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Nunavut Broadband Development Corp. faces new competition

Some residents will have choice of three broadband providers by end of summer

SARA MINOGUE

After 12 months of delays, the Nunavut Broadband Development Corp. has rolled out its high speed internet service to several communities across Nunavut. Customers in Arctic Bay, Baker Lake, Cambridge Bay, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Sanikiluaq and Taloyoak can already sign up for wireless broadband internet access for about $60 a month.

Or, they can wait and sign on with either Northwestel Cable or Cordell Satellite Systems, a Manitoba company, which both plan to introduce their own high speed internet access in the North this summer.

Lorraine Thomas, project manager for the non-profit NBDC says she welcomes the competition. She expects that Qiniq - as they're calling the new network - will provide a service that is as good or better than what the private sector can offer.

Qiniq is run by the private sector, Thomas says, with SSI Micro as a partner, as well as the local Internet service providers NBDC is in the process of training.

"[NBDC] gathered the subsidies to make this thing possible," Thomas says, "but now we step back and act as the watchdog to make sure that pricing stays low and that communities have access."

But NBDC has just spent $9.5 million to set up its infrastructure - which includes 25 base stations across the territory that will allow subscribers to access wireless internet anywhere within a 32 km radius through a small modem installed in their home.

The organization, its web site says, will rely "on aggregate demand from Inuit and community organizations, small businesses, the general public, and some government funded institutions" to be sustainable.

Northwestel, however, need not invest in any community infrastructure to offer its service. Its customers will get internet access through a small satellite dish - about 67 cm wide - installed on their house, says project manager Christine Nguyen.

Northwestel also has another advantage: it already has a network of technicians that services every community. The technicians are being trained to handle technical problems.

The company plans to release its prices and packages later this month, Nguyen says. Rankin Inlet will be first to get the service.

Meanwhile, NBDC has already signed on several customers, says Thomas.

"The advantage of Nunavut broadband is that everyone can get affordable access no matter where they live... and the biggest advantage is that ours is wireless and it's roaming so you can pack up your portable modem and your laptop and go to another community and be live."

Northwestel, Thomas points out, will have an advantage over some customers, such as mining camps or research teams who venture further than 32 km from any community, and are out of NBDC's range.

The competition will be a relief to customers in Nunavut's smaller communities, many of whom still rely on dial-up access.

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