D.C. Memo: Ontario Premier Rips Up $100 Million Starlink Deal: 'It’s done, It’s Gone'
◾ WSJ: Starlink Could Get $20B from BEAD ◾ Breezeline Still Feeling FWA ◾ AT&T CEO Aims at Comcast ◾ Charter CEO: Starlink Wins in Low-Density Zones ◾ Comcast CEO: Cable Wins over FWA in Long Run
Canada: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is tearing up a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink over President Trump’s decision yesterday to impose a 25% tariff on nearly all goods coming into the U.S. from Canada. “We’re ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink,” Ford said in a short speech. “It’s done, it’s gone.” Last November, the Ontario government announced a deal with Starlink designed to connect 15,000 homes and businesses to the Internet in underserved communities across the province, which is nearly 28% larger than the state of Texas in terms of land mass. The Starlink contract worked out to $6,667 per location. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” Ford said. On Feb. 20, Ookla projected that broad Canadian retaliation against Starlink could impact up to 2 million Canadians. “While many of those affected could switch to another internet service provider, for some in Canada – Nunavut especially – satellite connectivity is sometimes the only means of accessing the internet. Some portion of these people would be casualties in a trade war,” Ookla said. Details about registration and eligibility for Ontario’s Starlink program were to be made available this spring.
