Nunavut communities say CRTC money for fibre internet is good news, but question how it will work

Kinngait Mayor Jimmy Manning says it's good news that fibre internet might be coming to his community, but when the government of Nunavut held a public consultation three years ago about bringing fibre internet to the hamlet, there was concern about how the cables will deal with the extremes of Nunavut's weather and environment.

"The Hudson Strait off Kinngait and Kimmirut is known to have gigantic icebergs," he said. "What if it will damage the cable? How long it would have to be repaired was unknown."

Manning's comments come after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved $271.9 million in conditional funding to the GN to construct a fibre internet connection for the communities of Kinngait, Coral Harbour, Iqaluit, and Kimmirut.

The planned interconnection point will be in Salluit, Quebec, according to Nunavut Community and Government Services (CGS) Minister David Joanasie.

Manning said if there was another consultation, people might have more input. Despite this concern, fibre internet will be beneficial, even though many people in Nunavut are connecting to the internet via Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, he said.

Coral Harbour Mayor Patterk Netser also believes fibre internet will be a good thing if it comes, but he wonders how the monthly charges with whoever provides the service will compare with Starlink's $147 monthly charge.

The CRTC recognizes that satellite internet is the main way that Nunavummiut get connected. It approved SSi Micro Ltd.'s funding application for up to roughly $26.8 million in December.

"But we view this fibre investment as being complementary and that it will help enhance reliability, quality and choice of internet service for residents in the near and the longer term," said Ian Baggley, the CRTC's director general for strategic planning, broadband fund and networks.

Baggley also said the fibre connection will have "transformative effects" on Nunavut residents.

"It opens up new opportunities for the territories businesses, for example, through e-commerce, growing ecotourism, world-renowned artists [and] access to public health services, such as telemedicine, will become easier," he said. "It [also] presents new opportunities for education so that, for example, residents don't have to choose between leaving their communities and pursuing post-secondary programs."

Neither mayor has heard anything directly from the GN about the fibre internet project, though.

Multiple attempts to speak with Kimmirut's mayor or senior administrative officer went unanswered.

In a statement to CBC News, the City of Iqaluit said they were pleased about the deal and that it "marks the first of several crucial steps toward enhancing Iqaluit's telecommunications infrastructure.

"While we recognize that this funding is conditional and requires consultation with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), we are encouraged by this significant progress," the statement concluded.

In a statement of their own to CBC News, NTI said they're in the process of gathering information from the GN and need time to review the proposal.

"NTI remains committed to working with Governments to close the infrastructure gap in Nunavut, and we look forward to working with the GN on Inuit participation in the project," the statement concluded.

Nunavut government still needs to prove they can do it

Joanasie said the GN must now file a letter of intent to the CRTC stating that they will go ahead with the project. He also mentioned that they must submit a statement of work package by November 1, outlining how they will set up the connection.

"It'll outline a lot of more detailed information regarding this decision and announcement that my department will be working with CRTC on," Joanasie said.

"We have to consult, of course, through the regulatory agencies and the [Nunavut] Planning Commission, and then [the] Nunavut Impact Review Board and the detailed marine and terrestrial roots in preparation for the surveys that this route will entail."

Joanasie said they hope to have the fibre connection online by 2027.

The funding from the CRTC also means that $151 million of previously-approved funding from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities (HIC) Canada dedicated to setting up fibre internet will now be re-deployed elsewhere, according to Joanasie.

Last year, the territorial government cancelled a tender for the project over budgetary concerns. 

In a statement to CBC News, CGS said they are looking at other ways to use the $151 million to address other infrastructure issues, but that they must receive approval through "GN processes" and HIC before doing so.

 "Investing in long-term care and water infrastructure are priorities for the Nunavut government due to their critical impact on the well-being and health of the communities," the statement said.