Arctic telecom experts say Starlink is good partner
Aqsarniit trade show panel discussion looks at work being done to provide internet to the North
Dan Pellerin, KRG’s senior telecommunication adviser, speaks about the ongoing fibre optic project in Nunavik during the Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference in Ottawa Tuesday. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)
Arctic telecommunications leaders say Starlink is a partner, not a competitor, in providing internet service to northern Canada.
A panel of four experts in telecommunications service for Nunavik, Nunavut and Northwest Territories discussed their work Tuesday at the Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa.
“Starlink is our partner … we are not competing with Starlink” to serve Nunavut, said Dean Proctor, chief development officer at SSi Canada, an Arctic telecommunications provider.
He said Starlink’s service comes at a higher cost than what SSi offers. While Starlink is able to provide higher-speed internet than SSi, it might not be suitable for everyone either due to the price or the size of the satellite dish Starlink requires.
“We are able to drop down to a lower price point,” Proctor said.
“We are not in the same game as Starlink, we are meant to provide a service to Nunavummiut without a contract, with no credit checks, and take it as much as you need it,” he said.
SSi Canada, along with Kativik Regional Government’s Taamani Internet, uses Starlink in some instances to provide some services to clients.
Paul Brunet, left, president of Great White North, and Dean Proctor, chief development officer for SSi Canada, take part in a panel discussion on telecommunications Tuesday at the Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference in Ottawa. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)
Dan Pellerin, KRG’s senior telecommunications adviser, said it is currently using low-latency satellites from SpaceX and Starlink to serve parts of Nunavik that are still waiting to be connected to fibre optic service. This includes the Ungava Bay communities and Kuujjuaq, which are set to have their connections completed by 2026.
In December, KRG deployed sphere-shaped Starlink terminals to temporarily bring high-speed internet access to Ungava Bay communities, according to a KRG post on social media.
Kuujjuaq, Aupaluk, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Kangirsuk, Quaqtaq and Tasiujaq received their own package.
“When fibre is in and it’s useful and affordable to us, we will certainly be using that for our backbone” service to those areas, said Proctor.
During the panel discussion, an audience member asked about the validity of Starlink as a partner, saying that if Arctic telecommunications carriers serve as the middle person between the service and the client, why would Starlink not want to “pull the rug” and provide the service directly.
“[They] operate all around the world with their 7,000-and-some active satellites covering the entire Earth right now,” Proctor said of Starlink. “They need to keep those occupied to make certain that Starlink continues to survive. They have been very good partners.”
Curtis Shaw, president of Northwestel, and Paul Brunet, president of Great White North, an internet service firm based in Timmins, Ont. that covers Northern Ontario and Nunavut, also took part in the panel discussion.
The trade show, which opened Monday, runs until Thursday.
So why on earth is Nunavut money being considered to buy Nwtel which provides horrible service in Nunavut?
If NWT and Yukon want to buy it so be it. Yukon does not have many communities and all except Old Crowe are road access. NWT a bit harder but Nunavut is a nightmare. Even if you get a fiber to Iqaluit where does that leave the bulk of the rest of Nunavut. We’re still going to be using Starlink.
The bulk of the money is coming from Yukon and NWT why are we tossing investment into something that’s highly unlikely to benifit the majority of Nunavut except maybe a fiber gets to Iqaluit one day via Nwtel.
I don’t know how this purchase was not touched upon in the discussions.
I actually think buying NWTel is a great idea. Use it to provide a bare bones public option to keep any other telecoms companies in the North in check.
Saskatchewan has the cheapest telecom rates in the country because of SaskTel. The big three can’t just laugh in everyone’s face and say “ok, go to someone else then.” Because in Saskatchewan you actually can.
I’m afraid that ship has sailed long time ago. You are right about SaskTel who remains a crown-owned Corp. as property of the Provincial Gov. of Saskatchewan.
But NWTEL was owned by one of the big three, Bell Canada. Bell never had the good record of Sasktel in keeping costs low, even before deregulation and becoming profit-driven enterprise they are today.
Will there be a boycott starlink movement because of elon musk? I doubt it.
Will there be a boycott everything else Elon is affiliated with though? Probably.
The StarLink service is very valuable to Nunavut.
So far it has been extremely reliable.
But with the current administration in Washington, nothing can be presumed except trouble throughout the world.
Nunavut needs to be prepared for the discontinuation of Starlink service at any moment that the US President decides he wants to exert influence.
However Realist, the personal data being gathered which is 👀👀👀 WHY these companies and governments are keen to have subscribers in the first place would be gone should Trump and Musk cut the Starlink service. And that is not going to happen.
Boycott if you want to, it’s up to you…
Considering almost 2/3 of Iqaluit is renting, and the major companies like Northview and Nunastar do not allow you to get Starlink, and only provide access for a phone jack or cable, when are they going to look into getting us a better option than Northwestel or Co-op cable and let us get Starlink?
TeleSat announced last September they have concluded the funding of their
Lightspeed Satellite Constellation which is a LEO technology supposed to present the same speed (or better) than Starlink.
So that is supposed to come to market in a couple of years apparently. However, they have contracted their competition, SpaceX, for the launch of their Satellites and time will tell if that was a smart choice.
The other thing is the Nunavut Gov. fibre project going to Quebec which was announced last summer but nobody know if and when its going to happen.