Connecting the North Part II: What’s available up there? (updated)

By Perry Hoffman

BEFORE DELVING INTO the backbone issues, what is current the state of broadband in the Far North? What levels of service are currently available? According to Northwestel’s COO Curtis Shaw, residential customers in the western part of the North can purchase a 125 Mbps service while businesses can get 150 Mbps over the regions where it offers a DOCSIS 3.0 network on its hybrid-fibre-coax cable plant.By the end of this year, however, Northwestel will be able to offer all 59 communities in the western arctic region a minimum 15/1 Mbps service. “We've done 51 communities to date, we've got eight...