tablished at first to provide competitive
telephone service to residents and busi-
nesses in Wikwemikong, with a potential
for expansion into the rest of Manitoulin
Island, the company has now grown to
serve both Native and non-Native popula-
tions across the province.
THE FIRSTTEL BRAND:
RESTRUCTURING AND
GROWTH
There are business perks to being situated
within an Aboriginal reserve. “Because
of the FirstTel brand, we have an appeal
to First Nations across the country,” said
Anne Marie Sandford, the company’s
communications business manager. Hav-
ing worked for various non-profit organiza-
tions, like theWikwemikong Development
Commission, and having sat on many
boards of directors, such as the Ontario
Native Women's Association and the Bar-
rie Area Native Advisory Circle, Sandford
is equipped with the expertise needed for
economic empowerment. She joined the
company in 2014 at a critical point in First-
Tel’s business development and restruc-
turing. “We looked at bringing FirstTel in
line with the image of the industry,” Sand-
ford said.
The challenge of being located on Mani-
toulin Island is that FirstTel can currently
serve only a fraction of Wikwemikong
residents due to the monopoly on the
telephone exchange. FirstTel is presently
invested in changing this since a huge por-
tion of potential business opportunities is
lost due to monopolization. But the clien-
tele presently served by the company re-
JUNE 2016
H
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