Ontario Construction News staff writer
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) has awarded a contract to Starlink to provide satellite internet access to 15,000 homes and businesses, including in rural, remote and northern communities across the province.
Also, the contract includes requirements for Starlink to:
- engage directly with the impacted Indigenous Communities, to ensure all eligible households and business within the impacted Indigenous Communities have equal access to the program
- create socio-economic opportunities for the impacted Indigenous Communities, where feasible, through providing employment, contracting, and training opportunities
As the first competitive process of its kind in Canada, ONSAT will leverage modern technology to provide high-speed internet access (50/10 Mbps) to unserved and underserved homes and businesses across Ontario where fibre optic or fixed wireless services are not currently available.
Two Satellite Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were shortlisted based on technical and financial criteria identified through a request for qualifications (RFQ) process that began in August 2023. Starlink was then selected as the successful Satellite ISP following a request for proposals (RFP) process that began in January 2024 and closed in May 2024.
Starlink will now begin program implementation, and the services will be available to eligible Ontarians by June 2025. Learn more about the Ontario Satellite Internet Program.
