In the fall of 2002, Industry Canada announced the Broadband for Rural and Northern Development (BRAND) program, serving as the catalyst for the creation of Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation (NBDC), a non-profit organization tasked with identifying the territory's broadband needs.[1] NBDC issued a request for proposal to vendors, which SSI Micro won in the spring of 2004.[1] SSI Micro began building of Qiniq, a subsidiary of SSI Micro, which was launched in 2005.[1]
Since its foundation, Qiniq has upgraded its network multiple times, including the implementation of DVB-S2 receivers in 2009, and the installation of LTE technology in 2016.[1]
In January 2014, Qiniq was forced to pay a $128,000 fine after overcharging approximately 600 customers for several months.[2]
In March 2020, the company released a statement asking for users to limit their internet usage due to increased internet usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
The Qiniq network is managed centrally by SSI Micro, who maintains the satellite infrastructure, the wireless networks, all back-end hardware as well as the billing and management systems.[citation needed]
The company employs a number of "Community Service Providers", local residents who are tasked with signing up local users, taking payments, and providing technical support to their clients.[1] Qiniq provides technical training to their Community Service Providers, and allows them to keep a percentage of the revenue they bring in.[1]
The Qiniq network received an award in 2005 from the annual awards conferred by the Wireless Communications Association (WCA) for Provisioning Underserved Communities with NLOS Broadband Wireless Technology.[citation needed] The Qiniq network was also a part of the 2005 designation of Nunavut as an "Intelligent Community" by the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York-based think tank.[citation needed]
In September 2018, the company announced a successful rollout of 4G LTE and 2G-GSM technology in all 25 municipalities in Nunavut.[4]
