Bell Canada and its northern subsidiary, Northwestel, are lobbying the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to exclude SpaceX’s Starlink from a subsidy program intended to expand internet access in Canada’s remote northern regions.
Bell argues that Starlink’s flat-rate pricing structure, which offers the same pricing model nationwide demonstrates its ability to operate sustainably without additional financial assistance to serve areas such as the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The company contends that subsidies would be better directed toward providers building and maintaining physical infrastructure in the North, according to documents seen by the Financial Times.
Starlink, which was approved to operate in Canada in 2022, has become a widely used option in rural and remote areas, offering high-speed internet via low-Earth orbit satellites. The service is particularly popular in communities where fibre-optic networks are not available. According to the company, it had over 400,000 active subscribers in Canada as of June 2024.
SpaceX disagrees with Bell’s position, stating that excluding Starlink from eligibility would limit consumer choice and potentially increase costs for residents in remote regions. The company has previously faced similar challenges in other jurisdictions — in the United States, a $900 million rural broadband subsidy was withdrawn in 2021 after concerns were raised about cost and performance.
The CRTC opened a public consultation on the subsidy program earlier this year and has said it will make a final decision based on the submissions received. In a January statement, the commission acknowledged that subsidies could help make internet services “more reliable and affordable” in the Far North, where the digital divide remains a persistent issue.
The federal government has entered into several contracts with SpaceX in recent years, including a $2.26 million agreement for Shared Services Canada and another valued at $414,000 for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development agency.
At the same time, Ottawa has invested over $2 billion in Canadian satellite operator Telesat to develop domestic alternatives to foreign satellite internet providers.
Some provincial governments are reassessing their approach. Quebec, which signed a $130 million agreement with Starlink in 2022, has indicated it does not plan to renew its subsidy program when it expires in June. However, the province recently signed a new Starlink deal to provide internet to remote courthouses in the province, saying there are no viable alternatives. Ontario has already cancelled a previously announced $100 million Starlink deal.
