Faster internet is coming to Old Crow.
Yukon’s only fly-in community receives its internet services through a satellite feed, which currently transmits data at around 1 megabit per second, according to Sunny Patch, a spokesperson for Northwestel. This connection ought to rev up to 1.5 megabits per second when upgrades are complete by the end of February.
A new network server and improved tools to speed up satellite connections also ought to prevent connections from bogging down during peak hours, as presently happens, said Patch.
The prices paid by Old Crow’s internet subscribers will remain unchanged.
The upgrades are expected to cost a total of $242,500. Of that, $90,000 comes from the federal government’s Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, $72,500 from Yukon’s Department of Economic Development, $80,000 from Northwestel, and $17,500 from the Vuntut Development Corporation.