John Degrauuw (left), President and CEO, Wood River Controls and Tribal Chief Richard Ben (right), MLTC. (submitted photo/CP Images)

By Ian Roach

NEW RURAL BROADBAND INTERNET

Meadow Lake Tribal Council partners to start high speed Internet company

Oct 4, 2022 | 2:40 PM

The Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) is getting into the internet business.

Through a partnership with Wood River Controls and SaskTel, MLTC will provide high-speed internet service to Indigenous, rural, and remote communities.

The new service is called Beaver River Broadband (BRB) and is majority owned by Meadow Lake Tribal Council Resource Development with Wood River Controls having a minority interest. The new partnership was announced Tuesday morning in Saskatoon.

Partnering with SaskTel to use their Internet backbone, BRB will provide fixed-point wireless internet to underserved areas in Saskatchewan. They intend to start by launching with service to five communities, beginning with the Cowessess First Nation this fall, followed by Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation, Eagles Lake, Moudy Lake, and Birch Narrows Dene Nation. BRB will continue to expand its service including to the nine first nations that make up the Meadow Lake Tribal Council.

In a media release, MLTC Tribal Chief Richard Ben said he is pleased with the new venture.

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“This new enterprise represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Indigenous ownership and economic participation by the nine MLTC First Nations in the internet service provider industry,” he said.

Ben added the service will improve access to education, employment, and essential programs and services for many living on first nations.

Company officials say the partnership will lead to financial benefits for the MLTC first nations and job opportunities as the service expands. Big River Broadband President John Degraauw said there will be jobs created in the network building phase but the big benefit will be from the job possibilities high speed brings.

“The bigger picture is the doors that open with ability to work in a call centre, the ability to work remotely, and so many opportunities for these communities that have nothing now. And then all of a sudden, the ability to work remotely is a possibility,” he said.

Beaver River Broadband will have several internet packages to choose from. The recommended package offers download speeds of 20 Mbps and upload speeds of 5 Mbps for around $90/month. Twenty Mbps is fast enough to stream 4K television and play online video games. Other packages range in price from around $50 to $135/month.