WHERE
WE ARE
SSi’s headquarters are in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. We have a satellite teleport and network operations centre in Ottawa from where we manage our satellite network, the footprint of which covers all of North America.
We have designed, built and operated telecommunications networks around the world. In Canada, SSi has deployed advanced satellite and local broadband wireless facilities throughout Nunavut and in communities of the Northwest Territories.
As a company, we understand first-hand the challenges faced in providing effective and affordable communications services to remote and outlying areas, having launched broadband service into many markets where the Internet previously did not exist.
SATELLITE BACKBONE
INTO COMMUNITIES
Unlike networks in Canada’s urban south, where most customers connect to the Internet via terrestrial fibre technology, SSi operates in areas where fibre is often not available. For those communities, we deliver Internet connectivity via a satellite backbone.
Today we purchase “raw” satellite capacity from Telesat Canada, using the “C-Band” on both their Anik F2 and Anik F3 satellites. From our Ottawa teleport this provides us with coverage and redundancy not only in Canada’s North and Mid-North, but across all of North America.
We also utilize capacity on Telesat’s newest high throughput Ka-band satellite (HTS), the Telstar 19 Vantage.
Data on the SSi network passes to and from the Internet in the south through our satellite teleport and network operations centre in Ottawa.
Our network coverage footprint includes all of North America. Our service is delivered across Canada’s North and to several countries around the world.
4G-LTE “LAST MILE”
WITHIN COMMUNITIES
SSi has been deploying and operating wireless technologies to deliver Internet and other communications services for over 20 years.
Today, the network infrastructure in each community we serve includes dish antennas to communicate with the satellites, communications towers, antenna, “base stations” and other electronics to connect wirelessly across the “last mile” so that end-user customers can send and receive data.
Customers make use of a “home gateway”, a wireless modem employing NLOS (non-line-of-sight) technology, meaning that it is not necessary to see the antenna in order to get service.
The same modem is nomadic, and can be used across town or roam into any community on our network.
In 2016, SSi’s QINIQ network was upgraded to 4G-LTE technology, which supports high-speed mobile connectivity and enables the next generation of broadband services for northern residents, businesses and governments. Customers will benefit from mobile services that roam not only in the northern territories, but throughout Canada and around the world.
SSi’s QINIQ network has been upgraded to 4G-LTE technology, enabling enhanced broadband and delivery of the next generation services.
FIBRE CONNECTIVITY
IN THE NORTH
SSi has been exploring the possible future role of fibre optic connections between southern Canada and communities in Nunavut since 2012. This includes preparations for the eventual arrival of submarine fibre, supplemented where necessary by terrestrial fibre and microwave, and the design and adaptation of open gateway facilities to accommodate these delivery systems.
In this regard, SSi has established relationships with construction and financing partners, and has commissioned expertise to assess various aspects of bringing fibre to the North. Critical to this work is planning for backbone redundancy, a subject on which SSi published a white paper in 2016.
Going forward, SSi is working with a wide range of northern stakeholders, including communities, governments, Inuit organizations and consumers, to ensure that future fibre projects are implemented in a thorough and pragmatic manner and built for success.
INVESTMENT
IN NUNAVUT
In partnership with the Government of Canada, from 2005 to 2015 SSi invested some $100 million over 10 years to build and upgrade Nunavut’s QINIQ network. In September, 2015, SSi launched a three year, $75 million investment program in Nunavut’s broadband future, including $35 million from the Government of Canada for satellite capacity. These investments represent a significant milestone and an unprecedented effort to help bridge the digital divide between North and South.
Extensive network-wide improvements over the three-year program include:
In September, 2015, SSi initiated an additional $75 million investment in Nunavut’s broadband future.
Extensive network-wide improvements over 3 years include:
- A massive upgrade to the existing satellite backbone (Anik F2 and Anik F3), with new C-Band ground equipment and electronics providing access to far more capacity for North-South and North-North communications;
- Investments in Telesat’s new Telstar 19 Vantage high throughput satellite and deployment of new ground infrastructure and electronics;
- Installation and deployment of 4G-LTE wireless “last mile” technology;
- Initial deployment of the PowerComm Hub, an innovative and energy-efficient co-location facility designed as an “open gateway” in each community for access to the backbone.
Consumers will benefit from higher speeds, increased usage, and exciting new services such as mobile voice and data, telemetry applications such as smart metering and remote security monitoring, HD video conferencing for interactive classrooms, tele-health programs and inter-community justice hearings, and much more.
