KRG pushes for new radio networks for Nunavik communities

The Kativik Regional Government is recommending that Nunavik communities adopt a new communications system to support harvesters and travellers out on the land.

A handful of communities already use a marine VHF band for radio communications, but hunter support programs in Nunavik report too much traffic in that frequency and misuse of the technology.

The KRG’s department of renewable resources, which oversees hunter support, says land mobile radio, or LMR, would still operate on a VHF band, but would offer a more private and reliable way to communicate, as it works on a closed network.

The KRG is proposing to help hunter support programs apply for LMR frequencies, and gradually phase out the use of HF radios in Nunavik.

To set that up, the regional government would help with the installation of antennas and repeaters in communities, Steven Kleist, assistant director of renewable resources, told KRG regional council meetings on Nov. 26.

“For those communities who don’t have those communications systems, we will start with those right now,” Kleist said.

“We’re trying to set up the infrastructure in the communities [so it is] owned by the community.”

Repeaters alone can cost about $80,000 each, he noted. The KRG plans to apply to a federal fund called Climate Change Preparedness in the North to help offset the cost.

That is still a very affordable option for remote communications, Kleist said.

Repeater licences cost about $54 each. Individual radio fees could be charged to users, Kleist said, but it would be up to hunter support programs or Northern Villages to manage that.

The KRG said it would also help acquire pre-programmed radios to sell to Inuit hunters at a discounted cost.