A partnership between Northwestel, Swanberg Air and the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is providing free wireless Internet service for people passing through the Fort Nelson Airport.

The three partners worked together to bring the Northwestel service to the airport for the benefit of passengers who spend time in the Fort Nelson terminal, waiting for flights to arrive or depart. The municipality recently installed a wireless router at the airport. Anyone with a laptop capable of picking up a wireless signal is now able to use Internet at the airport, at no cost.

“This is a great benefit for anyone who wants to capitalize on the time they have available while waiting for flights,” said Curtis Shaw, Northwestel Vice President Consumer and Small Business Markets. “It allows people to check emails or surf the web, either for work purposes or for pleasure. Fort Nelson is a busy hub for those working in the resource sector, so we are pleased to work with our two partners to provide a service that will allow northern workers, business people and others to use their airport time more productively.”

The Fort Nelson Airport is operated by the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes the town of Fort Nelson. Swanberg Air is one of the main airlines using the airport.

“The municipality is very customer-oriented and we work to provide the best possible experience for those spending time in our airport,” said Bill Streeper, Mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. “Swanberg Air first came to us with the idea for this service. Because Northwestel is the main provider of telecommunications to our area, we approached the company about working together. We are delighted we could make this happen for the benefit of our customers.”

The sponsorship partnership is a one-year pilot project. Next year, the success of the project will be assessed before the partners decide how to move forward.

Northwestel provides complete telecommunications solutions in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, northern British Columbia and High Level, Alberta. The company’s operations span nearly 4 million square kilometres of the most remote and rugged areas of Canada.