Iqaluit is going to get a data centre, thanks to the arrival of faster internet

Nunavut's capital city is preparing to build a data hub, as a new higher-speed broadband network is set to arrive to the community in October.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has partnered withlocal not-for-profit, Nuvujaq, to build an Iqaluit-based data hub.

• Iqaluit residents to get 3 times faster internet access in October

Aninternet exchange point (a physical access point for internet traffic) willbe housed in a data centre which is a bank of servers. It will connect businesses and governments to each other.

For example, currently, if someone with the territorial governmenttries to access a video on the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation's Youtube channel, that request is routed via satellite.

The request signal leaves the city, connects with an exchange point in a southern city, and then comes back and there's a lag.

CIRA wants to cut the satelliteout of the local traffic equation by building a cache of local, frequently used data. That would includesystem updates from Microsoft, Apple and Android.

Building data centre in Iqaluit

Nuvujaq is now searching for a space for the servers, according to CIRA'schief technology and security officer JacquesLatour.

He said the internet exchange point may run as soon as 2019, because the cost associated with building the cache has dropped.

"The news from Northwestel that they're upgrading, they're adding more capacity on the satellite connectionis good news, because it's going to make it less expensive for the internet exchange point to load the cache," Latour said.

Fibre connection needed

To access the cache, the city would need to be connected to it via fibre optic line which it doesn't have.

Latour saidinstalling the fibre line would be a simple process as itcan be run along the city's existing telephone pole network.

A local business, like an internet service provider, would likely take that project on, said Latour.

He said CIRA held a community consultation on the project in August in Iqaluit and the 20 or so attendees, including SSi Micro, Northwestel and Telesat were in favour of the idea.

SSi Micro's chief development officer Dean Proctor saidthey've been in talks with CIRA since last year.