May 8, 2020

Hay River, NT – Hay River customers are now able to request the North’s fastest residential Internet speeds as Northwestel begins the final stage of its Fibre-to-the-Home project: connecting individual customers to the new fibre network.

Hay River residents in single dwelling homes are now able to submit an online request for Internet speeds up to 250 Mbps. The new Fibre Internet packages will deliver up to 16x faster Internet speeds and twice as much monthly usage than previously available in the community.

Northwestel has implemented several special procedures in Hay River to ensure customer and employee safety during the COVID-19 situation:

1. Customers can request their new fibre service installation online at nwtel.ca/HayRiverFibre. This is to minimize congestion in our Northern call centres at this critical time. We ask that all customers use the online page to learn about what’s available and request their service.
2. Northwestel will limit the number of installations completed per week. This is to ensure adequate time for proper health and safety procedures so that the work can completed safely in the customers’ home.
3. Only single dwelling homes will be completed in the first phase of this project. Multi-dwelling homes (apartments buildings) and businesses require a more complex installation which will be done at a later phase.

“I am thrilled to introduce Northwestel’s new Fibre Internet service to Hay River. We appreciate the community’s patience with the extra measures we have put in place to complete installation during this special time,” says Northwestel President Curtis Shaw. “I want to recognize our northern employees for their tireless efforts to make Hay River the first Fibre-to-the-Home community North of 60.”

In 2019, Northwestel began to install new FTTH network equipment in Hay River to prepare more than 90% of homes in the community for Fibre Internet. This work included placing buried and overhead fibre optic cable through much of the community and attaching fibre to local homes.

Customers who request Fibre Internet can expect a technician visit to complete the install. Fibre optic cable is inserted into the home and connected to a new Optical Network Terminal (ONT) modem. Customers can connect wired devices directly to the modem or add a wireless router to create a Wi-Fi network.

Residents can submit an online Fibre Internet request and learn more about the new service at nwtel.ca/HayRiverFibre.

Visit here to see a Northwestel Community TV video about the project.

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Contact:
Northwestel Media Relations
(867) 455-4209
media@nwtel.ca