Independent co-op ISP BCN expanding to keep northern Manitoba connected

By Ruby Pratka GETTING RELIABLE HIGH-SPEED Internet to Manitoba’s far north is no easy task. Logistical obstacles, long distances and a relatively small potential client base tend to scare away large private players. And then there’s the land itself. “The terrain up here is not cheap or easy to build through – it’s full of muskeg, which is basically quicksand, and a lot of the communities don’t have the infrastructure to make easier,” explains Ken Sanderson, outgoing executive director of Broadband Communications North (BCN), an Indigenous-run non-profit communications provider based in Winnipeg, whose goal is expanding wireless access to Northern...