Competitor offers 'reality check' on Northwestel's modernization plan

YELLOWKNIFE – Broadband provider SSi is urging Canadians to take a close look at incumbent Northwestel’s proposed ‘modernization plan’ which it says may just be too good to be true. That plan, announced earlier this month, centres around a $273 million Internet and wireless upgrade over five years to the 96 communities that it serves. But according to Yellowknife-based SSi, the “modernization” focuses on one-time capital expenditures to develop infrastructure, but does not include a plan for ongoing sustainability to ensure that the system will be affordable. The company also took issue with Northwestel’s use of CRTC subsidies to fund its own fibre...