Indigenous communities to buy Northwestel for up to $1B

A group of Indigenous communities from the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut announced plans to buy Northwestel from BCE Inc. The consortium, Sixty North Unity, said in a Tuesday news release that it will acquire the northern telecom for almost $1 billion. Once completed, it would make Northwestel the world’s largest telecom company with full Indigenous ownership, the group noted. "As Indigenous people, we have long believed we are best placed to make the necessary decisions affecting services in our communities,” said Sixty North Unity representative Tiffany Eckert-Maret in the release. “The acquisition of Northwestel will give us the autonomy to make those investments and choices to serve our telecommunications needs into the future." The transaction aims to advance Indigenous self-determination and bridge the digital divide for northern communities. Planned investments include doubling internet speeds for fibre customers to 1 Gbps, expanding high-speed internet to meet the CRTC's universal service objective for 97% of homes in the Yukon and N.W.T., and utilizing low-earth orbit satellites to deliver improved internet speeds to eight remote communities in N.W.T. and 25 in Nunavut. The consortium also plans to put $4 million towards building the Great Slave Lake fibre project, which will install a fibre line under the largest lake in North America, connecting Yellowknife and the South Slave regions. The installation would bring “critical resiliency” and redundancy to the area, which currently relies on a fibre line running along the highway, helping “safeguard against the impacts of wildfires and other natural disasters.” "This monumental step towards economic reconciliation will see direct benefits stay in northern Indigenous communities. I can't wait to see what advancements this new partnership will bring to northern Canadians," said Northwestel president Curtis Shaw. Sixty North Unity said it will keep the telecom’s existing employees, but plans to increase Indigenous representation in the workforce through training and mentorship. According to reporting from the CBC, more people in northern Canada will be hired to replace the jobs previously filled by Bell. Bell will still be partners with Northwestel following the transaction, both through operational support and as Northwestel’s largest customer, the company affirmed. “I congratulate Sixty North Unity and Northwestel on this visionary partnership to advance economic reconciliation through Indigenous ownership of critical telecommunications infrastructure in their communities,” said Bell CEO Mirko Bibic. “For Bell, it has been an honour to play a role in connecting and investing in communities across the North for the past 36 years, and we look forward to a strong and long-lasting continued partnership with Northwestel." – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Indigenous communities to buy Northwestel for up to $1B

News | June 12, 2024

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Indigenous communities to buy Northwestel for up to $1B

News | June 12, 2024

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