SaskTel expands 5G network in rural and Indigenous areas

SaskTel has expanded their 5G service that reaches around 50 rural and Indigenous communities throughout the province, along with highway corridor cell sites.

This expansion was announced Thursday by SaskTel and the provincial government.

The network will reach areas like North Grove, Buffalo Pound, La Ronge, and Red Earth Cree Nation.

It’s all part of their latest initiative in delivering fast wireless connection to residents in Saskatchewan.

"I think it's critically important to ensure that people are able to first and foremost communicate with their loved ones, whether they be in the province or outside the province or around the world but also so that people in Saskatchewan, including in rural Saskatchewan and remote parts of the province, can take part in … more of the digital economy,” said Dustin Duncan, the Minister responsible for SaskTel.

Charlene Gravel, the president and CEO of SaskTel said there are over 1,000 cell sites in the province and is happy they’ve been able to invest to make sure 99 per cent of the population has cellular service.

This SaskTel cell tower on the north side of Buffalo Pound Lake has been converted to 5G service. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

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“That makes me really proud and really, really happy that we've got the support of our province to do that, because it's not a small feat and it's not an expense,” she said.

This expansion is part of the company’s commitment to invest around $440 million of capital through the year.

SaskTel is able to deliver speeds up 1.2 Gigabits per second. As the network grows, that speed will be increased.

For residents to be able to connect to the 5G network, SaskTel customers must be within a 5G coverage area.