SaskTel to pump $300M into services
Internet, wireless to be improved
REGINA — SaskTel will spend more than $300 million on improving its telecommunication services this year.
That SaskTel would spend big bucks on this work was no secret; it was announced in the provincial budget last month — though details were lacking until Thursday.
The same budget speech indicated SaskPower will spend around $1.2 billion to upgrade transmission and distribution systems, and “expand and renew” its electricity-generation assets.
And it said SaskEnergy would spend $257 million to overhaul its transmission and distribution infrastructure, and expand gas-processing capacity.
All this is in addition to another $1.3 billion for other, non-Crown infrastructure work — road, schools, hospitals and the like — under the Saskatchewan Building Capital Plan, with about half of that amount to be borrowed.
Meanwhile, at SaskTel, $177 million dollars being allocated towards its core Saskatchewan network, which includes its 4G and 4G-LTE Internet service. Within that will be $45 million for the Fibre to the Premises Program, a 10-year plan announced in 2012 to bring upgraded SaskTel infiNET Internet and broadcast service to all homes in the province’s nine largest centres.
The Crown corporation says this will mean faster speeds when downloading or streaming video, uploading photos and videos, and taking part in real-time gaming and video chat. It will also let SaskTel improve speeds on its maxTV service.
SaskTel spokeswoman Michelle Englot said there are no plans at this point to extend infiNET service to other communities, which will continue to receive Internet service via copper cables.
Also on SaskTel’s “to do” list is $37.8 million in wireless network enhancements that will add capacity to its 4G and 4G LTE (4th generation long-term expansion) service, Englot said.
SaskTel says the 4G network has increased bandwidth that permits download speeds approximately 10 times faster than older CDMA network, while the 4G LTE network would be about five times faster still.
This reflects “exponential growth” in wireless demand, said Englot, adding “it’s essential for us to add capacity to the network.”
Also in SaskTel’s plan is $16.2 million for network modernization, $44.8 million for access and core demand and planning, plus $6.2 million for a rural Ethernet transport strategy, which Englot likened to “a large pipe for data that our wholesale customers and resellers use for their data transmissions.”