Nunavik police hook up to high-speed internet
Nunavik Police Service now has access to high-speed Starlink internet in all 14 police stations in the region.
The service partnered with IT company FSET Inc. and global public safety company Axon on the project. Everything was installed in December, said deputy Chief Shaun Longstreet.
In communities that have fibre optic access, Starlink is used as a backup connection. For communities lacking fibre optic, Starlink is the main high-speed internet connection.
“While fibre connections are generally reliable,” said Longstreet in an email, “it is essential to have a fail-safe mechanism in place.
“Should an incident [occur] such as a hydro post being struck, compromising the fibre network, our police stations will remain connected via the direct backup solution provided by Starlink.”
Longstreet said the faster connection will help police better use their records management software and provide better tracking and management of files.
He said the Starlink connection is secure, as it is connected through Kativik Regional Government’s network firewall.
The project was completed over the course of six working days, according to a news release from FSET. The installation team boarded 23 flights and completed three installations per day.
Nunavik police Chief Jean-Pierre Larose commented in the release that the “introduction of high-speed internet has been revolutionary for our operations.
“We have seen a thousandfold increase in internet speeds, drastically improving our response times and our ability to manage digital evidence.”
Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News
