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NEWS  22 JUNE 2020 – 1:30 PM EDT

Northwestel seekingpermanent internet usageincreases, potentialchanges for packages inNunavutTerritory’s internet providers have adjusted services duringpandemic

Northwestel says it has applied to the CRTC to permanentlyincrease Internet usage on its most popular packages. Meanwhile,

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data caps have been doubled for customers in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet,Arviat and Cambridge Bay until the end of June. (File photo)

By Emma Tranter

Changes may be coming to Nunavut’s internet serviceproviders, but customers will have to wait to �nd out.

In March, Northwestel, northern Canada’s largesttelecommunications provider, doubled monthly data forcustomers in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Arviat and CambridgeBay in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was thenextended to May and June.

In an email to Nunatsiaq News, Northwestel said thoserelief measures will continue until June 30. But thecompany is waiting to hear from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission onwhether permanent changes will be approved.

“Northwestel is seeking permanent internet usageincreases. We have submitted the necessary CRTCapplications to increase the usage allowance on our mostpopular regulated internet packages,” Northwestel said.

Northwestel also said it is “looking at potential changesto our internet packages in Nunavut.”

Northwestel does not need CRTC approval to make thosechanges.

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“These are not regulated by the CRTC, but we would lookto be making these changes in conjunction with ourregulated products,” Northwestel said.

But “to avoid customer confusion,” Northwestel said itwill not comment on the speci�c details of those changesuntil they receive approval.

“We will communicate details with our customers andthe public at that time,” Northwestel said.

In April, Bell Mobility extended additional data usage andbilling credits for its “turbo hub” customers in Nunavutto June 30. In an email to Nunatsiaq News, Bell did notsay whether these changes would be extended beyondJune 30 and said customers could �nd up-to-dateinformation on its COVID-19 webpage.

SSi Canada (formerly called SSi Micro), which operatesthe Qiniq network that provides internet and mobilephone service to all 25 Nunavut communities, did notmake any adjustments to its regular services during thepandemic, given that the network “operates on a satellitebackbone with extremely limited capacity,” SSi Canadasaid in an email.

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Back in March, the company called for “social solidarityand sharing,” asking customers to voluntarily limit theirinternet data use, especially during peak daytime andearly evening hours.

To that end, the company said it added extra satellitecapacity to ensure the network continued to perform.Because backbone capacity for Nunavut is subsidized bythe federal government, SSi Canada  has also applied tothe CRTC’s broadband fund for more support.

“We are also seeking urgent support from other federaldepartments,” the company said.

SSi Canada said it did, however, develop new serviceplans “for organizations who need to communicateonline rather than in person with students, clients orpatients due to the pandemic.”

Ice Wireless, which serves Iqaluit, also made a fewchanges during the pandemic.

The company permanently doubled its network capacityin Iqaluit, which improved the quality and speed ofinternet, said Cameron Zubko, CEO of Ice Wireless.

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“This upgrade was made at our expense, at no cost tocustomers,” Zubko said.

Ice Wireless also suspended data throttling for users whoexceed 10 gigabytes a month of data use.

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(3) Comments:

Posted by Ice Wireless customer on 22 June, 2020

“Ice Wireless, which serves Iqaluit, also made a few changesduring the pandemic.The company permanently doubled its network capacity inIqaluit, which improved the quality and speed of internet,said Cameron Zubko, CEO of Ice Wireless.“This upgrade was made at our expense, at no cost tocustomers,” Zubko said.”AHAHAHAHYeah right… The service is still slow as f**kWe need optic �ber up here or even StarLink the new serviceElon Musk launch recently

Reply to this message

Posted by NWtel Extortion on 22 June, 2020

Requiring customers to pay for a phone line and advertisinginternet at a certain price without incorporating that phoneline cost is misleading and shameful. I hate dealing withNWTel.

Reply to this message

Posted by Cb on 22 June, 2020

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We used to be able to download movies before watchingthem, which used much less bandwidth than streamingthem but for the last few weeks we have been able todownload and have only been able to stream which usesmore bandwidth.

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