The five-year partnership will "futureproof and diversify" Ontario’s connectivity infrastructure, lay the groundwork for continued development and commercialisation of Canadian satellite technologies, and pave the way for future economic growth and jobs.
For its part, Telesat will increase its Ontario-based staff by approximately 35%, growing to around 400 highly-skilled jobs. Further, it will invest $20 million in capex for expansion of its Ontario facilities.
This will include a new gateway landing station at Telesat’s Allan Park teleport near Hanover, ON, as well as the expansion of the company’s corporate headquarters in Ottawa, where the majority of staff will be located.
“Access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet connectivity is essential in today’s digital economy,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO.
“This partnership with the Government of Ontario will not only achieve the province’s goal of connecting everyone, regardless of where they live, to affordable high-speed internet, but also positions Ontario at the forefront of the highly strategic New Space Economy through Telesat’s local investments in jobs and technology innovations.”
Through the partnership, a dedicated Telesat Lightspeed capacity pool will be made available at "substantially reduced rates" to Canadian Internet service providers (ISPs), including Indigenous-owned and operated ISPs, as well as mobile network operators, to expand high-speed internet and LTE/5G networks to Ontario’s unserved and underserved communities.
Telesat Lightspeed is the only LEO network capable of delivering multiple Gbps of broadband capacity into a community, giving telecom operators the ability to offer a wide range of affordable, high-speed broadband plans and unlimited data to consumers and businesses as well as 5G services.
