SSC boosts Wi-Fi and morale at Canadian Forces Base Kingston

Helping DND connect families far from home.

We all know the challenges of connecting online with loved ones throughout this pandemic: unplugging our devices, moving to a different location and hoping for the best. “Is that better? Can you hear me?” A bad connection creates a frustrating experience and underscores the distance between loved ones.

Prior to the pandemic, the need for greater Wi-Fi access prompted Shared Services Canada (SSC) to create GC Wi-Fi Public Guest Access (PGA), available to all customers. Setting PGA up quickly became a very high priority for the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) and SSC. Installing guest access Wi-Fi at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston was a huge morale booster for the Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their families.

Starting in fall 2020, working collaboratively with DND’s local Service Management Centre (SMC) Kingston, GC Local Area Network (LAN), Product Management, GC Wi-Fi teams as well as the vendor, SSC’s Service Delivery Management (SDM) implementation team successfully delivered PGA in just over a year. Wi-Fi is now available in personnel living quarters on base, messes, gyms, religious establishments and gathering spaces (drill halls). This allows full-time staff, students and new recruits to easily connect with loved ones. The PGA service helps bring a sense of normalcy and reassurance that home is just a click away.

CFB Kingston was not the only DND/CAF Base to benefit from PGA Wi-Fi. In early 2020, when COVID-19 was mounting, DND/CAF issued an emergency request for PGA Wi-Fi for troops entering quarantine. Senior members of the GC Wi-Fi, GC LAN and SDM teams pulled together and worked with SSC frontline staff. They quickly installed emergency temporary Wi-Fi access in accommodation and command buildings at CFBs Trenton, Borden and Petawawa. This was accomplished in a matter of weeks, allowing soldiers to connect with loved ones remotely.

Aside from CFB Kingston, SSC delivered PGA Wi-Fi to other DND/CAF locations in 2021. Two notable projects include the Royal Military College in Kingston, as well as the Général-Jean-Victor-Allard Building (also known as the Megaplex) in Saint‑Jean-sur-Richelieu with close to 2,500 rooms. The ongoing pandemic makes it critical that students and new recruits can safely stay connected with family during their essential training.

These projects were important and rewarding to the SSC implementation team.

“It always makes me proud to see strong collaboration between SSC and DND to implement initiatives such as this that make a difference to the day-to-day operations of the CAF.”

Next up, the team is focusing on a large implementation at Cold Lake, Alberta.

Congratulations to the PGA product team and the SDM, GC Wi-Fi, GC LAN, DND and vendor implementation teams for coming together to fulfill the needs of our DND/CAF clients.