vol.15.10
Tuesday, 21 July, 2015

/ARCHIVE

                                                                                                                                             ... attention must be paid*

 

Broadband is One Challenge, Water is Another*

all the views we dare to share

Broadband is Not Enough, But It IS Essential

 

Before deciding to relocate to Kimberley, we looked at communities on four continents and one large island. Two important criteria in our seach were air quality and internet connectivity. Kimberley's air quality is acceptable, though significantly improved by HEPA filters.

 

In June, 2009 we were assured by the appropriate authorities that Kimberley had "high-speed" internet service, aka broadband. Our sources believed what they had told us. They had been given inaccurate information. Since moving here, we have become tedious on the absolute necessity of having broadband service available to our community.

 

With Telus now about to offer service via fibre optics and Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation working to facilitate access to broadband, we thought it time to assess where Kimberley is in the broadband-sphere.

 

In January we had scheduled a discussion with Johnny Strilaeff, CBT's chief operating officer. We planned to talked about the SunMine but also took the opportunity to discuss CBT's relatively new creation, Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation (CBBC). Over the next several days we'll share those videos.

 

We started by asking Mr. Strilaeff what had prompted CBT to get into the broadband business:

 

    Part 1

Next, we wanted to know: Can genuine broadband service be economically viable in a non-urban environment?

 

    Part 2

 

Inevitably, the bottom line is the bottom line, UNLESS an organization's focus is not restricted to money-making.

What is the government's role in broadband accessibility?

 

     Part 3

 

We also wanted to understand how CBBC's involvement is changing the environment in which broadband will be deployed.

 

    Part 4

 

 

 

Our Neighbors

 

Kim McLean — Bavarian Home Hardware

 

    Kim solved a serous hardware problem for the city.

                            

 

D • U • C • K • S

 


Stan Cuthill — Kimberley Building Supplies

                          
Tara Penner — Pivot Data

 

Grady Pasiechnyk — Wine Works

    

 

Elected Representatives

 

 


  

Mayor Don McCormick

    

*—Looming water challenges and medicinal cannabis were our principal subjects when the Mayor sat down with us for our July discussion.

 

The earlier editions of conversations with the Mayor are here.

 

 

Where is all this activity leading?

 

     Part 5

 

 

 

An obvious question: is CBBC competing with Shaw, Telus and other service providers?

 

     Part 6

 

 

There benefits to authentic broadband service beyond faster internet download speeds:

 

     Part 7

 

Next: what does all this mean to the people and communities of the Columbia Basin?

On the evening of April 21, Studio 64 hosted Bluesman Guy Davis along with an enthusiastic audience. The next day, Mr. Davis sat down with us to talk about why he sings the blues. This is a preview of the program we produced:

 

 


The full conversation is here.

 

 

(links are being added incrementally)

Contents:

    

Of Possible Interest/Relevance

 

Archive

 

 

If your internet connection has the bandwidth, watch these video clips in High Definition.

 

Audio Bits: 

Author and social critic Malcolm Gladwell — Power

 Contact Us: send your questions, ideas, suggestions, insights, revelations, et al, up to and including critiques to: comment@ekology.net

Why we do this

    

During Kimberley's 2011 election campaign, we made an offer to all the mayoral candidates to produce a regular discussion with the Mayor as part of the communication process everyone was talking about. We renewed that offer in 2014. On April 1, 2015, we recorded the first program. Here 'tis (on the right of this page).

 

This project is based on the notion of democratic dialogue, first introduced to us by Cornel West. Respectful discussions between and among the citizens of a community are the central core of a polity's ability to govern itself. That's why we're including some of our neighbors.

 

*—"Attention must be paid" is a line from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. In a conversation with Gay Talese in 2006, he pointed out to us the importance of attending to everyday events and the people who inhabit them.
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