Northwestel begins rolling out fibre to more than 2600 households in Yukon and Northwest Territories
Dawson City, YT — Construction is underway on Northwestel’s three-year project to bring high speed unlimited Internet to every community in the Yukon and Northwest Territories (NWT). Crews will be rolling out several hundred kilometers of fibre this summer to set up Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections for more than 2600 households.
Northwestel plans to leverage FTTH technology to introduce high speed unlimited Internet service to customers in the following communities by the end of 2021:
- In Yukon: Dawson City, Watson Lake, Teslin, and Upper Liard.
- In NWT: Fort Providence, Fort Liard, and Behchokǫ̀. Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River will be completed as conditions allow for fibre construction work.
“We’re kicking off Northwestel’s Every Community project by making significant upgrades to our telecommunications network in Yukon and the Northwest Territories,” says Northwestel President Curtis Shaw. “Throughout the summer, we will be replacing aging copper wiring to people’s homes with Fibre-to-the-home technology. These upgrades will allow Northwestel to deliver unlimited high-speed Internet service to customers later this fall – at the same rates as in northern city centres.”
Fibre-to-the-home construction
Northwestel’s project partners have begun working in some communities already, such as Dawson City, YT. Crews are replacing existing network equipment in each community with fibre and connecting new fibre-optic lines directly to the outside of people’s homes. Residents can expect to receive fibre construction information by mail in the coming weeks.
Personnel are following strict COVID-19 protocols during construction, working from safety plans which have been approved by each community’s respective territorial government.
The construction team will gain all appropriate consents from the homeowner or residents to access the outside of the property and will leave all properties just as they found them once the work is complete.
Northwestel’s goal is to bring fibre to homes within the town limits of each community – regardless of whether the household is a current Northwestel customer or not. There is no charge to residents for the work, and there is no obligation whatsoever to purchase or upgrade a Northwestel service. The company encourages all residents to allow for the fibre installation, even if just to provide options in the future.
More details about Northwestel’s Every Community project can be found at everycommunity.nwtel.ca.
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Contact:
Northwestel Media Relations
(867) 455-4209
