SpaceX gets regulatory approval to offer Starlink Internet in Canada

By Brittany Roston/

SpaceX has finally received approval from Canadian authorities to offer its Starlink satellite Internet service in the country, a decision that comes amid a recent expansion of the beta program in the US. With this approval in place, SpaceX will be able to offer rural Canadians access to high-speed broadband, something that will slowly expand into other countries, as well.

On November 5, a tweeted request to bring Starlink satellite Internet to Canada prompted a response from Elon Musk, who simply said that SpaceX is 'awaiting approval from Canadian authorities' to offer its service in the country.

We've known for a while that SpaceX was moving toward getting such approval. Back in October, for example, Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Secretary-General Claude Doucet issued a statement on SpaceX's application for a Basic International Telecommunications Services (BITS) license.

In the statement, which was published on October 15, Doucet said the CRTC only received 2,585 'interventions' from the public regarding the application. Ultimately, after 'consideration of the comments received,' the authorities decided to grant the BITS license.

In a tweet on November 6, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) announced that SpaceX has received regulatory approval for its Starlink satellite Internet service. Neither SpaceX nor its Starlink Twitter accounts have made such announcements at this time, however.

Starlink is currently in a beta program that provides a limited number of people in the United States access to Internet service delivered by low-Earth orbit satellites. The service is particularly promising for people who live in rural and underserved regions where Internet access is both very slow and often expensive.

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