Non-profit offers free Starlink internet to Ulukhaktok; residents say they're good
CBC
A non-profit is touting a pilot program that offers free Starlink internet to people in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., using SIM cards, although many in the community say they just use their own Starlink accounts, which works better.
The pilot program was started by the Internet Society, an American non-profit organization with international chapters that promotes reliable and affordable access to internet.
The organization has been working with Ulukhaktok since 2019, said Natalie Campbell, a senior director with the Internet Society.
She said COVID-19 delayed the project and by the time the team returned to Ulukhaktok, there was new technology available, including Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX.
"That's one of the big things that changed, a lot more people started to get Starlink accounts," Campbell said.
"We landed on an option that was fairly simple."
She says using the hamlet's Starlink account, they were able to create a community-based network. Campbell said they then used a device that made the internet available across the community as a "wireless spectrum."
Residents could access this with SIM cards that they could put in their phones.
According to the hamlet office around 100 SIM cards have been distributed.
A news release issued by the Internet Society says the organization worked in partnership with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Ulukhaktok Community Corporation and the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok.
Laverna Klengenberg lives in Ulukhaktok and was quoted in a news release the organization issued, saying she appreciated having access to better internet.
But Klengenberg says she doesn't use the SIM cards, and instead chooses to use her own personal Starlink.
"People have trouble connecting their devices to the internet with them. Some have had success, but a lot of others didn't," Klengenberg said.
"I don't think there are many people using those SIM cards."
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