SaskTel adds 48 communities to $200M Rural Fibre Initiative

A SaskTel store is shown here in downtown Saskatoon. (Kevin Menz/CTV Saskatoon)

An additional 48 towns and villages have been added to SaskTel’s Rural Fibre Initiative.

The $200 million program seeks to connect smaller communities across the province to SaskTel’s fibre optic broadband network.

“Ensuring more families and businesses have access to the same online resources, tools, and opportunities as those living in larger urban centres,” Don Morgan, minister responsible for SaskTel, said in a news release.

The program has been announced over six phases, covering around 130 communities and 110,000 residents.

Phases one to three are under construction with several nearing completion, while phases five and six are set to begin construction in 2023/2024.

A total of 48 additional communities will be added in the sixth phase of SaskTel's Rural Fibre Initiative. (Source: SaskTel)

"This important investment from SaskTel will put smaller communities like the Village of Borden on a level playing field in terms of accessing reliable advanced fibre optic broadband technology,” Jamie Brandrick, mayor of the village of Borden, said in the release.

All communities will be “fibre ready” by the end of March 2025, SaskTel explained in its release.

“By upgrading our broadband networks to fibre, we will be better able to deploy future enhancements to keep pace with our customer’s evolving bandwidth needs, especially as smart technologies become more common in both the home and workplace,” Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO said in the release.

Upon completion of the initiative, 80 per cent of Saskatchewan households will have access to fibre optic broadband, SaskTel explained.