Canada and Elon Musk cross paths again, but not precisely in friendly terms. After withdrawing incentives to Tesla and limit the marketing of its electric cars in some provinces of the country, now the focus is moved to Starlink.
Quebec has announced that As of June 15, you will stop subsidizing access to this satellite Internet service. The decision implies that thousands of rural homes They will lose the monthly discount of $ 40 and the free team that until now facilitated the provincial government.
The service will continue to work, but now without public support, and that changes everything. The most relevant is that the $ 130 million contract signed in 2022 will not be renewed. From now on, if you want to continue connected through Starlink in those areas, they will have to assume all the cost.
From Tesla to Starlink: an increasingly tense relationship
The tensions between Canada and Elon Musk’s companies is not newbut has intensified. First the subsidies were cut to Tesla, then the restrictions in the sale of electric cars arrived. And now, the new objective is Starlink, the SpaceX satellite network.
Quebec has decided not to continue financing this infrastructure, although the truth does not yet have a real alternative to replace it in many remote areas.
It should be noted that the measure does not respond only to a budget issue, but is linked to a deeper political vision, which is Reduce the technological dependence of foreign companiesespecially in sectors considered strategic such as access to the network.
During the last three years, the government of Quebec financed part of the Cost of the Starlink service as part of its high speed operation. The objective was to connect to about 250,000 homes that did not have access to fiber optics.
In this case, Starlink became the only viable route for about 10,000 of those houses, all thanks to the agreement, where a monthly discount of $ 40 and the installation kit was offered without any cost, which was very striking for all users.
But that ends, since People living in one of those areas will have to pay the almost $ 600 of the team and the complete monthly fee. For many families living in rural areas, it is a simply unassumable amount. But there are no clear short -term alternatives.
The commitment to connectivity sovereignty
From the Government they justify the decision with a fundamental argument, which is to move towards what they call «connectivity sovereignty.» The idea is that Internet access – a basic service, at the level of water or electricity – must depend on own networks, managed from the country, without international intermediaries.
Depending on private satellites controlled by an American company like Spacex does not fit that approach. Quebec wants to develop a public network, based on fiber optics and managed by local or national actors. The problem is that this model requires time, investment and, above all, technical conditions that are not always guaranteed in remote areas.
Many of the regions that depend on Starlink still without fiber coverage, not even ADSL. Companies such as Xplore have requested financing to extend the network, and Telesat – with the support of the federal government – plans to launch their own satellite constellation, although it will not be operational before 2026.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s Internet It is still the only option in operation for many communities. So much so that even the Government itself has awarded Contracts to Spacex to keep some courts connected in rural areas, de facto recognizing that today there is no viable alternative.
What is at stake is not just a contract with a private company, it is a model. On the one hand, it has the promise of public networks that guarantee state control over a basic infrastructure. On the other, an immediate, functional and deployed solution by a global company.
Canada’s strategy seems clear, which is to reduce the influence of Musk in its territoryalthough that implies leaving thousands of users without economic support. The question is whether you can cut that dependence without harming those who need connectivity.
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Tags: Elon Musk