SSi Canada announces new satellite capacity for north

SSi Canada says a partnership with satellite and connectivity services provider SES S.A. will deliver a “large, large amount” of extra capacity for its QINIQ broadband and mobile services in the country’s north, allowing SSi to again add new customers and provide continual service for its existing ones. The partnership with SES Networks, announced in a media release Monday, will deliver new satellite capacity to Canada’s north, including all 25 communities of Nunavut. SSi Canada’s chief development officer Dean Proctor said in a phone interview that the company was not making public the amount of capacity delivered, but stressed it was a “large, large amount.” Adding net new satellite capacity is vitally important for the north given the “constrained” amount of it available, which was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift towards people working and studying from home, Proctor said. He said that shortage, which led to SSi deciding it could no longer take on new customers last year, was already evident prior to the pandemic, but said COVID-19 provided “a real, notable increase in demand for internet capacity, that was already too high in the north.” Asked what benefits customers would see in terms of speed upgrades or increased data allowances, Proctor said much of that would depend on whether the company’s applications for funding through the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund, and the CRTC’s $750 million rural broadband fund were successful. “In terms of increased speeds, extra data, we can provide more of that but it’s at what cost at this point, Proctor said. “We have applications out, as you know there’s a number of broadband programs that are in place, with the CRTC and now the Universal Broadband Fund, to be truly able to get maximum consumer benefits out of this there’s still going to have to be some assistance from the broadband programs.” But Proctor said customers would still notice a “massive change” due to the partnership. “Without this agreement, without net new capacity, the future of internet delivery from the constrained network was in jeopardy,” Proctor said. “That is no longer the case, we have avoided that cliff and now we have the ability to expand, which is just tremendous news. There was no ability for the status quo to continue without finding a better arrangement.”

SSi Canada announces new satellite capacity for north

Brief | January 19, 2021

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SSi Canada announces new satellite capacity for north

Brief | January 19, 2021

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