NCF members, partners, and supporters,
My name is Anis Hanna, the new Chair of NCF, and I am pleased to present to you NCF’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021.
I would like to begin by extending my deep appreciation on behalf of the Board of Directors, to all NCF staff and volunteers for their dedication and perseverance through another tough pandemic year filled with COVID waves, isolations, economic and geopolitical challenges, all while keeping our offices open, and maintaining the same service level our members are accustomed to.
The staff and volunteers have also adapted very successfully to the new normal, including navigating remote/in-office work, and the range of COVID protocols. Please join me in sending our appreciation and kudos to the NCF's exceptional staff and volunteers.
As we all hear daily in the news, increased prices, coupled with unprecedented high inflation rates are putting a lot of pressure on Canadian (and global) households. Given the increased economic pressure, decreased supplier incentives, and rising costs, unfortunately NCF had to increase our prices in early 2021 to remain sustainable.
Despite all those challenges, NCF was able to post a small surplus of a little over $22,000 for 2021, including the support of donations and grants. That’s also why in early 2022 NCF was able to hold prices for the time being to provide some relief to our valued members.
NCF continues to work hard to optimize our costs and ensure sustainability while providing the same great service.
In 2021, NCF undertook and delivered on multiple initiatives. We tested and launched the long-awaited cable internet service offering members additional options with different speeds than what was offered by DSL. This is especially important when members need more speed to accommodate people working and doing school from home. This was a very involved project with multiple technical and logistical challenges. The project was undertaken in stages, starting with an internal pilot, followed by an external pilot leading to the launch of the service.
Additionally, in order to continue offering affordable high-speed service to our subscribers, NCF submitted a petition against the CRTC's wholesale internet decision to the federal government/governor-in-council. We continue to advocate and lobby for cheaper wholesale prices so we can pass on the savings to our members.
There is no question that the last couple of years have been tough, however what does not break us makes us stronger, and we are stronger and more resilient as a result. There were a lot of lessons learned that enable us to work more effectively and efficiently as we exit the pandemic and get back to normalcy.
If you have ideas to help make NCF stronger, please feel free to email me at chair@ncf.ca
Finally, on behalf of the Board of Directors, the staff, the many volunteers and the thousands of people in Ottawa who make up the National Capital FreeNet community, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment, your generous contributions and most of all, your ongoing participation.
You can also download a PDF of this report.
Thank you,
Anis Hanna,
Chair, NCF Board of Directors