The government will pay to connect 15,000 homes and businesses in northern Ontario that lack high-speed internet access.
The Canadian province of Ontario is tapping SpaceX's Starlink to deliver satellite internet to residents out of reach of high-speed broadband networks.
The deal will subsidize Starlink access at 15,000 underserved homes and businesses located in rural and remote communities starting in June 2025.
In a press conference, Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma said the province is spending nearly $100 million CAD on the project. "What the province will be doing is we will be paying for the installation and equipment fees," she said, suggesting eligible residents will need to pay the monthly internet fee for Starlink.
Details about how residents can apply for subsidized Starlink will be announced next spring.
Surma didn't say how many Starlink dishes the government would acquire. Ontario's Ministry of Infrastructure didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Canada, the standard dish Starlink hardware currently costs $499.99 CAD ($355 USD) while the monthly internet fee for residential subscribers is $140. The Ontario government selected SpaceX's Starlink following a bid process that also solicited proposals from Xplore Inc., a provider of rural internet services.
The Starlink partnership is part of the Canadian government's plan to spend almost $4 billion to expand high-speed internet across Ontario by the end of 2025. The province is the latest local government to harness Starlink as a way to improve internet access in remote areas. Last month, Maine announced a similar program to buy Starlink dishes for eligible residents in locations without access to cable, DSL, or fixed wireless.
In contrast, the US Federal Communications Commission denied $886 million in funding to SpaceX two years ago to subsidize Starlink in rural areas across the country. The agency cited the high cost of a Starlink dish, which cost $599 at the time. But it's possible the commission may revisit the issue, following Trump's re-election. Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr, a vocal supporter of SpaceX and Starlink, is expected to lead the FCC under Trump.