Ontario Aborts Starlink Agreement – Uncertainties Arise for Rural Internet Service

In a surprising turn of events, the Ontario government has officially cancelled its $100 million contract with SpaceX's Starlink, a move that has left thousands of remote households and businesses in the province uncertain about their internet future.

The decision, justified by Premier Doug Ford as a stand against what he described as an "economic attack" from the U.S., refers to the Trump administration's new tariffs on Canadian goods. The cancellation significantly impacts rural Ontarians' ability to access essential services such as telemedicine, online education, and business operations.

Starlink was viewed as a game-changer for communities with scarce reliable internet. However, the province now faces a major dilemma in finding an equally effective and low-cost alternative to Starlink for delivering fast, low-latency internet to remote areas.

B.C. Ferries is weighing Canadian satellite alternatives to Starlink amid U.S. tariffs, but no further details are provided about this context in the given paragraph. Meanwhile, the Ontario government is engaging with other telecom providers, but no firm commitments have been made.

One finalist, Xplore, offers satellite and fixed wireless broadband, but its satellite service relies on a single geostationary satellite operated by the U.S.-based Hughes Network Systems. The province has yet to confirm whether Xplore is being reconsidered, but questions about its American ownership could complicate the decision.

Expanding fiber-optic networks is a long-term solution, but it takes years to complete and is extremely expensive. In the meantime, Canadian-based Telesat is working on its Lightspeed satellite network, aiming for global broadband coverage. However, the first Lightspeed satellites aren't expected to launch until mid-2026, making them unavailable for the planned Starlink rollout.

Telesat will initially focus on enterprise and government customers, rather than individual households. Many rural Ontarians are left asking, "If not Starlink, then what? And when?" The Ontario government is now considering companies other than Starlink to provide the fastest internet connections to 15,000 households and businesses in Northern Ontario by June 2025, but the search results do not specify which companies are being considered for this task.

No immediate alternative has been put in place following the cancellation of the Starlink contract. The cancelled deal aimed to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ontario, starting from June 2025. The province remains hopeful that a suitable solution will be found soon to ensure that rural communities are not left behind in the digital age.

Ontario Aborts Starlink Agreement – Uncertainties Arise for Rural Internet Service