Cell phone company expands into Nunavut

Pangnirtung to get Lynx cell phone service this year

By SPECIAL TO NUNATSIAQ NEWS

Several small communities in Nunavut may get cell phone service soon, with Pangnirtung set to go online this year.

Lynx Mobility – the same company that recently brought cellular services to Kuujjuaq and Kuujjuarapik — plans to establish cell phone service in Pangnirtung this summer and is considering doing the same for other small Baffin and Kivalliq communities in the future.

“Our focus is to provide standard cell phone service in remote communities in northern Canada as opposed to operating in rural areas outside Toronto,” said Lynx Mobility president Benoit Fleury.

Fleury said Lynx Mobility specializes in adapting technology that already exists in a community into a cell phone network.

Communications outside of each Arctic community are only available by satellite, so Lynx Mobility tries to keep as much electronic traffic within a community as possible.

For example, a call from a Lynx Mobility phone in Kuujjuaq to a local number goes through a local switchboard without bouncing up to a satellite and back down again.

The materials for Lynx Mobility’s cell phone tower arrived in Pangnirtung with last summer’s sealift. The remaining equipment is expected this summer.

Cell phone range outside the community will vary depending on local equipment, the height of the tower and the local terrain.

The mountains of Pangnirtung will probably limit the range of cell phones behind the community, Fleury said.

Lynx Mobility also conducted a site survey in Coral Harbour to consider the possibility of a cellular network there. Other Nunavut communities under consideration include Clyde River and Igloolik.

Fleury said the company also conducted a site survey in Iqaluit, because it will be the hub of their Nunavut operations.

“A lot of people we talked to in Iqaluit asked if we can provide cell service here,” he said.

That would put them in direct competition with Bell Mobility, which already serves Iqaluit.

The only other cell phone company operating in Nunavut is Northwestel, which offers cell phone service in Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and Cambridge Bay.

Fleury said Lynx Mobility also plans to expand into all the remaining communities in Nunavik.

In Kuujjuaq – and most of the rest of Nunavik in the future – the local partner is Nunacell, owned by Makivik Corp.

“The network has been designed so that every aspect of the service is monitored centrally,” Fleury said. “We’re in constant communication with local folks.”

In Kuujjuarapik, the local partner is Whapmagoostui Enterprises, located in Kuujjuarapik’s twin Cree community.

Fleury said the Lynx Mobility hasn’t yet lined up a partner in Pangnirtung.

For its Nunavut operations, Fleury said Lynx Mobility had contacted Inuit organizations, but declined to say which ones.

“At this point it’s pretty much community by community,” Fleury said. “In Nunavik it’s a bit different because we have that arrangement with Makivik.”

It’s not always clear if a community’s current infrastructure can meet the technological needs of a Lynx Mobility network, Fleury said.

“It really needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis because the situation is different in different communities,” he said.

That depends on the equipment that’s already there and how much the company would have to replace.

The company runs strictly on pre-paid minutes, avoiding the administrative hassle of monthly bills.

Minutes can be recharged by calling the company’s automated switchboard, which offers several language options, including Inuktitut.

Fleury said the company has roaming agreements with other cellular providers like Bell, so Lynx Mobility cell phones will operate anywhere there’s cellular service.

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