Funding from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will help all communities in Nunavut get access to high-speed satellite internet services for the first time.
SSi Micro Ltd., an internet service provider serving rural areas, will receive nearly $27 million in funding through the commission’s Broadband Fund to upgrade its satellite internet services. The funding will benefit more than 11,000 households in 25 communities.
“We know how important high-quality internet and cellphone services are to every aspect of peoples’ daily lives,” Vicky Eatrides, the CRTC’s chairperson, said in a press release. “Today marks a significant milestone, with the CRTC helping connect all communities in Nunavut to high-speed internet service for the first time.”
The CRTC introduced the Broadband Fund in 2019 and has since allocated more than $300 million to improve high-speed internet and cellphone services in underserved rural, remote and Indigenous communities across the country.
The commission is also providing $8 million in funding to Keewaytinook Okimakanak for a second satellite internet project based in Northern Ontario. Northwestel is also receiving $53 million in additional funding for its project to provide internet services to Atlin. The company recently became the community’s telephone provider.
The CRTC says it will make more funding announcements in 2024.
Source: CRTC
