The Ontario government and Starlink have partnered to bring high-speed satellite Internet service to 15,000 eligible unserved or underserved homes and businesses in rural, remote and northern communities.

Star linkowned by American businessman Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, uses satellites operating in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed Internet access capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and much more.

More details on how to register for Ontario Satellite Internet Program (ONSAT)as it will be called, will be available in spring 2025, and satellite service is expected to start by June 30, 2025.

ONSAT will leverage modern technology to provide high-speed (50/10 Mbps) Internet access to unserved and underserved homes and businesses throughout Ontario where fiber optic or fixed wireless services are not currently available.

Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma and Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay made the announcement on November 14 in front of the George Armstrong Community Center and Arena in Garson, a community in Greater Sudbury.

Starlink was awarded the contract based on a tender to provide satellite internet access in Ontario that began in January and concluded in May of this year.

In response to a question from Village Media’s Sudbury.com, Surma said the program represents “an investment of almost $100 million,” which will cover the cost of equipment and installation for selected users to the program.

“In many of our communities, particularly in rural and remote areas of the North, obstacles such as difficult terrain and weather conditions as well as limited existing infrastructure have made it difficult to implement traditional high-speed Internet connections to the ground,” Surma said.

“That’s why today I’m excited to announce the launch of the Ontario Satellite Internet, or ONSAT, program, an ambitious partnership with Starlink.

A press release says the new ONSAT program is part of a nearly $4 billion investment by the government to provide access to reliable high-speed internet to every community in the province by the end of 2025 .

The government said it was “the largest investment in high-speed Internet, in any province, by any government in Canadian history.”

Michael Lindsay, President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario, said the ONSAT program will include Indigenous engagement and participation.

“As part of these contractual requirements, SpaceX will engage directly with Indigenous communities to ensure equal access to the program and create socio-economic opportunities through employment contracts and training opportunities when This is possible,” he said.

Starlink’s Joel Cherkis also shared his remarks at the press conference, saying the company’s goal is to “help bridge the digital divide,” essentially filling gaps in areas where internet broadband is not available.

He said Starlink now has four million customers in more than 100 countries around the world and launches 40 satellites per week.

“For those who don’t know much about Starlink, we are the world’s first low Earth orbit satellite constellation,” he said. “We operate approximately 550 kilometers above the earth. This is very different from traditional geostationary satellite providers. They typically operate about 35,000 kilometers above the earth.

“By being much closer to Earth, it allows us to offer high-speed capabilities with very low latency. Low latency is important because of some of the things Minister Surma mentioned, like online streaming services, the ability to make video calls, play games online or live your life using broadband capabilities.

Setting up Starlink Internet systems is very user-friendly, Cherkis said. Some of Starlink’s first users in 2020 were remote First Nations, including Pikagikum First Nation in northern Ontario.

“The Starlink team working with them discovered that 15 minutes after removing the Starlink kit from the charter flight that arrived at this First Nation, they were able to be online and connect users to broadband,” he said. -he declared.

Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre thanked those involved in the project on behalf of the mayors and reeves of Northern Ontario.

FONOM, or the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities“asked for this,” he said.

“It’s not only important for the economy, for education and for health care,” Lefebvre said. “This means so much to our communities. It’s such an important connection to have. And the fact that for years they have had Internet, but certainly slow Internet. The fact that the province is now making this historic investment and also focusing on Northern Ontario is very helpful.

“We know that reliable internet connectivity is simply not a luxury, but it is essential for these communities. »

Heidi Ulrichsen is the associate editor of Sudbury.com.