With winter fast approaching, a new public Starlink terminal at a grader camp on the side of the highway could be a genuine lifesaver along the isolated Highway 5 in the Northwest Territories.
According to a report by the CBC North, concerns around communication are not new in the area. Residents have been asking the government for some time to invest in emergency communication in case of a breakdown, medical emergency or an accident along Highway 5. The almost 270 km long highway is one of the country’s most isolated highways and connects Fort Smith and Hay River through Wood Buffalo National Park.
To help alleviate some concerns, Parks Canada and the Northwest Territories Department of Infrastructure have partnered to create a free public wi-fi spot roughly in the middle. The wi-fi spot is powered by a Starlink terminal and opened to the public on October 23. The Department is also adding signage to alert drivers to the new service along the highway.
To connect to the Starlink terminal, users must follow the instructions on the grader shed and connect to the network with the password “highway5”.
Highway 5 is not the only isolated highway in the territory, and provincial officials are open to adding additional Starlink hotspots depending on power availability and accessibility. However, they did not provide additional details on other potential sites.
