By Greg O’Brien
YELLOWKNIFE – Saying the federal broadband subsidy which has allowed it to offer broadband and wireless in Nunavut has run out, and the federal government has been silent on its replacement, SSi Canada says it can no longer support the business on its own and will have to increase prices soon, without help.
The company offers local broadband services in the territory under the Qiniq brand and wireless service under the brand SSi Mobile.
In a press release November 5th, the company says it “regrets to inform Nunavummiut that the federal broadband subsidy supporting the vast majority of Nunavut homes and students since 2005 has run out. This puts access to Federally subsidized internet services at very serious risk.
“Without immediate support, SSi will have no choice but to raise prices and remove subsidies over the coming months,” adds the release. This means prices would have to rise significantly.
“SSi has been delivering the QINIQ service to all 25 Nunavut communities for 15 years, which has only been possible through co-investments by SSi and the Government of Canada. To date, over $150 million has been invested into community infrastructure, satellite capacity and local jobs,” continues the SSi statement.
“This partnership has ensured that every community, no matter how small or remote, has access to the same affordable internet plans delivered across a state-of-the-art 4G-LTE network.” A total of 67% of Nunavut households outside of Iqaluit get their internet through QINIQ.
However, says SSi, the company has been carrying 100% of the costs since July of 2019 (Ed note: pre-pandemic, so this delay can’t be laid entirely at the feet of Covid-19), “hoping that a funding decision from Ottawa would be made by now,” adds the release.
The company said it has been in discussions with federal and territorial authorities for well over a year “but appeals for help have gone unanswered” and there is still no funding decision.
“This is sad and frustrating. We have solutions to ensure QINIQ services can continue and improve, but without support from the federal government – support that we will match with our own investment – the costs of internet for most Nunavummiut will be too high,” said Jeff Philipp, CEO and Founder of SSi, in the release.
“We are truly sorry to share such terrible news, but we are out of time. We continue to work aggressively to find solutions for the thousands of households dependent on QINIQ service, but without immediate support we will be forced to take truly unwanted actions.”
Cartt.ca asked the federal government, specifically the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, for a response specific to the SSi public plea for help.
“Access to services, opportunities to connect in isolation and telework depend on access to high-speed internet,” said the Ministry’s statement.
“The government has a plan to make sure communities with limited and no access benefit from high-speed internet: our government’s Connectivity Strategy aims to provide 100% of Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload no matter where they live,” continues the statement, re-stating a lot of what the federal government just keeps repeating on the rural broadband file.
It notes billions of dollars have been made available, through several programs, to support the building of rural and remote Internet infrastructure.
However, little has so far been actually built, compared to the amounts of money committed.
“Through the Connect to Innovate program (a $585-million program launched in 2016), over 50 rural and remote communities across Canada are already benefitting from completed projects that have the potential to bring improved Internet speeds to over 28,000 households, including the Government of Nunavut and all 25 communities in Nunavut,” reads the statement.
It’s worth pointing out CTI has connected only 28,000 rural homes and businesses in 50 communities in the entire country, four years after launch. The statement did not say how many of the 28,000 can be found in Nunavut. CTI is supposed to bring broadband to 975 communities, including 190 Indigenous communities by 2023.
“The Government of Canada provided $49.9M to Northwestel to connect the Government of Nunavut and all 25 communities in Nunavut to satellite Internet. The project is completed and service is being delivered,” adds the statement.
The project was launched in September 2019 and speeds max out at 15 Mbps.
There are presently two service providers offering residential Internet services in the territory – Northwestel and SSi Canada. Through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s Rural and Northern Stream, the government will be investing $151M to bring an undersea fibre-optic cable to connect Iqaluit. This project should be completed in 2024.”
The statement also mentioned the federal government’s soon-to-be-launched $1 billion Universal Broadband fund, its $600 million investment in low earth orbit satellites through Telesat, the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s $2 billion promise, and the CRTC’s $750 million fund as ways it is committed to connecting rural Canadians.
No answers were given about SSi’s specific predicament.
