SSi Canada strikes deal to expand satellite capacity

One of Nunavut’s main internet providers says it has struck a deal to obtain more satellite capacity, according to Nunatsiaq News.

SSi Canada says the new arrangement means that, for now, its customers don’t need to worry about big price increases or the shutdown of its services. The company had warned in November that it may need to take such actions unless it received more support from the federal government.

SSi announced on Monday, Jan. 18, that it had struck a partnership with SES Networks, a Luxembourg-based company that operates more than 70 geostationary and medium Earth orbit satellites.

“They were able to liberate an existing satellite and point it north,” said Dean Proctor, SSi’s chief development officer. “There’s a whole lot of new capacity available to us.”

This extra satellite capacity means SSi is once again able to sign up new customers. In the fall, it stopped taking on new customers because doing so ran the risk of overwhelming its network, said Proctor.