The Quebec government is ending its $130-million agreement with Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, marking a significant pivot in the province’s rural connectivity strategy. The three-year subsidy program—introduced in 2022 under Opération haute vitesse—will officially end on June 15, 2025.
The initiative originally aimed to bridge the digital divide for approximately 10,000 “orphan households” in remote areas beyond the reach of existing fibre infrastructure. Under the agreement, eligible residents received a free Starlink receiver and a $40 monthly discount on internet service.
Following the program’s end on June 15, users will retain access to Starlink but must cover the full monthly cost and pay for future equipment.
The province now reports that 369,000 households have been connected via fibre or fixed wireless under Opération haute vitesse, surpassing the original goal of 250,000. With full provincial coverage declared, the government is prioritizing fibre expansion and what it calls “connectivity sovereignty”—a push to favour locally controlled infrastructure over foreign-owned satellite services.
However, not all regions may immediately benefit from the fibre-first approach. Some courthouses and government offices in remote areas will continue to rely on Starlink, and residents in hard-to-reach regions could face limited alternatives in the short term.
Critics argue the timing may leave vulnerable households disconnected. While Canada has backed alternative satellite providers like Telesat with billions in funding, its Lightspeed constellation isn’t expected to launch until 2026. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is also years away from operational deployment in Canada.
Telecom companies like Xplore are ramping up efforts to fill the void with expanded fibre and fixed wireless coverage. Still, questions remain about affordability and service reliability, particularly during this transition period.
Quebec’s move follows similar decisions by other provinces, including Ontario and Yukon, which have cancelled their Starlink contracts and are reassessing the role of satellite services in public broadband programs.
For the roughly 10,000 households that once relied on subsidized Starlink access, the shift could mean higher monthly costs or, for some, a lapse in connectivity. Whether fibre infrastructure can reach these remote areas fast enough will determine the real-world impact of Quebec’s fibre-first vision.
