Iqaluit, the capital and only city in Canada’s Nunavut region. Photo: Northwestel.

Canadian telco Northwestel has signed on for a multi-year contract for capacity from Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation to provide broadband services. 

Northwestel operates in Canada’s North, which includes Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Northern BC and High Level, Alberta; some of the country’s most remote areas. 

Under an agreement announced Thursday, Northwestel will leverage the Canadian government’s dedicated Lightspeed capacity pool to provide broadband plans with at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds and unlimited monthly usage. The telco will use Telesat’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation to support households, businesses and institutions, particularly in areas without fiber backhaul. 

The dedicated Lightspeed capacity pool for Canada was introduced in 2020 as part of a $600 million Canadian dollar agreement for internet service providers and mobile network operators to access capacity to sell at redacted rates for eligible rural and Indigenous communities in Canada. 

“This agreement reflects our commitment to Canadian innovation that directly serves Canadian needs,” said Tammy April, vice president of Strategic Growth at Northwestel. “By partnering with Telesat and leveraging their advanced LEO network, we are investing in domestic technology that strengthens Northern connectivity, supports sovereignty, and delivers reliable broadband where it matters most.”

In addition to this agreement, the Canadian government awarded Northwestel more than CA$86 million ($62 million) on Thursday from the Universal Broadband Fund to run fiber to households in Nunavut and connect more than 11,500 households.

The agreement between Northwestel and Telesat is not part of the UBF funding, Telesat confirmed to Via Satellite.