A spokesperson for telecommunications provider Northwestel recently revealed that a „unique set of circumstances“ led to a widespread outage of internet, cell phone, and landline services across parts of the North. Tammy April, the vice president of customer experience with Northwestel, explained that the primary fibre line in Yukon passes through Fort Nelson, B.C., while the backup line goes through Jean Marie River and Kakisa in the N.W.T. Unfortunately, wildfires in both areas destroyed both lines, resulting in a complete loss of connectivity.
„This is the first time that we’ve had both our accesses to the Yukon fully severed, since we put in that redundancy,“ April stated. „This was a little bit of a perfect storm.“ The outage left residents and businesses in the affected areas without essential communication services, causing inconvenience and frustration.
Genevieve Bessette, a student from Ottawa, found herself at Whitehorse’s community radio station on Saturday, using a free Starlink hotspot that had been set up. While she was „mostly rolling with“ the outage, Bessette expressed a desire to get in touch with her family back home. She noted the strange feeling of having electricity but no internet, highlighting the reliance on technology in today’s society.
The disruptions across the North began on Friday and continued until Sunday morning when Northwestel announced that damaged lines had been fixed, and services had been restored in the N.W.T., Yukon, Nunavut, and northern B.C. April emphasized the vulnerability of Yellowknife, which has a single fibre line running out of the city, making it susceptible to outages. To address this issue, Northwestel is exploring the possibility of funding a submarine fibre line under Great Slave Lake.
In contrast, Yukon, with its two fibre lines, is generally well-protected from such incidents. April reassured residents that the likelihood of a similar outage occurring in the territory again is relatively low. However, Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Sean Smith expressed concern over the situation, emphasizing the importance of building more redundant systems to prevent future disruptions.
„This incident right now is something to be concerned about,“ Smith stated. „But, there are things to be learned from it which can help shape the way things work in the future.“ He highlighted the critical role that communications and technology play in modern life, underscoring the need for robust infrastructure to support these essential services.
Overall, the recent outage serves as a reminder of the fragility of our interconnected world and the importance of investing in resilient communication networks. As technology continues to advance, ensuring the reliability and redundancy of these systems will be crucial in safeguarding our ability to stay connected in times of crisis.