I’M WRITING TO YOU as the chief development officer of SSi Micro Ltd. and a proud member of the SSi team.
In his June 7 Cartt.ca article on bringing wireless to the top of the world, John Bugailiskis recounts a Bell executive’s lunchtime presentation at the 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit. I would like to point out some basic facts of which I am sure you are aware, but perhaps Mr. Bugailiskis and your readers are not.
The article implies Bell has brought wireless connectivity to Grise Fiord, Nunavut’s most remote northern community, and there previously was none. I quote: “But now, thanks to the hard work of Bell technicians, the 129 inhabitants are feeling a little less isolated thanks to the new LTE cell tower there.”
Here are the facts:
• Our company, SSi Micro, has been delivering broadband wireless service in Grise Fiord – indeed, in ALL 25 Nunavut communities – under the QINIQ brand since 2005. We were the first and are still the only company delivering broadband to all communities in the Territory;
• In 2016-17 we upgraded our entire Nunavut network to LTE, thereby providing Grise Fiord (and elsewhere) with the same state-of-the-art last-mile 4G technology that you can find in downtown Toronto – a fact of which we are very proud;
• Further, we launched the first ever mobile cell service in Grise Fiord, SSi Mobile, two months ago, on April 11, using both 4G-LTE and 2G-GSM technologies. Cartt.ca has published articles covering our numerous mobile launches in the North, thank you!
• As a tribute to our wireless initiatives, SSi is this year’s recipient of the North's High-Growth Entrepreneurship Award of the Year for our launch of SSI Mobile broadband and voice services in Nunavut.
So, the residents of Grise Fiord are not lacking quality last-mile wireless technology and service, and this is in large part owing to the efforts of SSi Micro. Ironically, despite the focus of John’s article, Bell has not yet actually built a cell tower in Grise Fiord, nor have they launched any wireless services there.
I believe it is important to set the record straight on this issue. Our launch of mobile wireless in the North has been the culmination of significant investments and a lot of work (years' worth!) by our team. We need to recognize and celebrate the successes of Canada’s start-ups and smaller companies, and not have these successes overshadowed by the PR noise generated by incumbent telcos who may follow our lead.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, in their recent Report, “Broadband Connectivity in Rural Canada: Overcoming the Digital Divide”, recognize the important role smaller and non-incumbent providers have to play in extending connectivity to Canada’s more remote areas, particularly given the propensity of incumbents “… to only invest in high density areas that are more economically profitable”. We could not agree more.
Thank you for taking the time to receive and read this note. The newsletter is doing a good job of covering areas of importance in the communications industry, and I am certain you agree it is important to get the facts right and report them in a balanced way.
Sincerely,
Dean Proctor
Chief Development Officer
SSi Micro Ltd.
