Nunavik prepares for increased demand for internet bandwidth

Work to lay fibre optic cable along Hudson coast is on schedule, Tamaani says

This cord looped around utility poles in Kuujjuaq holds fibre optic cable before it was linked into homes, businesses and office buildings in Nunavik’s largest community in 2015. These cables help alleviate congestion on the network. (File photo)

By Sarah Rogers

Tamaani Internet said it’s too soon to say what the loss of some of Xplornet’s services could mean for broadband access in Nunavik.

In the meantime, the Kativik Regional Government–led internet service said it’s working to boost capacity in the region in anticipation of increased demand.

Xplornet Communications Inc. said last week that it has decided to end its use of Telesat’s Anik F2 satellite on Dec. 31, which could jeopardize internet service in both Nunavut and Nunavik.

Xplornet couldn’t say how many customers it serves in those regions but confirmed that it counts clients in most Nunavut and Nunavik communities.

Most of the customers serviced by Anik F2 fall under the coverage of the four other satellites used by Xplornet and will be transitioned to the company’s other platforms. But an estimated 15 per cent of clients would see their service discontinued by the end of the year.

“We have a bit of trouble evaluating how much that represents—how much bandwidth that all these Xplornet customers in northern Quebec were using,” said Tamaani’s director, Eloi Clement.

“I understand that some of these customers were using a combination of both Tamaani and Xplornet to create redundancy.”

For its part, Tamaani counts about 3,000 customers in Nunavik—a region of roughly 14,000. About 2,700 of those accounts are residential.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Clement noted. “The demand keeps growing. We are certainly looking at increasing our capacity.”

Tamaani has in recent years run fibre optic cables to the homes of customers to help clear congestion on its network.

Its biggest endeavour will be upgrading the region’s entire network through a variety of different technologies, including a fibre optic network along the Hudson coast.

Alcatel Submarine Networks is installing the underwater fibre optic cable from Chisasibi to Puvirnituq this summer, with branches off into Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq and Inukjuak along the way.

Work to lay that fibre is currently underway and on schedule, Clement said.

Nunavik’s largest community, Kuujjuaq, will be connected by five new microwave towers to Schefferville, where the Naskapi First Nation is finalizing the installation of its own fibre optic network to southern Quebec.

The region’s remaining communities will get surplus satellite capacity until the time when the region can extend fibre optic to all 14 villages.

The new network is expected to be ready and in service by December 2021.

Clement said there’s been a lot of speculation in the North about the potential delivery of broadband through newer services like Starlink, SpaceX’s new satellite constellation that is under construction, and similar ventures by OneWeb or Amazon.

Clement said the KRG has been in discussions with all of those companies, though none have committed to serving rural and remote regions like in Canada’s North.

“We’re going to be last,” he said.

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(4) Comments:

  1. Posted by Thomassie Mangiok on

    This is great news, please come all the way up to Ivujivik.

    • Posted by Alice on

      Hello this is great news I’ll be moving to area beginning of Sept this year. I’m looking forward from internet up there. Exciting news

  2. Posted by Cut the charges on

    In the meantime reduce the customer charges to half or make it appropriate for the service Nunavik is getting , or not getting.

  3. Posted by Answer your phones on

    With 3000 subscribers, that’s over $4 million in income! How’s about using some of that money to hire a receptionist to answer your phones.

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