ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — So far, it’s just a few photos of SpaceX equipment installed at an Eastlink property in St. John's. That’s been more than enough, though, to stoke speculation one of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk, is bringing his Starlink broadband internet service to the region.
Starlink is a SpaceX project utilizing low-orbit satellites, of which almost 1,000 have been launched into space since May of 2019, as part of a global broadband internet service. Last fall, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada granted SpaceX regulatory approval. In November, it began working with FSET Information Technology to connect Pikangikum First Nation in Ontario. FSET became the first Starlink client in Canada through the company's ongoing Better Than Nothing Beta program.
Neither SpaceX nor Eastlink are talking, but others are.
On Boxing Day, a Reddit user (andrew867) posted links to photos of Starlink equipment at the Eastlink data centre, calling them uplink terminals.
"Eastlink has direct access to the only viable dark fibre/wavelength service coming into the province from Nova Scotia," the Reddit user wrote. "I wouldn’t doubt that Starlink will set up more uplinks across the province to enhance coverage from the existing fibre route."
The Telegram contacted Eastlink to comment on its business relationship with SpaceX and its Starlink service. A spokeswoman for the company said Eastlink "does not share details about existing or potential customers."
Rural, remote access
The photos attracted a lot of attention among online blogs and websites dedicated to coverage of SpaceX and Tesla, Musk's other major technology company known for its electric vehicles.
A Starlink move into the region makes sense because its aim is to primarily serve rural and remote communities where it is difficult to make a financial case for building the usual infrastructure.
Spencer Callaghan is a communications manager with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), a not-for-profit that manages the .ca domain and also deals with online security issues. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has served as an eye-opener for understanding the impact a slow internet service can have on rural and remote communities.
"Smaller communities were already at a disadvantage let's say back in 2018, because they didn't have all the opportunities of remote learning, remote work, the ability to start an e-commerce store," he said. "We've seen a huge explosion in e-commerce where basically anybody with an internet connection can start an online business and have a really good living for themselves.
"If you live in a remote community without access to quality internet, or in some cases without any internet at all, you're basically cut off from that economy."
With the online economy growing even more throughout the pandemic and remote learning and remote working situations more commonplace than ever, communities lacking a quality internet connection are finding themselves at a further disadvantage.
"It hasn't changed much from the situation two years ago," Callaghan said. "The only problem is we're much more acutely aware of all the gaps."
Competition is good
New entrants to the internet market like Starlink and technological breakthroughs will only help the situation, according to Callaghan.
"Satellite internet has traditionally not been the best solution," he said. "It's been slow, it's been expensive, it's been hard to access. Any advancement in that area is welcomed. Starlink is a really interesting development, and we're happy to see that there's some competition and some movement happening in that sector. Obviously Telesat, which was part of the federal government's broadband plan announcement a few months back, has some really interesting technology going in that area as well. Anything that helps to make those technologies more viable is only going to benefit remote and rural communities."
Telesat signed a $600-million agreement with the federal government last November to offer its own broadband service using low-Earth orbit satellites at a reduced rate to connect rural, northern and Indigenous communities.
"Canada is in a unique position, almost really globally, because of how vast our country is and how remote parts of our country are," he said. "That type of technology is so much more necessary because of the remote communities, the rural communities, the Indigenous communities that all potentially lack access ... New entrants like Starlink are welcome, not so much in and of themselves, but more because of the competition and innovation that they'll spur in the industry as a whole."
To help identify underserved areas in the country, CIRA maintains an Internet Performance Test where users can test their download and upload speeds and anonymously contribute the data to CIRA. CIRA then shares this data with government and stakeholders to help address the gap between urban and rural parts of the country. Callaghan said this helps inform government policy within Industry Canada and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
