A European satellite communications company wants to pitch the Department of National Defence on a broadband network for the Arctic.
David van Dyke, general manager for Canada at Eutelsat OneWeb. (Photo courtesy of Eutelsat)
The company is not a consumer internet provider, said David van Dyke, general manager for Canada at Eutelsat OneWeb.
“We provide high speed, low latency connectivity … for security elements, government, and mining sites,” he said.
Eutelsat is partly owned by the French and British governments. It is proposing an estimated $250-million plan to enable the federal government’s usage of its existing satellite constellation in the Arctic.
Eutelsat’s subsidiary OneWeb has more than 600 low Earth orbit satellites in its constellation which is enough to reach any location on the planet, much like Starlink.
The company proposes to provide what it calls sovereign capacity capability, meaning the company wouldn’t be able to turn off the network for any reason.
The federal government announced last month a “strategic partnership” with Telesat Corp. and MDA Space Ltd. to design and develop systems for the Canadian Armed Forces. Telesat is working on its own constellation of satellites and the company is still years away from this goal.
Eutelsat, Van Dyke said, would be ready to provide service to the Department of National Defence within a few months if an agreement is signed.
He said he does not see Telesat as a competitor.
“When Telesat Lightspeed becomes available, we expect that we will always be positioned alongside [them] at all locations to enhance resiliency,” he said.
Van Dyke said he has not formally pitched the Canadian government, but there are ongoing conversations.
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said she supports anything that will increase connectivity in the North but feels Inuit leaders and the Government of Nunavut should be included in discussions.
“It’s an interesting concept, for sure,” she said.
“Something that Canada should consider, especially considering how much the Arctic relies on Starlink.”
However, she would rather see a proposal that includes bolstering civilian internet. Without that, “there will be serious limitations to helping keep the Arctic secure,” she said.
It’s unclear what the Department of National Defence is currently using for communications in the North. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
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