The Ontario Accelerated High-Speed internet Program is spending $4 billion to connect rural Canadians, and the provincial government is slicing $100 million off that to supply remote Ontarians with Starlink satellite receivers.
According to The Globe and Mail, the government won’t pay the monthly cost of the internet service, but the money will connect up to 15,000 homes next June, with sign-ups to receive a satellite going live in the spring. There is no mention of how much these plans will cost, but Starlink typically costs $140 per month. The receivers usually cost $499, but we’ve often seen them on sale for $200.
The Ontario Government’s press release also mentions that people who sign up can expect download speeds of 50Mbps and upload speeds of around 10Mbps.
Back in January, the Ontario government asked both Starlink and Xplore to submit proposals to win the contract, and 10 months later, Starlink won. This new project should help connect 15,000 homes and businesses next year.
The contract also has a clause that ensures Starlink deals directly with Indigenous communities in Ontario to make sure they’re not left out of the opportunity for high-speed internet. The clause also states that Starlink needs to create socio-economic opportunities for the impacted communities, but I do worry that due to the simplicity of Starlink, these created jobs may dry up once all roughly 15,000 satellites are installed.
Source: Infrastructure Ontario, Globe and Mail
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