Ulukhaktok Mayor Joshua Oliktoak says the community has internet connection again, after residents went eight days without it.
As first reported by Cabin Radio, the community was without internet from Feb. 24 until March 4.
“It got fixed, but eight days is a little too long,” Oliktoak told CKLB.
He says residents were getting concerned by the situation as they were unable to use their debit or credit cards at the stores or ATMs.
“You have to get everything through the debit card and cash through the ATM which uses the internet,” Oliktoak says.
Andrew Anderson, a spokesperson for Northwestel, says in an email that over the past eight days the issue was caused by “network congestion.”
“During this time, data was still flowing in and out of the community and we did not fully realize the impact it was having on customers. We sincerely apologize for this error,” he says.
Anderson says Northwestel is in the process of improving internet service in the community and confirming with customers that they are able to access the internet.
He says Ulukhaktok customers will each get a one-week credit on their next bill and encourages anyone continuing to experience issues to contact Northwestel at 1-888-423-2333.
