The province of Ontario has signed a C$100 million deal with Starlink to provide internet to 15,000 homes and businesses in northern Ontario. The province will pay for the equipment and installation fees for the service.
The new partnership with Starlink will provide internet to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in rural, remote, and northern communities by June 2025. The C$100 million deal was announced by Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma at a press conference. The Ontario Satellite Internet (ONSAT) program is part of a nearly C$4 billion investment by the provincial government to provide high-speed internet to every community in Ontario, according to the CBC.
“What the province will be doing is we will be paying for the installation and equipment fees,” Surma said.
The minister said eligible homes and businesses will be able to sign up for the service beginning in the spring of 2025. Residential Starlink plans start at C$140 per month, while business plans start at C$185 per month.
Michael Lindsay, the president and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario, said the satellite internet provider was selected through a competitive procurement process. SpaceX will work closely with the community to deliver the service.
“As part of those contract requirements, SpaceX is going to engage directly with Indigenous communities to ensure equal access to the program and to create socioeconomic opportunities through employment, contracting and training opportunities where feasible,” he said.
Joel Cherkis, the senior manager of Starlink business operations, explained some of the details during the presentation. He said that Starlink satellites operate at an altitude of about 550 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, which ensures high data rates. By comparison, providers typically rely on satellites that are around 35,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
“Being much closer to the Earth, that enables us to deliver high-speed capability at a very low latency,” Cherkis said. “Low latency is important because of some of the things that Minister Surma mentioned, things like online streaming services, being able to have video calls, being able to do online gaming, or to live your life using the broadband capabilities.”
