IQALUIT – Northern broadband service provider SSi is investing $75 million in broadband service across Nunavut in an effort to help bridge the digital divide between North and South.
Key components of the investment program, announced Thursday, include new mobile and 4G LTE broadband wireless technologies in the territory’s communities; a “massive” upgrade to the current satellite backbone connecting Southern Canada to Nunavut; new infrastructure on the ground to support the use of high-throughput satellites (HTS); and new open gateway facilities, known as PowerComm Hubs.
SSi said that the investments start immediately and will continue over the next three years. Consumers will see the first benefits by March 2016 when the company activates major upgrades in last-mile capacity and implements increased service usage caps and burst speeds for its Qiniq broadband service across the area.
The Government of Canada has already pledged to invest $35 million through the Connecting Canadians Program to extend and enhance broadband service available to more than 8,600 homes throughout all 25 communities in Nunavut. SSi said that it will provide all other funding required for new infrastructure, facility upgrades and operating expenses, including the signing of a new long‐term contract with Telesat Canada for multiple transponders of C‐band and Ka-band satellite capacity.
“By laying this important groundwork today, SSi is proactively preparing to meet Nunavut’s ever-growing broadband needs”, said SSi founder and CEO Jeff Philipp, in the news release. “This commitment is only the beginning. We want to build a backbone that will support the delivery of advanced broadband services to ALL residents. So we need to invest now to lay the foundation for the future. This is the start of that investment, and we welcome others to join us in building a new Northern reality that will create opportunities for increased economic growth along with improvements in healthcare and the overall quality of life for communities throughout Nunavut.”
SSi added that the investments will also allow the company to move beyond its traditional role as an Internet service provider to offer customers an array of voice, broadband data, mobile and multimedia services.
In Nunavut, SSi has operated the Qiniq network, providing Internet service to consumers and businesses in all 25 communities since 2005, and has also managed and maintained the Government of Nunavut’s wide area network (WAN) since 2009. SSi is headquartered in Yellowknife and has its satellite network operations centre in Ottawa.
