Can Ulukhaktok’s community network become an internet model for other communities?

Free Internet option is now available in Ulukhaktok, one of Canada’s most remote Arctic villages, which project participants say could become a model for other places in remote areas.

“I really see this as an experiment and something that can be easily replicated in any community in the Northwest Territories.” Natalie Campbell, Senior Director for North American Government and Legal Affairs at the Internet Association, who worked with Ulukhaktok on the project, says Keep an eye on the North Pole in a phone interview.

“It just takes close collaboration between the community and other parties to make these solutions a reality.”

Much of the internet across the Canadian Arctic is satellite-based. Anything from heavy rain to blizzards can disrupt service. Download times can be slow, large files cannot be accessed at times, and prices are often high. Over the past decade, a lack of connectivity has been increasingly seen as a major obstacle to everything from business development to education in the North.

The idea for the project in Ulukhaktok originated in 2019 when the community decided to partner with The Internet Society, an international non-profit organization working to improve Internet accessibility and accessibility, and at the same time, the community decided to partner with The Internet Society. also focuses specifically on underserved communities.

Faster and cheaper option

The Internet Association provided training on how to set up a community-run network, independent of a traditional Internet provider. Society doesn’t suggest specific solutions, says Campbell, but works with each community to find the solution that best fits their circumstances.

The University of Washington has partnered with the future project to help come up with technical solutions and how to put them into action.

In the end, Ulukhaktok decided to use the village’s Starlink connection—sponsored by Inuvialuit Regional Corporation— as a backstop for their community network. The community members can then access the network using the SIM card.

“Because there’s so much bandwidth, it’s a lot faster than the other options we’ve explored,” Campbell said. “This is an open network that basically gives everyone free internet access and definitely overcomes the affordability barrier, one of the big challenges we faced in 2019.”

The Ulukhaktok village office said no one was immediately available to interview about the service, but people in the community have continued to pick up SIM cards since its official launch last week.

The importance of redundancy

One significant benefit of establishing a community network in northern Canada, says Campbell, is the assurance of backup options, something that became apparent over the summer. She said when wildfires disrupted communications in some communities, like Hay River.

“Only people with a Starlink account in Hay River can access the Internet of any kind,” she said. “It wouldn’t be great if this community network became an alternative Internet access method for people trying to evacuate Hay River, or those who can’t even access the Internet knowing they have to evacuate Hay River. River.

“It’s a matter of redundancy and that’s why I think there’s an opportunity for all the communities in our Northwest Territories to think about how they can set up their own community networks. and make sure there is always an open Internet access service solution for everyone, especially when we think about emergency response situations where communication is so vital to people’s lives.”

Northern communities still underserved: IRC

No one from Inuvialuit Regional Group responded to a request for comment for this story, but in a press release said that being able to add a cheap, reliable internet option is an important step for the community. copper.

“Despite multi-year federal spending commitments to achieve the national high-speed Internet goals for Canada, remote northern communities remain among those that have not are best served due to geographical challenges and lack of economic incentive to build robust infrastructure in the Far North.” speak.

Related stories across the North:

Canada: Nunatsiavut welcomes additional federal funding for high-speed Internet, Eye on the Arctic

Norway: New satellites to enhance communications in the Norwegian Arctic, Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Russian military gets fast and secure internet via trans-Arctic cable, The Independent Barents Observer

USA: $30.3 million grant announced to build high-speed Internet in rural Alaska, Eye on the Arctic