The Kativik Regional Government (KRG), Nunavik, is now considering the possibility of building a submarine cable to serve Nunavik fibre. KRG launched a public call for tenders on July 28, 2016 to get support from experts to produce a cable route and feasibility study. The study will analyse the technical, economic, legal and operational aspects of bringing a submarine fibre-optic cable to connect the 14 communities of Nunavik plus a select number of communities in Nunavut and three Nunatsiavut Inuit communities in Labrador.
KRG’s current Tamaani internet service Phase 4 upgrade includes
- more bandwidth from current capacity of 315 Mbs to 627 Mbs. This bandwidth will be shared between the fourteen Nunavik communities.
- New wireless system using HSPA+ technology. This means Internet service should function with unlocked 3G/4G smartphones and tablets as long as they have a SIM card purchased from Tamaani.
- Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) in communities with a population of over 1000 (Kuujjuaq, Puvirnituq, Inukjuak and Salluit) where building-to-building traffic sometimes overloads the wireless network. This technology should not be confused with undersea fibre optics; in communities where FTTH is installed, the Internet service will be offered at the same speed as in all other communities.
- Faster target speeds for residential Internet up to 3Mbs download and 0.5Mbs upload, double the rates currently on offer.
