Feds pledge $1M to connect people living along Lake Manitoba to satellite internet service

The federal government is providing $1 million to help some residents living along Lake Manitoba connect to high-speed satellite internet.

The money will go towardreimbursing residents in four communities for the initial costs of connecting to Starlink's satellite network.

Close to 1,200 homes in the communities of St. Laurent, Twin Lakes, Laurentia Beach and Oak Point are expected to benefit from the funding, said Terry Duguid, the Liberal member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, during a news conference Friday.

Residents can access the reimbursement through the Rural Municipalityof St. Laurent. Though they can get reimbursed for the initial setup costs, they will have to pay for the monthly service charges on their own.

Internet service in the rural municipality, which is spread out along the edges of Lake Manitoba, has been poor to non-existent, said Reeve Cheryl Smith.

That poses challenges for economic development and retaining people, Smith said.

"It's a must. It's not a luxury anymore. It's something that is life-changing and they need it for their everyday use," she said.

"We see this as a game changer in terms of possibly getting our youth to stay" in the community, and forbusiness people looking at the RM as "avery good place to come and start their business," she said.

Smith said the municipality is already getting inquiries about the funding from residents, and encouraged them to check the RM's website for details on the program.

Starlink is a subsidiary of SpaceX,Elon Musk's aerospace company. It provides internet access coverage to 32 countries.

The $1 million is part of the federal government's Universal Broadband Fund, aimed at bringing internet with download/upload speeds of 50/10 megabits per second (Mbps) to rural and remote communities.