Heidi Atter
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Independent
Bell Canada’s cancellation of a $32-million dollar contract to expand high-speed internet and cell service on Labrador’s north coast comes as the telecommunications giant has confirmed plans to expand southward in the United States.
After receiving millions in government subsidies for the Labrador North Wireless Broadband Project, Canada’s largest communications company says it’s no longer feasible to complete the expansion due to rising costs and competition.
On May 6, Nunatsiavut Government announced Bell had cancelled the contract for the project, which came to the Inuit government “as a shock and deep disappointment.” Nunatsiavut said Bell estimated the cost of completing the project had risen to $110 million, and that Bell’s subscription numbers in the region have declined by 69 per cent. In 2022, the project was estimated to cost $22 million, with an additional $10 million added in 2023.
“Bell Canada has told us that they no longer see a viable path forward for this project, which is devastating,” Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe said in a news release. “Access to reliable high-speed telecommunications is not a luxury; it is a necessity for our communities.”
The same day Nunatsiavut shared news of Bell’s withdrawal from the project, the company released it annual report for shareholders, confirming plans to acquire American fibre internet provider Ziply Fiber and help bring high-speed internet to underserved communities south of the border. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025. “Upon the closing of this acquisition, Bell will solidify its standing as the third-largest fibre Internet provider in North America,” the report says.
Torngat Mountains MHA Lela Evans says Bell’s cancellation for Labrador’s north coast shows the company has no interest in investing in communities that desperately need high-speed internet and cell service. In return, she says, there should be no loyalty to the company in the future.
Nain is the only community on Labrador’s north coast with cell service, which it acquired in 2019. Rigolet, Postville, Makkovik, Hopedale and Natuashish currently do not have service.
The project was set to include the Innu community of Natuashish. Nunatsiavut’s May 6 news release quotes Mushuau Innu First Nation Chief John Nui saying his community is ready and willing to work with any new partner to ensure Innu needs are met.
The Nunatsiavut Government says it’s working to identify alternative solutions and potential new partnerships to continue working on broadband and telecommunications services in the region.
The project was first announced in 2022, when the provincial and federal governments announced more than $22.3 million in funding to bring high-speed Internet to more than 1,000 homes in Labrador’s remote communities.
In an emailed statement to The Independent, Bell Canada says there was a 340 per cent increase in costs over the past four years, and “significant logistical hurdles presented by the challenging geography.” The company says it can’t reveal the amount of money spent on the project so far, “due to confidentiality terms within agreement.”
On Tuesday, the province’s Department of Industry, Energy and Technology said it had not been informed by Bell Canada of its decision to formally withdraw from the project. The department also said it is in discussions with the federal government about possible alternatives.
Despite a 2.4 per cent drop in annual revenues in 2024, Bell Canada parent company BCE awarded its executives more than $5 million after announcing it was laying off 4,800 employees. “The company laid off thousands, its stock went down by 30% and yet, the richest and most powerful continue to profit off the back of our members,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement April 3.
Evans, who is from Makkovik, says Bell Canada has a pattern of refusing to help the north coast of Labrador. She says Bell brought high speed internet to the south coast communities quickly, and should have begun work on the north coast expansion sooner before cost increases became such a big factor.
For comparison, the federal and provincial governments announced funding to bring high-speed internet to 694 households in Charlottetown, Lodge Bay, Mary’s Harbour, Port Hope-Simpson and Red Bay—all in southern Labrador—on July 27, 2022. Fifteen months later, provincial Minister of Labrador Affairs Lisa Dempster announced Bell had begun installation of fiber optic to homes throughout the Straits, and that other south coast communities would have the service by the end of 2023.
This time around, Evans says the company has wasted years and funds. “I could not believe it; even that money that was spent — that’s sort of wasted now.” After being elected in 2019, Evans says she and then Labrador MP Yvonne Jones advocated to Bell Canada for expansion of its services to Labrador’s north coast. Evans says Bell claimed at the time that upgrades and maintenance on the north coast were too costly, and that the company refused funding assistance from the federal government.
Then, in 2022, Nunatsiavut chose Bell Canada as the proponent for the Labrador North Wireless Broadband Project. Evans says she supported Nunatsiavut’s decision at the time since Bell was the only known company that could provide the necessary infrastructure upgrades for reliable high speed internet and cell service.
Starlink, by contrast, offers high-speed internet to customers on Labrador’s north coast but doesn’t provide cell and landline services, Evans says. Plus, the company doesn’t have a phone number customers can call for immediate technical support. “The failure is on Bell’s part,” she says. “To drag it out, to come back after all these years to say, ‘Oh, we’re pulling out’ — that really, really hurts.”
Bell’s current internet speeds in Labrador often don’t meet the minimum requirements for online learning, preventing students from being able to attend online classes, Evans says.
“Bell internet sucks,” she says. “And how did we get there? We got there by Bell not doing the maintenance, not doing the repair, by not taking the federal dollars and doing the work that they could have done.”
Evans says the Nunatsiavut Government has worked hard to get to this point and hopes people won’t blame it for Bell’s failure.
