Small Iqaluit company creates internet alternative for Nunavut Research Institute

Staff at Coman Communications installing their first satellite dish at their teleport in Iqaluit. (PHOTO COURTESY OF COMAN COMMUNICATIONS)

Students and researchers at the Nunavut Research Institute will communicate through an alternate wireless internet system supplied by Coman Communications of Iqaluit and Juch-Tech Inc. of Hamilton, Ont.

And it’s one of the few internet services in the Canadian Arctic that does not involve Telesat Canada, the country’s dominant satellite firm.

Instead, the two firms are using free satellite space donated by a European firm called SES, with hardware supplied by two other companies, NovelSat and XipLink of Montreal.

Earlier this year, Coman Communications and Juch-Tech offered free wireless hotspots at locations around Iqaluit that included the Northmart store and Nunavut Arctic College.

Ken Spencer, Coman Arctic’s chief operating officer, told Nunatsiaq News that this allows his company to demonstrate use of a alternate telecommunications system

“You’re familiar with the problems that we’ve had with satellites in the past. What this gives us is a redundancy that we’ve never had before,” Spencer said.

Moments after Spencer made that remark, his cell phone connection to a reporter failed.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Spencer said, after the reporter called him back a couple of minutes later.

He said that right now, Coman Communications is testing its system at the Nunavut Research Institute to measure things like upload and download speeds and other issues.

“We are pleased that Coman Communications and its partners are looking at providing these services and developing their capacity to offer this product to a broader consumer base. It’s great that we are able to participate in the demonstration and testing phase of their intiative,” Mary Ellen Thomas of the NRI said in a news release.

This year, the company will expand capabilities by adding a new 9.3-metre satellite dish that’s arriving by sealift.

And using their teleport in Iqaluit, the company hopes to establish itself as an alternate bandwidth wholesaler to other service providers.

Spencer said the market in Iqaluit now has at least three players who offer services directly to consumers — Northwestel, SSI Micro and Iristel.

For that reason, Spencer said, the company believes it can best serve the Nunavut market by focusing on wholesale-styles, rather than compete with existing telecom retailers.