Satellite communications company Telesat and the Government of Canada have partnered, aiming to provide access to affordable high-speed Internet connectivity across rural and remote areas of Canada via the development of Telesat’s LEO Satellite Constellation.

The partnership is expected to generate $1.2 billion (CAD) in revenue for Telesat over 10 years, which includes a contribution of up to $600M (CAD) from the government.

The digital divide is (still) real

In Canada, 2.3 million households do not have access to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet (which has been described as a human right). This is due in part to the high cost of installing fiber-optic cables and other mainstream broadband technologies in remote areas.

Affordable and reliable high-speed Internet has been described as a human right

Telesat LEO is a satellite constellation of satellites in low-earth-orbit (~1,000 km from earth; ~35 times closer than traditional satellites) that aims to seamlessly integrate with terrestrial networks. The solution back-hauls cellular traffic, and has originally provided high-speed broadband access to planes, ships and remote enterprise and government users. The push to provide access to rural areas makes sense in many ways, creating more professional and social opportunities to the concerned populations.

“Telesat LEO — Transforming Global Communications” by Telesat Canada, YouTube.

Beyond Canada: Other satellite Internet initiatives

Tech giant Amazon is seeking government permission to launch 3,236 broadband satellites that would cover nearly most of the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Amazon subsidiary Kuiper Systems filed its application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this month.

“The Kuiper System covers the area between 56°N and 56°S latitudes,” the Amazon subsidiary told the FCC. “Accordingly, customers throughout [the] continental US, Hawaii, and all US territories will have access to Kuiper System services. So too will customers in many other countries within the coverage area. The Kuiper System will not provide FSS [fixed-satellite service] in the majority of Alaska, however, because the state’s high latitude is outside of the coverage area.”

SpaceX is also working on a similar project: providing broadband Internet service delivered by more than 1,000 small satellites.

Given that the Internet has become an important part of our lives, satellite Internet initiatives should perhaps be encouraged and promoted more.