Arctic Yearbook 2014 | Page 506

506 Arctic Yearbook 2014 extend Telesat’s broadband subsidies through 2021, pledging $50 million to prevent Arctic internet services from collapsing (Nunatsiaqonline, 2014). Later that month, Prime Minister Harper announced that it would upgrade Internet connectivity in Nunavut and Nunavik as part of Ottawa’s $305 million dollars ‘Connecting Canadians’ program (Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, 2014). While these investments are necessary to insure continued communications services in the North, Arctic Fibre’s president Douglas Cunningham is concerned. If the Harper Government continues to prefer satellite communications, his Internet services are jeopardized. In his view, if Ottawa refuses to utilize his submarine broadband services, it is impossible to make his project economically viable since without any public financial support there will be no significant client to sustain such services (Press, 2014). Ivaluk Network The Ivaluk Network project was announced in January 2014, designed and to be implemented by the Canadian company Nuvitik Communication. Led by a former federal civil servant, the cable project is different from the two previously described, as it aims only to serve the needs of Northern Canadians, with a focus on Nunavut and Nunavik, and a planned extension towards the Northwest Territories (Nuvitik Communications, 2014). This future cable plans to connect 26 communities in Nunavut and 14 in Nunavik. The cable should be laid in the coming years, forming a loop of 8000 km, linking James Bay, Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and part of the NWP. They offer high-speed Internet connections at competitive rates compared to satellites. Figure 2: Ivaluk Network (Telegeography, 2014b) The total estimated cost for the project is approximately $800 million (CAN). Discussions are apparently underway between federal authorities and Nuvitik to provide public funds for the Delaunay