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Let the LTE be freed; SaskTel brings wireless capacity upgrades to 19 rural communities

Let the LTE be freed; SaskTel brings wireless capacity upgrades to 19 rural communities

December 5, 2019

SaskTel today announced that 4G LTE bandwidth capacity improvements are on the way for 19 towers primarily serving rural areas of central and eastern Saskatchewan.

SaskTel will install additional LTE carriers on each of the towers, increasing their LTE data capacity by up to 100%. This added capacity will ensure that customers can continue to fully utilize their smartphones without being slowed down by network congestion.

“Coverage and capacity are two sides of the same equation and the quality of wireless services available in rural communities depends on both,” said the Honourable Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. “With Wireless Saskatchewan, SaskTel has tackled many of the province’s gaps in coverage and with this announcement they are ensuring rural locations continue to keep pace with increased demands for wireless data.”

Installation work begins on the first of the towers in early December with the all upgrades expected to be complete by April 2020. These capacity improvements come as part of SaskTel’s $321 million of capital investments announced for the 2019/20 fiscal year.

“In a competitive market like Saskatchewan where other businesses rely on us to connect them to their customers and the world, there’s no room for us to slow down on investment,” said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO. “We’ve got our foot on the gas and are continuing to make the investments needed to improve and maintain our services while delivering the industry leading services our customers have come to expect.”

For a full listing of tower locations receiving upgrades, please see the appendix below.

SaskTel has committed itself to being the best at connecting people to their worlds, and that hard work is paying dividends for the people of Saskatchewan in more ways than one. Years of effort have seen the company build the largest owner-operated network in the province; solidifying SaskTel as Saskatchewan’s ICT market leader.

About SaskTel

SaskTel is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider in Saskatchewan, with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue and approximately 1.35 million customer connections including 617,000 wireless accesses, 320,000 wireline network accesses, 283,000 internet accesses and 112,000 maxTV™ subscribers. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries offer a wide range of ICT products and services including competitive voice, data and Internet services, wireless data services, maxTV services, data centre services, cloud-based services, security monitoring services, advertising services, and international software and consulting services. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 3,700 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com

4G LTE Capacity Upgrade Locations

Alameda Antelope Aylesbury
Blumenhof Broadview (x2 upgrades) Canora
Craik Eatonia Englefeld
Englishman Lake Gainsborough Goodwater (x2 upgrades)
Invermay Lampman Lanigan
Maidstone Melfort (x2 upgrades) Rosetown (x2 upgrades)
Tisdale    

For more information, please contact:
Tim Jones, SaskTel External Communications Manager
Phone: 306.777.5182
E-mail: timothy.jones@sasktel.com