Students Propose Internet Connection Solution for Northern First Nations Communities

The Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan is 600 square kilometres with around 400 people. The nearest city is Saskatoon, over 90 kilometres away, and Muskeg Lake lacks nearby infrastructure for internet. Instead, the community has been an example of inequity in Canada’s quest for nationwide internet access.

Patrick Potiuk and Jeanne Anselmo, students in the Wireless Systems Engineering Technology program at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), were tapped by their program chair, Dr Kevin Jacobson, to solve the internet connectivity problem. With a fibre connection already available in the Muskeg Lake band office, the question was, “How do we take an internet connection and then distribute it?” Potiuk told techlifetoday, NAIT’s online magazine.

The goal was to build something the community could use and maintain without a third-party provider. The connection would send from the band office to antennae on community members’ homes. Basically, the team would piggyback the signal across the First Nation reserve.

“What we built, essentially,” Potiuk told techlifetoday, “[Was] a DIY wireless internet service provider.”

The group also used a Starlink receiver to work with the fibre-optic connection and connect the whole community. Essentially, with two internet connection points, Potiuk and Anselmo found they could create a whole network. (They couldn’t use Starlink to power the entire reserve because the provider is less reliable in northern Canada above the 53rd parallel.)

Steven Wiig, who works with the Muskeg Lake band, acknowledged the idea was good and could be utilised as a model. But, he told techlifetoday, “The reality is that it would require us starting our own mini company.”

High-speed broadband coverage is lacking for First Nations

In the last five years, high-speed broadband coverage for First Nations reserve areas increased by 16%. While that might seem like a great leap forward, it’s only been a tiny splash. 

In 2016, 27.3% of First Nations reserve areas had 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload broadband coverage (also known as 50/10 unlimited). By 2021, it was up to 43.3%—still less than half. 

At the end of 2021, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission examined broadband coverage across Canada: over 90% of Canadians were covered, but only 62% of rural areas and less than 50% of northern Canada had access to unlimited broadband coverage.

Saskatchewan, home of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, ranked ninth out of 10 provinces for broadband availability.

While the Canadian government set—and met—its goal for 90% of households to have 50/10 unlimited, most First Nations reserves are left out of the broadband push. 

According to the 2021 High-speed broadband report, the Canadian government is “on track” to reach 100% of households by 2031 with national 50/10 unlimited broadband. But, until then, a digital divide is affecting Canada’s First Nations communities, making it harder for them to stay connected to the rest of the country.