OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a funding agreement with Telesat to complete and operate Lightspeed, one of the world's most innovative satellite networks.

With a loan of 2.14 billion Canadian dollars ($1.57 billion) from the federal government, Telesat Lightspeed will be Canada's largest ever space program, the prime minister said in a news release.

Telesat Lightspeed will expand internet and 5G networks in communities across Canada. As a low-Earth-orbit satellite network, it will take less time to send and receive information and accelerate the federal government's work to connect all Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030, the release said.

According to the release, the network will also help the government of Canada bolster its satellite communications technology and support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization.

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The program is already underway, with the first of an initial 198 low-Earth-orbit satellites scheduled to launch in 2026, according to the release.

Established as a Crown corporation in 1969, Telesat is now a Canadian-controlled and publicly-traded corporation, and one of the world's largest and most innovative satellite operators.