Elon Musk Just Got Approved To Bring His SpaceX Internet To Canada

He wants to bring better internet to rural communities.
Contributor

It almost seems like a given that everyone has internet access in 2020, but there are some in rural communities who still lack high-speed access, something Elon Musk is looking to fix.

The Tesla CEO's company SpaceX was recently given approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to bring internet services to Canada's more remote areas.

CBC News reports that the space exploration company has been launching low-orbit satellites in order to provide faster internet services to remote rural communities.

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Starlink will be a revolution in connectivity, especially for remote regions or for emergency services when landlines are damaged.

Elon Musk

Musk said on Twitter that his network, known as Starlink, will be a "revolution in connectivity."

The CRTC received 2585 interventions (comments from the public) in regard to this application, which CBC reports were mostly from people in rural communities supporting SpaceX's initiative.

It has not yet been confirmed when this internet service will be available to Canadians, but the company is launching beta tests in some volunteer households.

The SpaceX satellites orbit over 19,000 kilometres closer to Earth than a typical communications satellite.

A total of 835 have been launched since May 2019, with a goal of eventually having 12,000 in the network.

  • Colin Leggett was a Contributing Editor with Narcity Canada. He wrote on the national news team for over a year and contributed to coverage of the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, as well as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Colin has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications and Cultural Theory from McMaster University, as well as a graduate certificate in Television Writing and Producing from Humber College. He is an avid consumer of politics and pop culture, having written about everything from food to television to Canada-U.S. relations.

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