Northwestel is partnering with a British company to expand internet service to remote mining, enterprise business and governments in northern Canada.
Northwestel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with OneWeb, a global communications network powered from space and headquartered in London.
NorthwesTel President Curtis Shaw says this agreement allows them to provide improved broadband services to remote enterprises and governments using state-of-the-art low Earth orbit satellite technology.
“We look forward to providing innovative solutions for northern businesses to go along with our significant residential service improvements over the coming years,” he adds.
OneWeb’s CEO Neil Masterson says this agreement will allow the company to harness Northwestel’s significant experience, northern presence and resources in serving Canada’s northern territories.
“This partnership is more evidence that our network is an important element in bridging the last digital divides by providing high-quality connectivity services to those that need it most,” he adds.
In 2019, OneWeb planned to launch a total of 648 satellites, with a goal to provide global satellite internet services to people everywhere. 248 low earth satellites have been launched to date with completion planned for mid-2022.
In May, OneWeb said that its then current constellation would be ready to provide internet services to regions north of 50 by the end of 2021.
