Swedish Space Corporation, OneWeb, Northwestel partner on 10 year satellite network site to enhance connectivity across Northern Canada
May 17th, 2023
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has signed a 10-year contract with the low Earth orbit satellite communications company OneWeb to build and manage its Satellite Network Portal (SNP) in Yellowknife, NT, Canada. This new SNP will deliver increased bandwidth, performance and resiliency to all OneWeb services active today across Northern Canada. The new site will be on the traditional territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the Det’on Cho Environmental will be providing local guidance on environmental assessments and permitting. Northern Canada’s telecommunications leader Northwestel’s extensive northern fiber network will provide the ground connectivity to support the SNP.
For immediate release
Construction of the Satellite Network Portal (SNP) is underway in Yellowknife’s new Engle Business District. It will serve as a gateway for OneWeb satellite broadband internet in Canada with 27 antenna bases once completed by Q4 2023. SSC will oversee the project, including the development of the site infrastructure to support the antennas, and once the site is operating, SSC will provide ongoing maintenance and on-site support for a period of 10 years.
The construction and maintenance of the SNP will be a significant project and represents a sizeable investment in the region. The telecommunications partners have worked closely with local government leadership and business to ensure the project and subsequent connectivity will contribute significantly to the City of Yellowknife and the broader Territory.
“SSC and OneWeb have developed a close relationship over the years. We have accompanied OneWeb throughout many milestones and decision points, based on our worldwide presence and long experience in the field of ground infrastructure and project management. For each one of OneWeb’s gateway construction projects, our highly experienced engineering team manages all the local sub-contractors and works tightly together with OneWeb to ensure we meet all customer requirements,” says Erwin Mercado, SSC Head of Americas.
“Canada is one of the first countries to have access to a LEO Network and is a top priority market for OneWeb. We are thrilled that through this partnership with SSC and Northwestel, we will be able to provide even the farthest reaches of the country with reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity. We are grateful for the support of our trusted partners and the leadership of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, who together are helping to expand connectivity across the communities of the Northwest Territories. OneWeb’s satellite network is built on reliability and resiliency, and we are proud to be providing Canada with a robust solution to the decades-long problem it has faced in delivering connectivity to remote regions,” says Howard Stanley, Vice President, Americas of OneWeb.
“Our investments in a strong northern fibre network are attracting global investment in more projects North of 60, bringing real benefits to our communities. We are proud to be partnering on bringing next-generation technology to Northern markets,” says Paul Gillard, Vice President of Business Markets, Northwestel.
OneWeb’s network is in service today delivering high-speed, low-latency services to connect schools, communities, mines and more across Canada and this new SNP will bring additional benefits of the network to some of the most challenging areas to serve.
SSC has been partnering with telecom satellite businesses for more than 50 years, providing gateway support at various locations around the world.
Contacts:
For SSC
Philip Ohlsson, SSC Head of Communications, +46 (0)70 721 70 26, philip.ohlsson@sscspace.com
For OneWeb
Katie Dowd, OneWeb, kdowd@oneweb.net
For Northwestel
Catherine Newsome, Northwestel, media@nwtel.ca, (867) 455-4209
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About SSC
SSC offers one of the world’s largest, most flexible, and dependable satellite ground station networks. SSC CONNECT is a portfolio of fully managed satellite Ground Station Services that enable spacecraft operators to efficiently control their operations and receive payload data in near real-time. It provides global and reliable communication access to any spacecraft anytime, anywhere. CONNECT Hosting is a set of solutions targeted to satellite operators looking to have best-in-class support installing and managing their ground segment assets at SSC sites worldwide or at various other locations. We offer global expertise in site preparation (incl. all civil works), antenna installation, regulatory services (incl. export and frequency coordination), and much more. https://sscspace.com
About OneWeb
OneWeb is a global communications network powered by a constellation of 648 low Earth orbit satellites. Headquartered in London, OneWeb enables high-speed, low latency connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities all around the world. https://oneweb.net/
About Northwestel
Northwestel is the largest telecommunications provider in Canada's north, serving communities across Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia and Alberta. In 2020, Northwestel launched a 3-year Every Community plan to significantly improve broadband services for northern residents, governments and businesses using the latest fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technologies. Northwestel is a subsidiary of Bell and provides service on the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples across Canada's North.
