QINIQ network gets boost from Broadband Canada program
SSi introduces improved broadband plans for QINIQ customers in Nunavut starting June 4th, 2012
IQALUIT: June 4th, 2012 – The “largest and coolest hotspot on earth” just got better! Starting on June 4th, 2012, QINIQ residential customers across Nunavut will be able to choose a new and more robust plan that will offer significant upgrades to their Internet service speeds and capacity. This boost in service will triple usage caps, and download speeds will be up to four times faster for the most popular package.
The service improvement has been made possible through a recent agreement between the Government of Canada and the SSi Group of Companies, which operates the QINIQ network in Nunavut. In addition to a number of network upgrades that SSi has been implementing and will complete this summer, this collaboration ensures increased monthly usage in households at affordable rates while generally enhancing the QINIQ network and enabling subscribers to take advantage of advanced services such as digital voice and video chat.
Under Industry Canada’s Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program, the Government of Canada is contributing almost $10.7 million, matched by SSi’s own commitment toward network upgrades and satellite delivered capacity from now until 2016.
“Rural Canadians deserve the same reliable internet access as urban Canadians. Our Government’s Connecting Rural Canadians initiative has brought faster internet to nearly 9,300 households in Nunavut alone,” said the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Member of Parliament for Nunavut. “We are proud to partner with the SSI Group to narrow the digital divide and ensure all Nunavummiut can participate in Canada’s growing digital economy.”
“SSi strongly believes the benefits of improved broadband service should be available for all residents of Nunavut, not just those in a limited number of communities”, said Jeff Philipp, Founder and CEO of the SSi Group of Companies. Mr. Philipp continued, “We are very pleased that the assistance of the Federal Government allows this to become an immediate reality”.
The Broadband Canada program is part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to implement a strategy that extends broadband coverage to as many unserved and underserved households as possible. “Broadband” is defined as a minimum 1.5 Mbps download speed available to the consumer. For more information on the Broadband Canada program, see www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/719.nsf/eng/home.
The SSi Group of Companies is a recognized leader in the field of remote and rural communications connectivity. Headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, SSi provides broadband service across Canada’s North, serving 25 communities in Nunavut and 31 in the Northwest Territories.
The QINIQ network is an advanced satellite and wireless network delivering broadband Internet services to all 25 communities in Nunavut, an area spanning 2 million square kilometers where communities are not connected by roads or terrestrial or submarine telecommunications links. The network uses state-of-the-art full mesh connectivity that supports voice and videoconferencing technologies.
For more information on QINIQ, see www.qiniq.com, and for the SSi Group of Companies,
see www.ssimicro.com.
