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GWNT makes commitments on fibre optic line Inuvik eyed as potential information hub by scientific community
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, June 8, 2013
INUVIK
The GNWT made concrete commitments on the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line during the recent sitting of the legislative assembly.
Stuart Salter, left, of Salter Global Consulting Inc., shows Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly a model that details how the Mackenzie Valley fibre link project would be laid in the ground during a community information session in Fort Simpson in February. - NNSL file photo
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On May 31, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger committed to finalizing a project description by the end of this month with an aim to start construction in late 2014.
"As soon as the project description is finished, we will file the application for review with the appropriate regulatory authorities and they'll determine what's required (in terms of an environmental review)," Miltenberger said. "It's a very benign project. It's a trench about six inches wide and about 18 inches or two feet deep."
The 1,255-kilometre line is expected to cost between $60 million and $70 million and run from Checkpoint Junction, 40 kilometres south of Fort Simpson, to Tuktoyaktuk.
In addition to modernizing NWT's connection to the world data network, the optic line will situate Inuvik in a scientifically-valuable position.
Inuvik is in an ideal location for tracking satellites in a polar orbit, the reason why Swedish and German space agencies already have antennas set up at the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility.
However, until these agencies can tap into a high-tech data connection south, there is little motivation to expand, or for other organizations to set up new antennas
Miltenberger, along with representatives from the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, Gwich'in Tribal Council, Sahtu Secreatariat Inc., and the Town of Inuvik, travelled to Kiruna, Sweden, where one of the largest satellite ground stations in the world is already established. The group also travelled to Munich, Germany, which is the home base to the German Space Agency, which already has an antennae at the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility.
The trip's purpose to was not only to inform regional organizations of what the optic cable could mean for the territory, but to also show international organizations that the GNWT is serious about making this project happen, said Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny, who was also a guest on the trip.
"There are some significant timelines that we're trying to adhere to in the international world," he said, of why the project is picking up speed. "There are a number of satellites that are going to be launched into space in early 2017, so it's going to be paramount that we have our system up and running, beta tested, get all the kinks out before these major satellites go into play. (Other agencies) also have to (have time to) build their infrastructure.
"The project itself is monumental. I think this is going to be a legacy piece."
Miltenberger said the line would be operational by the summer of 2016 if the schedule goes ahead as planned.
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