SaskTel, Stafford Communications partner to drive rural broadband

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SaskTel is partnering with Stafford Communications through the Rural Broadband Partnership Program (RBPP) to bring more advanced broadband solutions and faster internet speeds to underserved rural areas in east-central Saskatchewan.

As part of this collaboration, Stafford Communications plans to expand their network and begin delivering internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps to the communities and surrounding rural areas of Crystal Springs, Jumping Lake, Struthers Lake, Tarnopol, Waitville, and Yellow Creek.

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“SaskTel’s joint venture with Stafford Communications is another positive step towards bridging the digital divide in in our province,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel . “The Rural Broadband Partnership Program not only supports local businesses to help build a stronger economy, but it also ensures that more Saskatchewan residents have access to the level of connectivity required to succeed and thrive in today’s world.”

“We are excited to partner with Stafford Communications as we work to support a more connected Saskatchewan,” said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO. “Having already worked with a number of local providers, we’ve seen tangible results from this program, and we look forward to creating new partnerships that will allow us to reach more rural and Indigenous communities.”

“Stafford Communications is pleased to partner with SaskTel. This initial pilot project at Yellow Creek will allow us to provide improved broadband services at an accelerated rate to the surrounding communities and rural areas while also enhancing our existing coverage in and around the communities of Ethelton, Meskanaw, and Tway,” said Allen Stafford, President of Stafford Communications. “Deploying our LTE-Advanced network will allow customers in this area of the province to experience download speeds up to 100 Mbps, faster than any other solution available in the area today.”

Based out of Gronlid SK, Stafford Communications currently provides fixed-wireless broadband service to approximately 1,400 customers in rural parts of east-central Saskatchewan.

Originally announced last fall, the RBPP enables SaskTel to partner with other internet service providers (ISPs) in order to bring more advanced broadband connectivity to hard to serve areas of the province neither party could serve alone. To date, the RBPP has been successfully utilized by a number of ISPs to deliver faster internet speeds and improved connectivity to over a dozen rural areas and communities spread across Saskatchewan.

 


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