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NUNAVUT - Millions of federal dollars to improve broadband Internet service throughout Nunavut will persuade more people to begin online banking, according to supporters of the recently announced infrastructure boost.

Lorraine Thomas, secretary-treasurer of the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, responded warmly to a recent announcement by the federal government saying it will pump $21 million into expanding the amount of broadband available for Nunavut Internet users. The money will also go towards developing systems that customize services like large file transfers. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

A week and a half ago Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) Diane Ablonczy announced in Yellowknife that Nunavut's Internet service - currently functional but often slow - will receive $21 million in additional funding, money to help increase Internet speeds throughout 25 Nunavut communities.

That's music to the ears of Lorraine Thomas, secretary-treasurer of the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation (NBDC), the non-profit organization that jump-started the Qiniq satellite Internet service in Nunavut in May 2005.

"In Nunavut, our bandwidth is like managing water in the desert. You can wash your face every day, but it doesn't mean you can have a bathtub full of water and soak up for three hours," said Thomas.

The NBDC will administer the extra broadband over the course of the next five years, as well as develop ways to facilitate the sharing of large files averaging two gigabytes or more, particularly among the many geographers working in the territory.

"Since 2005, there are 4,000 users in Nunavut and it's growing every day," said Thomas.

"It has been integrated into people's lives as an essential service.

"Debit machines run on it. The economy sticks on top of it. Communities would implode without broadband."

Larry Fawcett, branch manger of Iqaluit's Royal Bank of Canada, said he believes a faster Internet service will mean more customers will sign up with online banking, which he said is crucial for communities that rely on ATMs and have no physical branch. Only Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay have banks.

"In my organization, before the Qiniq system, we often got requests to do things for clients, or have people become customers of Royal Bank, that we really couldn't do because we had no remote contact with them," said Fawcett.

"Now clients can open and do online banking the same as you and I do from our home."

Fawcett added the amount of Royal Bank customers has increased significantly since 2005.

"Lorraine was always very good about letting me know that, say, broadband was now available in Cape Dorset," he said.

"When she told me that, we would zero in on the clients we had in that area and encouraged them to get involved in online banking, which worked out wonderfully for us."

Despite the new funding, people should not expect speeds comparable to southern Canada, said Thomas.

However, the increased bandwidth will not translate to high bills for Nunavut customers, she added.