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NEWS:AroundtheArcticJune18,20156:05am

SSIMicroteamsupwithInuitorgonnewradio
service

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ProponentshopepilotprojectgrowsintoNunavutwideInuitlanguageFM
service
JIMBELL

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AndSSIMicrocommunicationssiteinNunavut,showingasatellitedishandwirelessantenna.Thecompanyhas
teamedupwiththeKitikmeotInuitAssociationtostartapilotprojectinKugluktukandCambridgeBaythatwill
offerInuitlanguageprogrammingonFMradio.(PHOTOCOURTESYOFSSIMICRO)

Throughamarriageofopensourcesoftware,satellitetechnologyandFMradio,theKitikmeotInuit
AssociationandSSIMicrohavecomeupwithanewwaytoputtheInuitlanguageonthe
airwaves.
Ifallgoesasplanned,bymid2016,KugluktukandCambridgeBayresidentswillgeta24houra
day,sevendayaweekFMradioservicethatincludesadailyInuitlanguageradioprogramaimed
atrevitalizingInuinnaqtun.
Andtheyalsohopethatafterthefirstsmallseedgerminates,itwillonedaygrowintoanew
Nunavutwideradionetwork.
Themorecommunitiesthatareinvolved,themorecontentthatcanbesharedonthenetwork
itself.YouhaveelementsthatwouldbeofintereststrictlytoCambridgeBayandtheremaybe
elementsthatwouldbeofinteresttocommunitiesallacrossNunavut,saidDeanProctor,SSI
Microschiefdevelopmentofficer.
Themorecommunitiesthatareonthere,thebroaderthescopeandappealofthecontentitself,
Proctorsaid.
ByJune2016,aftertheyreceivethenecessarylicencesandpermitsfromtheCRTCandIndustry
Canada,theyhopetostartoffwithatwoyearpilotprojectinKugluktukandCambridgeBay.
SSIMicro,throughitsofficesinKanata,Ont.,andYellowknife,alreadyoffersbroadbandsatellite
basedinternetinNunavutthroughitsQiniqbrandandintheNorthwestTerritoriesthrough
Airware.

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ItsrelationshipwiththeKIAdatesto1998,whenSSIMicroworkedwiththeInuitorganizationto
bringasatellitebasedinternetservicetotheKitikmeotregionsfivecommunities.
TheradioideaemergedfromdiscussionsbetweenSSIMicrospresident,JeffPhillip,KIAofficials,
andRobHopkinsofTagish,Yukon,whohasdevelopedanopensource,webbasedsoftware
systemcalledOpenBroadcaster.
TheOpenBroadcastersoftwarecanbeusedtomanageradioandvideobroadcastsandallows
livetoairandautomatedprogramming.
TheKIAwasinterestedinadvancingandpromotingtheInuitoralculture.Soitwasabitofa
comingtogetherofJeffsdesiretonotonlymoveintoradio,becausewecanleverageoursatellite
facilities,andKIAsdesiretoworkonapilotprojecttoseehowthismightworkinacoupleofkey
communities,Proctorsaid.
Robplayedaprettybigroleinthisaswell.HedevelopedOpenBroadcaster,whichisthesoftware
foundationforthisproject,saidChrisFraser,anSSIMicrodevelopmentofficer.
ThethreegroupsbegantheseconversationsaboutaradionetworkfortheKitikmeot,onething
ledtoanother,andhereweare,Frasersaid.
TheOpenBroadcasterwebinterfacecanallowanyauthorizedpersontoputtogetherradioshows
andmusicplaylistsfromlibrariesofprerecordedcontent.
Itcanalsobeusedtopluginpublicserviceannouncementsandpaidadvertisements,orprovide
forliveprogramming.
TheKIAwilluseittomanageitsowndailyInuitlanguagetimeslot.
Butotherparticipants,suchasvolunteers,communityradiosocietiesandhamlets,maybeableto
usethesoftwaretogainaccesstotheirowncommunityaccesstimeslots.
Theconceptofastudiochangeswithadvancesintechnology.Studiosbecomereallyvirtual.You
couldbroadcastfromasmartphoneoracomputer,ratherthanfromthefourwallsandglass
windowsofastudio,Proctorsaid.
SSIiscapableofmanagingthesystemremotelyfromitssatelliteteleportinKanata,Proctorsaid.
Andstreamingmusicprograms,allofwhichmustconformtoCRTCCanadiancontentregulations,
canbeeasilyassembledthroughadraganddropinterface.
MusicselectionsmustadheretoanyCRTCdirectiononCanadiancontent,butitisexpectedthat
programmingwillgenerallyfeaturelocalperformers,Inuitperformersfromthecircumpolarnorth,
aswellasCanadianaboriginalmusic,abackgrounddocumentsays.
Suchcontentwouldberotatedinamixthatalsoincludescountry,rockandhiphopandother
musicgenrespopularintheKitikmeotregion.
InKugluktukandCambridgeBay,SSIMicrowillinstalltheirownlowpowerFMantennas,less
than50wattseach,withreceptionavailablewithina10kilometreradiusaroundeachcommunity.
Inthefuture,thesystemcouldbeadaptedtointegratecommunityvideoandcableTV,aswellas
emergencyannouncementsandothercommunications.
TheirnextstepistofileapplicationswiththeCRTCthissummerorfallandtoobtaintechnical
permissionsfromIndustryCanada.
Withouttryingtopredeterminetheregulatorsdecisions,wedliketothinkwecangetabilitytobe
upandrunningaboutayearfromnow,Proctorsaid.

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