SaskTel announced Monday it will invest an additional $80 million in its Rural Fibre Initiative to expand its advanced fibre-based infiNET service to another 61 communities across Saskatchewan.
Originally announced in December 2020, and later expanded in June 2021 and November 2022, SaskTel’s Rural Fibre Initiative is a multi-phase program that will see the Crown corporation invest $280 million to expand its infiNET network to nearly 200 communities province-wide.
Monday’s announcement marks the seventh phase of the initiative, and SaskTel says it anticipates all of the 61 communities included in this phase will be fibre-ready by the end of 2027.
“When SaskTel completes this work, it will have invested more than $1 billion to bring its fibre optic broadband network to 225 communities and nearly 85% of all homes and businesses across Saskatchewan,” Dustin Duncan, provincial minister responsible for SaskTel, said in a press release. “The work being done at SaskTel, under the guidance of our government, will ensure that communities across the province have access to the communications infrastructure they need to grow and thrive for many years to come.”
In its press release, SaskTel confirmed the first two phases of its Rural Fibre Initiative are now complete, and phase three is 95 per cent finished. The communities included in phases four, five and six are expected to be fibre-ready by the end of 2025, SaskTel says. The full list of communities included in the Rural Fibre Initiative is available here.
“At SaskTel, we truly understand how important a fast and reliable internet connection has become in the modern world, especially for those who live and work in rural communities,” said Charlene Gavel, SaskTel president and CEO. “As Saskatchewan’s homegrown communications leader, we’re pleased to increase our investment in the Rural Fibre Initiative so that we may bring the unparalleled speed and reliability of our inifiNET network to more of our customers who live and work in rural communities across the province.”
Image provided by SaskTel
