REGINA – SaskTel pledged to invest more than $1.4 billion in capital in Saskatchewan over the next five years, including approximately $321 million in this fiscal year alone.
Highlights of this year’s core Saskatchewan investment program include:
– $75.0 million for Fibre to the x (FTTx) program, as part of its plan to extend infiNET to more homes and businesses across the province by 2022;
– $36.0 million for wireless network enhancements, including for its 4G LTE network, WiFi expansion and Long Term Evolution – Time Division Duplex (LTE-TDD) Fusion capacity enhancements;
– $39.1 million for rural wireless and internet enhancements as part of the Government of Saskatchewan’s four-phase initiative to provide rural communities with enhanced access to reliable cellular and high speed internet services;
– $94.4 million on several initiatives to meet wireline network growth, such as network modernization, access and core demand and growth, customer premise equipment, maxTV growth, and regional Ethernet transport improvements;
– $76.4 million to improve customer services through continued investment in Information Technology and Information Systems platforms and service enhancements.
Capital spending is for the fiscal year 2018-2019 which runs April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020. More details are available here.
“Our Government understands that the residents of this province require access to communications services that enable them to thrive in today’s constantly evolving world,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel, in the news release. “Technology has changed the way we connect and the way we do business. SaskTel understands the importance of capital investment to maintain and improve on the services that it delivers across the province.”
“SaskTel’s continued investment in its networks and systems, both externally and internally, will enable us to deliver world class communication technologies to our customers across the province,” added Doug Burnett, SaskTel president and CEO. “Over the years, SaskTel has proactively invested in new and innovative technologies that have allowed the company to remain successful in an increasingly competitive industry.”
