Backgrounder: CRTC takes action to improve reliability and affordability of Internet services in the Far North

As part of its broader efforts to improve Internet and cellphone services across Canada, the CRTC is working to help ensure residents of the Far North have access to reliable and affordable Internet services.

As part of its broader efforts to improve Internet and cellphone services across Canada, the CRTC is working to help ensure residents of the Far North have access to reliable and affordable Internet services.

Residents of the Far North, on average, pay $72 more per month for Internet services than those living in the rest of Canada. Yet only one in five Far North households surveyed by the CRTC have Internet access that meets their daily needs. Further, 94% of these households have experienced an Internet outage in the past year.

The CRTC also heard from residents about the impact these outages have on their daily lives, including disruptions in online learning and the inability to access healthcare and emergency services.

Consultations on telecommunications services in the Far North

The CRTC compiled a robust public record through a multi-phase public consultation with input from over 250 groups. Additionally, the CRTC supplemented this record with an online survey so that residents of the Far North could directly report their experiences with Internet services.

The CRTC also commissioned public opinion research that included in-person focus groups with 66 residents from 10 communities in the Far North. As part of its consultation, the CRTC held a week-long public hearing in Whitehorse, Yukon, where 23 groups made presentations and answered questions.

The CRTC also set out extra time in its process to gather Nunavut and Inuit Nunangat perspectives, and to get up-to-date information on the potential acquisition of Northwestel Inc. (Northwestel) by Sixty North Unity, a consortium of Indigenous organizations from the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Initial decision for the Far North

Following this process, in May 2024, the CRTC issued its first decision directing Northwestel to stop adding a $20 monthly surcharge for customers who purchase home digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet services without also purchasing its home phone service.

Additional actions to improve the reliability and affordability of Internet services

Today, the CRTC is announcing three key actions to help improve Internet services in the Far North. The CRTC is:

• Requiring Northwestel to automatically reduce customers’ bills when Internet services are disrupted for 24 hours or more. These credits will help address the impact of network outages on residents’ daily lives.
• Making it easier for other Internet service providers to use Northwestel’s network to sell services to customers. This will help foster competition and provide more choice in the Far North.
• Launching a public consultation to develop a subsidy that will help improve the affordability of Internet services in the Far North.

Listening to feedback and the CRTC’s commitment to addressing the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities

In 2024, the CRTC established an Indigenous Relations Team to support Indigenous participation in CRTC proceedings and to ensure that the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples are considered across the CRTC’s work.

Related products

• News release: CRTC takes action to improve reliability and affordability of Internet services in the Far North

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