Starlink boasts 400,000 Canadian users of satellite internet

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Starlink, a division of SpaceX, is providing access to more than 400,000 Canadian customers, according to a tweet by the satellite internet company.

The tweet referenced the account @iglenstudios, which made a post on July 3 featuring photos of an RV camper, a Tesla Model Y and a lakeside barbecue.

“4000 KMs over four eastern Canadian provinces, emissions free and connected to the stars,” the post read, referring to the access to the internet the user enjoyed while travelling.

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A massive constellation of more than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks satellites has enabled internet service for some of the most remote corners of the world, according to the Associated Press. The provider aims to have 42,000 devices in orbit, according to Orbital Today.

Starlink access in Canada costs anywhere from $120 a month for residential use to $12,500-$25,000 for commercial aviation use, the website reports. A vehicle-mounted roaming plan, which can serve the U.S., Canada and Mexico, costs between $150 and $250 depending on the package.

Starlink covers most of Canada, including remote regions in the country’s northernmost reaches, according to a map on the company’s website.

The company has 400,000 users in Canada, equivalent to three per cent of Canada’s households, a tweet from Musk said.

“Starlink now serving about (Canadian pronunciation) 3% of homes in Canada!” Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX, wrote on the social media website X, which he also owns. The service was launched in Canada in 2020.

Musk’s tweet garnered more than 5,000 replies, including from Canadian Member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner.

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“You’re disrupting Canada’s telecommunications oligopoly! Love it,” she wrote.

Other users worried about the cost, while some were thankful to have high-speed internet in regions where fibre-optic lines are out of reach.

“We live in rural southwestern Ontario, not that far from bigger centres but we have zero options for high speed on our road,” wrote user @herberandt. “Starlink has allowed me to work from home as needed, as well as opening up education opportunities for my children.”

Starlink’s internet speeds vary from 25 to 220 Mbps, with speed for most users exceeding 100 Mbps, according to Orbital Today.

“Elon Musk’s company is still in the development stages, including in Canada,” the website said in reference to current costs. “The fewer clients, the higher the service price.”

The service requires the installation of a satellite dish, which performs better in open areas, where there are fewer obstructions.

A 2023 analysis by the website cable.co.uk found that the average cost of high-speed internet in Canada is US$58.26, or about $80 Canadian. The market is dominated by three main telecom providers: Rogers, Telus and Bell.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket deploys the satellites, which orbit the Earth at a distance of 400 to 550 km. The satellites consist of solar arrays and thrusters to avoid collisions with other satellites, and come with components that burn up upon reentry. The latest models have cellular communication technology that is expected to provide internet access to cellphones directly.

A study in Geophysical Research Letters published in June found that Starlink satellites emit aluminium oxide gas when they burn up, which can linger in the atmosphere and deplete the earth’s ozone layer for decades. The lifespan of each satellite is about five years, according to NASA.

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