Connection speeds may be getting a little bit faster in Inuvik as Northwestel announced July 7 that it will expand its Fibre to the home (FTTH) service to the region, making Inuvik the second northern community to get the hookup, after Hay River.
According to Northwestel's website, FTTH will offer higher speeds, more reliable connections and more data allowances for subscribers — to the tune of up to 250 Mbps (megabytes per second) and a monthly data allowance of 750 gigabytes.
“Northwestel is making significant upgrades to our telecommunications network in Inuvik. We will be replacing aging copper wiring to people’s homes with fibre,” said Northwestel President Curtis Shaw. “This is a milestone achievement. With these upgrades we will be able to launch Canada’s first full Fibre-to-the-home community in the Arctic Circle.”
Stating the company's goal is to ensure every home in Inuvik is connected to the fibre-optic line, regardless of whether they are a customer or not, the release said construction was to be completed over the coming months.
It goes on to note construction workers, who will be employed by Valard Construction, will follow safe Covid-19 precautions and protocols and will obtain the consent of homeowners before they come onto their property. The hook up won't disrupt other aspects of a building or property, though workers may need to gain access to hang the cables. The cables will run along the existing power and telephone line infrastructure.
The release adds the hookup is free for anyone and does not come with any obligation to subscribe. It goes on to encourage residents to get the hookup to ensure they have better access to internet options in the future.
To find out more information or to request a hookup, visit Northwestel's website.