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Whati’s First Nations-owned fibre a blueprint for NWT’s future growth

Any time an elder in Whati makes a video-call or a teen posts to social media, that Internet data doesn’t just travel over Northwestel infrastructure. The data flows through a 115-kilometer fibre line that’s one hundred percent owned by the community itself.

That’s thanks to a partnership between the Tłı̨chǫ First Nation government and Northwestel that made improved Internet service to Whati possible. It's one of a growing set of partnerships that are seeing First Nation communities benefit from better connectivity and from direct ownership of the telecommunications assets that serve their communities.

Here are three northern partnerships that are changing how we connect communities.

Tłı̨chǫ fibre Line

Until recently, Whati NWT was only accessible by air or winter ice road. When the Government of NWT installed a new highway, that opened up doors to bringing higher capacity Internet into the community.

With Northwestel’s support, the Tłı̨chǫ government received funding from the Government of Canada to build and own a new fibre line that connected Whati to Yellowknife and beyond. Northwestel has agreed to pay for the use of the line for the next 20 years, guaranteeing ongoing benefit to the Tłı̨chǫ nation for decades to come.

Det’on Cho Great Slave Lake fibre

Damage to fibre lines running along NWT highways can have a big impact on Internet service. One of the solutions is to connect single fibre lines into a loop, so Internet traffic has two possible paths to travel. For communities around Great Slave Lake, building a fibre loop means placing submarine fibre under the lake.

Last November the Det’on Cho Management, the development corporation for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, announced a plan to pursue funding to build an Indigenous-owned submarine fibre to link Northwestel’s existing lines around the lake. This exciting partnership has the potential to strengthen Internet services to 9 communities around Great Slake Lake. It will also provide decades of benefit to the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

“The more important Internet access has become in people’s lives, the more important it is that access be extremely reliable. Our communities have benefitted from Northwestel’s investment in fibre, and now we have the opportunity to close a gap that has the potential to cause a crisis in our communities. This redundant fibre connection will protect against the inevitable fibre breaks that happen and vastly decrease the likelihood of major outages that harm our economy and our communities." 

- John Henderson, Chief Operating Officer Det’on Cho Management LP.

Yukon’s Shared Pathways network

Partnerships with First Nations are accelerating investments in other territories as well. As part of the new Shared Pathways network, 14 Yukon First Nations now own the community fibre assets that connect thousands of homes and businesses across the territory will be Indigenous-owned, with Northwestel providing guaranteed benefits to Yukon’s First Nations for the next two decades.

Stronger connections build stronger communities. These innovative partnerships are a blueprint for one of the ways Northwestel and Indigenous peoples can walk together towards a stronger northern future.