Northwestel and OneWeb teams upgrade far north communities to low Earth orbit satellite technology
January 9th, 2023
Yellowknife NWT, Whitehorse, YT – Surfing, streaming, online banking, and more in Paulatuk and Gamètì, NWT and Old Crow, Yukon now flow over OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology. Soon, seven other communities will connect the same way. These ten communities are currently served by a geostationary (GEO) satellite approaching end-of-life.
The work to bring new LEO satellite technology to these communities was completed within just five months of the announcement of the existing satellite’s imminent end-of-life date. Northwestel partnered with communications-from-space leader OneWeb to deploy carrier-grade low Earth orbit technology. In these communities, four OneWeb antennas are secured on large, raised, steel platforms. The dishes track a constellation of small washing-machine sized satellites that orbit the earth 35x closer than a typical geostationary satellite. Northwestel’s existing in-community network then carries broadband from the central hub right to homes and businesses.
“From the start, our focus has been to keep these communities connected despite the challenging circumstances. I’m proud of our northern team and our technology partners for deploying this new technology so quickly. We couldn’t have done it without the support and collaboration of our local communities.” – Paul Gillard, VP of Business Markets.
Northwestel plans to upgrade the remaining communities in January 2023. The transition will take place in the early hours of the morning and should not exceed a 30-minute disruption to services. Once the cut-over is complete, services for residents and businesses should continue as expected.
Communities receiving new OneWeb low Earth orbit technology:
- Sachs Harbour, NWT
- Ulukhaktok, NWT
- Paulatuk, NWT
- Colville Lake, NWT
- Gamètì, NWT
- Wekweètì, NWT
- Łutselk'e, NWT
- Sambaa K'e, NWT
- Old Crow, YT
- Fort Ware, BC
Image of OneWeb antennas currently installed in the community of Paulatuk, NWT. The picture was provided by Aaron Ruben, Senior Administrative Office of Paulatuk.
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About Northwestel
Northwestel is the largest telecommunications provider in Canada’s north, serving 96 communities across Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia and Alberta. Northwestel is a subsidiary of Bell and provides service on the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples across Canada’s North.
Northwestel media relations
media@nwtel.ca
(867) 455-4209
About OneWeb
OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at www.oneweb.world
