Telecom

Sasktel completes final 10 cell towers under Wireless Saskatchewan initiative

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SaskTel has launched the final ten micro cell towers under the Government of Saskatchewan’s Wireless Saskatchewan initiative announced in 2017.

The towers bring LTE wireless service to communities of Aberdeen (South), Candle Lake, Carrot River (East), East Fairwell, Kuroki, Makwa, Marean Lake, Mount Pleasant, Prince Albert (East), and Shaunavon (Southeast). The company said it has over 1,000 cell towers throughout the province.

The four-year “Wireless Saskatchewan” project, launched by SaskTel in 2017, officially concluded on September 10th, 2021, with the completion of a final set of macro cell towers.

The 10 newly-launched towers will offer faster 4G LTE service to the communities of Aberdeen (South), Candle Lake, Carrot River (East), East Fairwell, Kuroki, Makwa, Marean Lake, Mount Pleasant, Prince Albert (East), and Shaunavon (Southeast), according to a press release.

“Through Wireless Saskatchewan, SaskTel has greatly expanded their wireless network and significantly improved service for thousands of rural families, businesses, and producers,” Minister Responsible for SaskTel Don Morgan said.

“With over 1,000 SaskTel cell towers spread throughout the province, Saskatchewan has the best wireless coverage in Western Canada,” he noted.

“At SaskTel, we are committed to being the best at connecting Saskatchewan people to what matters most,” SaskTel President and CEO Doug Burnett said.

“With Wireless Saskatchewan, we were able to make tangible and meaningful progress in addressing gaps in wireless coverage in underserved rural areas. Looking to the future, the new towers we’ve constructed as part of this program will help us bring 5G deeper into rural Saskatchewan, ensuring that rural residents and businesses will also benefit from the same technological advancements that many in urban areas take for granted,” he added.

Originally announced in 2017, Wireless Saskatchewan is a multi-phase initiative designed to improve wireless connectivity and high speed internet services in rural parts of the province. Through this program, SaskTel invested over $107 million to:

-Construct small cell sites that enhanced wireless coverage in 105 rural communities.

-Install 89 new 107-metre macro towers to improve coverage in busy provincial parks, along highways, and in rural areas.

-Improve wireless data capacity in 11 resort communities through enhancing existing cell towers.

-Expand its High Speed Fusion Internet network to 34 new towers.  

In total, there are now 1,000 SaskTel towers erected across the province.

With the initiative complete, SaskTel announced its next project is bringing 5G internet service to rural Saskatchewan.

To achieve this goal, the province plans on investing $323 million in 2021-2023, and over $1.4 billion over the next five years, to launch its 5G network.