Indigenous communities among those in Canada reconsidering use of Starlink for critical services, remote communities

By Sarah Smellie More than half of Canada’s provincial and territorial governments buy critical internet and emergency communications services from Starlink — a satellite constellation owned by billionaire Elon Musk. And with Musk now acting as a top adviser to a U.S. president who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, one researcher sees that reliance as a threat to Canadian sovereignty. Dwayne Winseck, a professor of journalism and communications at Carleton University who has studied Starlink’s emergence as the sixth-largest internet service provider in Canada as of 2023, says Canadian governments must do the “maximum possible” to disentangle themselves from Starlink. “Cutting contracts is one approach,” he said in a recent interview. “There are also some made-in-Canada alternatives that can be accelerated.” From a $200,000-per-year agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador’s…

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.
Register
Already a member? Log in here

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.