CRTC pitches in $80M for Nunavik’s fibre optic connection
Funding to help bring broadband internet to Kangiqsualujjuaq, Aupaluk, Tasiujaq, Quaqtaq and Kangirsuk
Quebec’s northernmost community of Ivujivik gets connected to the Kativik Regional Government fibre-optic network. This was part of phase two of KRG’s project to connect all 14 Nunavik villages through a fibre optic link. (Photo courtesy of Kativik Regional Government)
The Kativik Regional Government has another $80 million to connect five Nunavik communities to fibre optic internet.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced the funding on Monday in a news release.
The money will help pay for the installation of 933 kilometres of fibre that will connect the Ungava Bay communities of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Aupaluk, Tasiujaq, Quaqtaq and Kangirsuk, according to the release.
This will help finish the third phase of the regional government’s fibre optic project, said Dan Pellerin, a spokesperson for KRG, in an interview.
“Now that we have confirmed this, all the planning and agreements are going to be put in place,” he said.
This funding announcement comes about a week after the CRTC announced $271.9 million to connect four Nunavut communities to Nunavik’s fibre optic line.
Both the Nunavik and Nunavut funding announcements come from the CRTC’s Broadband Fund, a $675-million, five-year fund to support improvements in connectivity in remote and rural parts of Canada.
The CRTC is the independent regulator of broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada. It is funded by fees collected from the industries it regulates.
“High-quality communications services are important to every aspect of our daily lives,” said Vicky Eatrides, CRTC CEO, in the news release.
“This [project] will have a significant impact in these communities, connecting over 40 public institutions, including schools and health care centres.”
The CRTC expects the work to connect the five Nunavik communities be finished within three years of the date of its funding decision, the commission’s news release said.
In a regional council meeting held in May 2024, Pellerin said that project, which intends to connect all of Nunavik’s Ungava communities, was estimated to cost $158 million. The report also estimated the project would be complete in summer 2026.
Currently, the Hudson Coast villages of Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, Inukjuak, Puvirnituq, Akulivik, Ivujivik and Salluit are the only connected Nunavik communities.
Kuujjuaq’s planned fibre connection to the Kawawachikamach network is also not yet complete.
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