AFNTS Services

We’ve evolved from a small team of 2, established in 1999 to provide basic desktop support to what we are today - a growing team of 10 staff that provides a wide range of tech services. Technology needs are constantly evolving, and as a result, it is crucial for AFNTS to continually broaden the services we provide to communities. To that end, in conjunction with the launch of our Strategic Plan (March 2024), I figured it would be an appropriate time to provide an update regarding what services are available to Atlantic First Nation communities in the areas of education, health and beyond. As can be seen from the diagram below, much of what we provide is available to both education and health, most notably fibre connectivity and network security. The Atlantic First Nation Fibre Network provides connectivity to 80+ sites in 33 communities - including 33 health centers and 25 schools. Speeds range from 200 Mbps to 500 Mbps in 32 of 33 communities, and the hope is to upgrade all of these communities to at least 500 Mbps in spring 2024.

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Sometimes we get asked why we provide some services to schools that we don’t provide to health centres, and vice versa. This is mainly because the needs vary from schools to health centres, plus there are some differences with the deliverables for the funding agreements we have with ISC (Indigenous Services Canada) - Education Branch and FNIHB (First Nation & Inuit Health Branch.

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We unfortunately don’t have the capacity to meet all technology needs in schools, but what we provide for schools is more compressive compared to what we provide to health and treatment centres. This is because FNIHB also provides funding to the Membertou Data Centre (MDC) to provide desktop support services and to manage Wi-Fi for health and treatment centres in NS, NB, and PEI. We work collaboratively with MDC by providing connectivity and network security, and they take our connection and ensure that Wi-Fi is operating efficiently at all health sites. For a full list of what AFNTS provides compared to MDC, click the following link: https://www.afnts.ca/health/afnts-vs-mdc

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In addition to meeting our commitments to education and health sites, we fulfill as many requests as possible from other Band entities. For example, we have the ability to add any Band-operated site to our network, and at present 10%+ of the sites on our network are not education or health (mostly Band offices). In addition, our team is available to provide advice and expertise for community-led technology solutions. For-profit IT companies are often guilty of trying to sell communities things they either don’t need or could obtain through us for much cheaper. We strive to ensure that all communities are always getting good value for money. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you think there’s something we can help with!