July 1, 2001

Vic Prokopchuk,
Northwestern Ontario Regional Telecommunications Committee, Atikokan
Nominated by Atikokan Economic Development Corporation

In 1992, Atikokan entrepreneur Vic Prokopchuk was asked to serve on the Ontario Telecommunications Strategy Committee.  That committee’s report brought home to Vic the need for better telecommunications in Northwestern Ontario.  

With the support and guidance of the Atikokan Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), the newly formed Northwestern Ontario Regional Telecommunications Committee (TC) launched a project to assess the telecommunications needs of Northwest communities throughout the entire 807 calling area.  The committee found regional infrastructure very poor.  With funding support from Fednor, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and Bell Canada, the committee set out to find solutions and draft a strategy for telecommunications development.  It believed the north needed high capacity, sophisticated communications links just as much as the south.  It convinced the parties that quality of life and economic capacity-building should override corporate profit and loss analysis.  Over the next few years, the TC induced Bell to install and government agencies to fund new switches first into Atikokan and Sioux Lookout, then other communities, as well as build new fibre routes and other capacity improvements.  This improved telecom infrastructure and networking has dramatically decreased costs for wide area networks, improved internet services and made telephone access affordable.  Quality of life has been improved in terms of accessible education and tele-health services.  The TC has successfully connected Northwestern Ontario to the rest of the world.