SaskTel investing an additional $80m in the Rural Fibre Initiative

SaskTel announced it will invest an additional $80 million in its Rural Fibre Initiative to expand SaskTel infiNET™ service to another 61 communities across the province. This investment will bring advanced fibre optic broadband connectivity to more than 22,000 additional homes and businesses further ensuring Saskatchewan remains one of the most well-connected province's in the country.

"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," said Dustin Duncan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. "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."

Powered by Saskatchewan's largest fibre optic broadband network, SaskTel's infiNET service delivers internet speeds reaching close to a Gigabit per second (Gbps), allowing subscribers to surf, stream, and share however much content they want at incredible speeds. Plus, the infiNET network has the capacity to grow to support the evolving needs of SaskTel's customers and increasing popularity of cloud services, video streaming, and smart technologies.

"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 infiNET network to more of our customers who live and work in rural communities across the province."

Originally announced in 2020, the Rural Fibre Initiative is a multi-phase program that will see SaskTel invest $280 million to expand its infiNET network to nearly 200 communities across the province. SaskTel anticipates all communities included in the Rural Fibre Initiative will be fibre-ready by the end of 2027.

"SUMA is pleased to see this investment into 61 towns and villages through the fibre optic broadband network," said SUMA President Randy Goulden. "Access to good communications infrastructure like fast and reliable internet is necessary for all Saskatchewan hometowns to move into the future, to connect nationally and globally. It's why SUMA advocates for improved broadband services. These smaller centres will now have the same broadband access as larger centres. What a great step forward."

The towns and villages that will receive infiNET service as a result of the additional investments announced today will be connected as part of Phase 7 of the Rural Fibre Initiative.