The provincial loan is on similar terms to a $2.14-billion loan already promised by the federal government, the Ottawa-based company said. Repayments won’t start until the Lightspeed service is launched and there’s an option for the province to take a 1.87 per cent equity stake in the Telesat subsidiary formed to build and run the orbital communication system. Quebec is also investing $75 million in MDA, which is building the Lightspeed satellites in a Montreal-area factory. (The Logic)

Talking point: COVID-19 and inflation scuttled Telesat’s previous plans for a low Earth orbit internet service, but ultimately bought time for MDA to design new, cheaper satellites that saved the project. Lightspeed is intended to serve commercial and institutional customers (which could include consumer internet providers) in places where hardwired broadband isn’t feasible. Among the beneficiaries: the federal government, which expects the new satellites to serve NORAD and NATO.