Rogers to roll out satellite-mobile access to connect remote areas in 2024
Over a year after a nationwide blackout left 12 million Canadians without reception, Rogers is making amends by bringing cell service to the deepest corners of Canada’s wilderness.
What happened: Following a successful test run in Newfoundland and Labrador featuring the province’s premier, Rogers announced plans to roll out satellite-to-mobile phone service that will bring wireless cell service to Canada’s most remote areas.
- The Canadian telecom will start offering SMS messaging and mass notification next year, and eventually expand to voice and data services.
- The service — which uses low Earth orbit satellites and doesn’t require a cell tower — will only be available to Rogers customers, with the exception of SOS calls.
Why it matters: Satellite mobile and internet services offer Canadians living in rural communities more reliable service, an important step in closing the rural-urban internet gap as more work opportunities, education, and government services move online.
- Torontonians may have just secured Rogers service on the subway system, but over 40% of Canadians living in rural areas still don’t have access to high-speed internet.
- To deal with poor internet service in remote areas, Alberta’s government is now moving to get Starlink satellite internet installed where fibre networks don’t reach.
Zoom out: The Rogers breakthrough is also being hailed as a win for first responders like firefighters and Coast Guard officials, some of whom say they’ve struggled to communicate in remote areas without cell service during search and rescue efforts.
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