What Can Nations Do When Internet Costs Are Still Too High?

For many First Nations, getting internet infrastructure into community is only one part of the challenge. But once the connection is available, can families actually afford to use it?

The First Nations Technology Council’s new report, Closing the Affordability Gap for First Nations Connectivity, looks at this question directly. It explores what happens when households are technically “served” by internet infrastructure but still face monthly costs that keep them offline or force families to make difficult choices about what they can afford.

Affordable internet matters in everyday life, it enables:

• Access to training, employment, healthcare and emergency information
• Connection between Elders, families, consultation processes and community meetings

For First Nations, affordable connectivity is also connected to governance, culture, language, and self-determination.

What does it look like when a Nation takes connectivity into its own hands? 

In southeastern British Columbia, the Ktunaxa Nations’ experience shows how four Nations have worked over several decades to improve connectivity, build local control, and lower internet costs for members.

Developing a Nation-owned internet service provider

In 2012, Ktunaxa launched FlexiNet, a 100% Nation-owned internet service provider. While this was an important step toward increasing connectivity, maintaining reliable service proved difficult. Poor weather regularly affected satellite connections, infrastructure maintenance was costly, and wholesale internet prices remained high.

Large providers such as TELUS and Shaw were unable to expand service to Ktunaxa communities unless costs stayed below certain thresholds, limiting competition and options. Even when federal grants helped bring fibre to some areas, FlexiNet often paid thousands of dollars per month for bandwidth that individual urban customers could access for a fraction of the cost.

Affordability remained the central challenge. While many community members expected free or low-cost internet from a Nation-owned provider, high wholesale costs made this unrealistic. FlexiNet typically has to charge around $100 per household just to break even.

Shifting to subsidized internet

In 2020, Ktunaxa undertook a full assessment of its connectivity model. Through partnerships and a revenue-sharing agreement tied to local industry, the Nation was able to subsidize internet service for members. Between 2022 and 2023, they rolled out free internet service on reserve. In 2023 and 2024, any Ktunaxa member can access free FlexiNet service, and in instances where FlexiNet service cannot be provided, members receive a $55 subsidy to help pay for another service. Ktunaxa currently provides this subsidy to 135 households. 

Ktunaxa’s experience shows both the promise and the limits of community-owned connectivity. While Nation leadership, persistence, and partnerships made progress possible, long-term affordability remains constrained by wholesale pricing, infrastructure costs, and limited competition, which are challenges that individual communities cannot solve alone.

Read more in our latest report

Affordable internet access is part of a much larger conversation about digital equity, community-led solutions, and long-term digital enablement. Our latest report takes a closer look at the affordability gap facing First Nations in British Columbia, where current supports are helping, where they are falling short, and what practical pathways could help close the gap.

READ REPORT ►