SaskTel expands internet service through 10 more cell towers

More areas of Saskatchewan are getting internet service through the provincial government’s Wireless Saskatchewan initiative.

In a media release Friday, the government said the final 10 macro cell towers to be built as part of the program have been launched. The new towers are located near the communities of Aberdeen, Candle Lake, Carrot River, East Fairwell, Kuroki, Makwa, Marean Lake, Mount Pleasant, Prince Albert and Shaunavon.

“With Wireless Saskatchewan, we were able to make tangible and meaningful progress in addressing gaps in wireless coverage in underserved rural areas,” SaskTel president and CEO Doug Burnett said in the release.

“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.”

The initiative was announced in 2017 to improve wireless connectivity and high speed internet services in rural areas of Saskatchewan.

SaskTel invested more than $107 million to build small cell sites to enhance wireless coverage in 105 rural communities, install 89 new 107-metre macro towers to improve coverage in provincial parks, on highways and in rural areas, improve wireless data capacity in 11 resort communities through enhancing existing cell towers, and expand its High Speed Fusion Internet network to 34 new towers.

“While Wireless Saskatchewan has been a great success, our government understands how critical these services have become in the modern world and will continue to work with SaskTel to further improve connectivity throughout the province,” said Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SaskTel.