SaskTel has announced that 48 communities will receive SaskTel infiNET services as part of its sixth phase of its Rural Fibre Initiative, and some communities in the surrounding Humboldt area are part of this initiative. 

SaskTel’s plans to begin the process for Phase 6 in 2023/24 and anticipates the locations will be fibre-ready by the end of March 2025. 

“A key part of our government’s plan to build a stronger Saskatchewan is to invest in the infrastructure that will allow our province to continue to grow and prosper,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. “Through the Rural Fibre Initiative, SaskTel is expanding their advanced fibre optic broadband network to towns and villages across Saskatchewan, and ensuring more families and businesses have access to the same online resources, tools, and opportunities as those living in larger urban centres.” 

“Delivering speeds of up to a Gigabit per second, our infiNET network ensures SaskTel customers have the bandwidth they need to surf, stream, and connect in real-time,” said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO. “In addition, 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.”

“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. This new infrastructure will help us attract new businesses andresidents to Borden and help those already living and working in Borden to expand their earning and learning potential. This is a great day for the Village of Borden and all of Saskatchewan. Thank you SaskTel and the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Jamie Brandrick, Mayor of the Village of Borden.

The Rural Fibre Initiative is a multi-phase program that will see SaskTel invest $200 million to bring infiNET service to over 110,000 residents and businesses living and operating in more than 130 rural communities. 

The continued expansion of its infiNET and 5G networks is a direct result of SaskTel’s commitment to invest more than $1.5 billion of capital across Saskatchewan over the next five years. SaskTel says these investments will help Saskatchewan accelerate its transition to becoming a smart province and ensure it remains one of the most well connected regions in the country.