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.