Homes in some of the most remote areas in Quebec will soon be accessing high speed internet thanks to a new partnership between the province and SpaceX.
The Legault government announced on Monday it will use Starlink to provide satellite internet service to more than 10,000 homes in underserved areas before the end of the year.
The government selected SpaceX as many of these homes are in areas that can’t be connected to a fiber optic network. Gilles Belanger, the parliamentary assistant to the premier for high-speed Internet said even though there were some Canadian options, Starlink was the most advanced solution available to them.
“The only solution to connect these orphaned households is the SpaceX solution. I’m not linking to Elon Musk, I’m linking to the technology solution, which is the most advanced,” he said. (via CTV News)
Quebec will spend $50 million on the project, which is targeting to connect 10,200 homes south of the 57th parallel to Starlink by September 30, 2022.
The homeowners will also be provided all the necessary Starlink hardware free of charge with funding provided through a $9.5 million subsidy program.
This deal will help the government reach its goal of providing high-speed internet access to 250,000 homes by the end of its mandate. To meet the target, homes must have an internet connection speed of least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload.
Starlink provides speeds above 100MBps in most provinces across Canada.
Starlink offers faster download speeds than broadband in most provinces across Canada
