YELLOWKNIFE – After a year of successful operation in the north, Northwestel is launching its NetKaster satellite high speed Internet service in the south.
NetKaster has been expanded to communities throughout Alberta, expanding on its current service in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, launched a year ago. The company will target rural and remote areas not already served by cable or DSL Internet service.
NetKaster is powered by Telesat Canada’s Anik F2 satellite. The service is the result of an agreement between Northwestel Cable and Telesat Canada. Both Northwestel and Telesat are owned by Bell Canada.
"We developed this product to meet the needs of many of our northern customers, who would not otherwise have access to high speed Internet," said Curtis Shaw, general manager of Northwestel Cable. "This unique solution was specially designed to surmount the challenges of operating in the North, but we are delighted to share it with customers who have similar needs in southern markets, where it is equally valuable.
"(Rural and remote) customers no longer have to wait for other companies to wire their neighbourhoods for high speed Internet service. NetKaster provides an excellent service that is available today. It is aggressively-priced to reduce the cost barrier for families, and is much faster than what these communities have had access to before," added Shaw.
Download speeds are up to two megabits per second, and upload speeds are up to 500 kilobits per second. That’s up to fifty times faster than dial-up Internet service.
NetKaster packages begin at $59.95 per month, plus an equipment package of $349.
