentral in Sudbury, NipNet in North Bay, NEOnet and ADnet. A sixth member joined the group when the Muskoka District Network in Huntsville was incorporated in 2001. The combined broadband infrastructure RFP and the annual meeting in conjunction with the annual NOBA gala exemplify this cooperation. In early 2001 a number of projects and issues arose that made it obvious that some sort of mechanism was needed to allow the CBN’s to provide a consolidated coordinated response to particular items that had a pan-northern impact. We discovered that there was no simple, methodology in place to respond and to provide comments concerning an RFP issued by the NORTH Network. After developing an appropriate response for approval by the individual boards, the staffs decided to formalize the procedure. The result was a MoU drafted at a meeting in Timmins in October and circulated for approval by the CBN’s in November. By the end of the year, 807 Net, ADnet and NEOnet had approved the MoU. It is anticipated the remaining CBN’s will approve the document in 2002.

Staff and Office Activities

Emile Malvaso was hired as the Market Development Officer in March. Emile is a Sudbury native with an extensive background in private business where he put his Commerce and Business degree to good use. He gained valuable economic development experience while working in Dubreuilville where his partner was the local Nurse Practitioner until her recent move to Blind River. While in Dubreuilville, he also managed the locally owned cable system. Emile has been a valuable addition to the team.

Due to expanded role of the Algoma District Services Administration Board (ADSAB), it was necessary to consolidate the ADnet office space in the ADSAB building. This was accomplished without any adverse effect on the ADnet operations and resulted in a slight reduction in operating expenses.

ADnet took advantage of the creation of the CA Internet domain and registered the name “adnetalgoma.ca”. The new name was transferred to the web site and e-mail addresses late in the year.

Board of Director Activities

The Board maintained its practise of past years and continued to meet on a monthly basis except for July and August. Due to heavy Directors’ commitments and scheduling conflicts it was not possible to hold any Board meetings outside Sault Ste. Marie in 2001.

The Infrastructure Committee and the Marketing and Membership Committee were consolidated into the Telematics and Infrastructure Committee to better utilize the Board resources. The changes recommended in 2000 were formalized when the name of the Finance Committee was changed to the Finance and Administration Committee (FAC) to more accurately reflect the additional responsibilities.

Due to changes in Board membership, the Executive Committee operated with only four members for most of the year.

The Board directed a major review of By-law 1. The review was conducted by the staff under the direction and oversight of the FAC and included a meeting the legal advisor to review the recommendations. The amendments were accepted by the Board and will be presented to the Annual General Meeting for the members’ endorsement.

Community Contact

ADnet and its various activities was the subject or major part of eight articles in the Sault Star over the year. There were also stories about ADnet in Northern Ontario Business magazine, the Algoma News, the Elliot Lake Enterprise and the North Shore Sentinel.

ADnet continued its extensive series of community contacts. Staff visited fifteen communities throughout the year to attend community meetings, provide technical briefings, or give summary presentations. In many locations these were group visits where a number of communities were represented. This is in addition to project related visits such as SAP site selection.

The visit summary is:

Locale	Number

Blind River	8
Bruce Mines	5
Chapleau	1
Dubreuilville	3
Elliot Lake	1
Hornepayne	1
Mississauga FN	1
North Shore	2
North Shore Tribal Council (Cutler)	3
Plummer Additional	2
Serpent River FN	2
Spanish	1
St. Joseph's Island	4
Thessalon	4
Wawa	5
Total	43

Objectives 2002-04-10

The annual planning session was held at the Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie on the weekend of November 16/17, 2001. Fourteen participants attended including representatives from SE CFDC and East Algoma CFDC. Emile Malvaso once again proved his adaptability by ably serving as the facilitator. In addition to the review of the ADnet mission and goals, new objectives for 2002 were identified. The use of the computer assisted process in the new facility enhanced the value of the session.

The objectives for 2002, subsequently approved by the Board, are:

ADnet objectives for 2002 are divided into 4 categories

Ongoing Activities:

1. Develop and implement an annual plan. Monitor progress and initiate corrective actions with specific focus on staffing, financial needs and cash flow

2. Manage, monitor and support the implementation of funded projects and initiatives (e.g. NOHFC “26 SAP’s) with specific attention to timetables, contractual agreements and cash flow.

3. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with JV and other telecommunications vendors

4. Maintain contact with funding and community partners and develop proposals for initiatives that are aligned with ADnet’s goals and mission.

5. Manage and implement agenda for regular Board and Committee meetings

6. Develop & implement 2002 corporate communications plan (Sponsor’s meetings, inter-agency relations, member communications, newsletters)

Community Development Objectives:

1. Obtain funding and implement a plan to co-locate ADnet personnel with CFDC’s in North & East Algoma. The ADnet personnel will (among other things) assist communities throughout the District in developing and implementing a telematics strategy that meets the needs of their areas.

2. Develop and submit business plans for 5 Local Loop (LID) Projects in the Algoma District

3. Obtain funding & begin implementation of Cellular project

4. Develop plan & submit funding for Smart Communities (ACE)

Organizational Objectives:

1. Develop business plans and, where feasible, implement mergers or operating agreements with potential partners (e.g. Algoma.net and ADIN)

Continuous Improvement Objectives (ADnet Processes):

1. Conduct Board Development activities needed to improve Board effectiveness

2. Staff development programs and attendance at conferences

3. Update policies, practices and procedures as required to maintain effectiveness

Board of Director Changes

Year 2001 saw an inordinate number of changes in the make up of the Board of Directors through out the year. While some were scheduled due to term expiry, a number were unexpected and came about as the result of changes in personal circumstances.

Darlene Jones chose not to stand for re-election when her term expired. Darlene was an original Board member and was very influential in keeping the organization in good financial order during its developmental stages.

Bert Campbell retired to southern Ontario at the end his term. Although only with the Board a short while, his keen insight and ability to cut to the chase combined with a finely honed sense of humour was sorely missed.

Elaine Johnson departed the area to take up employment in Ottawa. Her management and human resources knowledge left a gap in the Board’s resource base.

Nick Micomonaco, another original Board member, left the area to take up employment in Alberta. Nick could be counted on to ask the hard questions and keep everyone on their toes.

Ron Batenchuk took on additional responsibilities in his primary job with the city of Sault Ste. Marie and decided he would not have the time necessary to give the directorship the full justice it deserved. As an original director, Ron carried out some the critical preliminary discussions with the provincial authorities to get the original start-up funding in place and get he projects moving.

Rob Reid felt is was best to resign when a major restructuring at Great Lakes Power gave him additional responsibilities and less available time to dedicate to ADnet activities. Rob contributed sound business sense during his short time on the Board.

Lynn MacKenzie and Tom Marinelli were elected to the Board in April. The have both made significant contributions to the Board by their participation in the FAC and T&IC respectively.

Norma Diamond joined the Board in mid-year and has been of invaluable assistance in easing the way for infrastructure construction through the First Nations’ lands.

Art Callegari threw himself unreservedly into Board activities when he joined in mid-year. His willingness to participate and contribute added to the effectiveness of the organization.

Peggy Story-Inkster joined the Board in the fall and immediately accepted a position on the Executive Committee. Peggy had been involved in the early formation stages of ADnet so it was good to welcome an old friend back into the fold.

Financial Statements

ALGOMA DISTRICT

COMMUNITY NETWORK

Year ended December 31, 2002

ADnet Annual Report 2001

Table of Contents

Message From The President

Board of Directors

Members

Funding Sponsors