Ice Wireless was launched in 2005 to serve rural and remote communities in
Northern Canada. The network was first developed in the community of
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, a base for oil and gas exploration located approximately from the
Arctic Ocean and north of the
Arctic Circle. The network was the first
GSM system in Northern Canada, originally designed as a "small cell" system that could be scaled down and economically deployed to rural and remote communities. Due to the scalability of its technology, Ice Wireless could offer mobility service in locations that could not be economically reached by larger telecommunications companies. Ice Wireless was the first to launch mobility service in
Inuvik,
Aklavik and
Behchoko (Rae-Edzo) in the Northwest Territories. As customers increased, Ice Wireless expanded service to include
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. In 2012, Ice Wireless announced a $12.4 million network upgrade to roll out 3G/4G
Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) across the three Canadian territories. In 2013, Ice Wireless became the first mobile network operator to launch 3G/4G services to
Iqaluit, Nunavut. These services were launched using
SES'
AMC-9 satellite. In 2017, Ice Wireless became the first mobile operator to launch LTE service to
Iqaluit, Nunavut. In 2019, Ice Wireless launched 3G LTE service in
Kuujjuaq, Quebec and
Quaqtaq, Quebec as part of a larger roll-out to all 14 communities of the
Nunavik region of Northern Quebec. The Ice Wireless network now extends across Canada's North and includes areas in the
Yukon,
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut and the
Nunavik region of Northern Quebec. ==Services==