TAGGED AS SASKTEL
SaskTel rolls out 5G coverage in Lloydminster and Meadow Lake
telecom | 11/17/2023 4:45 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. continues to roll out its 5G network across the province. The latest communities to receive the service are Lloydminster and Meadow Lake. Deployment began on Friday and should be completed by the end of the year.
“We’re...
SaskTel announces new president and CEO
telecom | 08/03/2023 5:19 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Charlene Gavel as its new president and CEO who will be taking over the role effective immediately.
Gavel served as the company's chief financial officer for nine years and was CFO for SaskTel International. She is...
SaskTel backs off plan to charge for email addresses after customer complaints
telecom | 01/23/2023 5:37 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. has rapidly changed its mind...
SaskTel expands 5G service
telecom | 10/11/2022 4:59 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is expanding its 5G services to the area around Moose Jaw in the province, the telecom announced Tuesday.
The service will...
SaskTel spending another $50 million on rural fibre optic broadband
telecom | 06/25/2021 5:16 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel) is throwing another...
Telecoms emphasize concerns, support for CRTC’s botnet blocking proposal
telecom | 05/06/2021 7:19 pm EDT
Canada’s big-three telecoms are doubling down on their assertions that...
BH Telecom objects to SaskTel’s request for stay in funding
telecom | 04/27/2021 3:33 pm EDT
BH Telecom Corp. claims that it is local residents who will lose if Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. gets the stay it wants on millions in funding awarded to the company to connect more than 26 communities to high-speed internet. The CRTC previously awarded BH Telecom, which does business as FlexNetworks, $9.5 million through its $750 million broadband funding program in order to connect the almost 30 communities -- but SaskTel argued in a March 18 Part 1 application that the...
UPDATED – CRTC rejects broad MVNO model, will mandate limited access for regional players
telecom | 04/15/2021 4:01 pm EDT
Incumbent telecom companies will be required to...
SaskTel chooses Samsung for 5G supplier
telecom | 03/15/2021 2:26 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. will be using Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. as its primary supplier as the company builds out its own 5G network, the company announced Monday. Samsung will be SaskTel’s sole...
Mandate access for Rogers, and spare us: SaskTel
telecom | 02/28/2020 1:32 pm EST
GATINEAU, Que. — If you’re going to mandate mobile virtual network operators in Saskatchewan, require...
Spectrum licence fees are too high already: big telecoms
telecom | 04/30/2019 3:38 pm EDT
An Innovation Canada consultation asking for comment about whether it should begin adjusting spectrum licence fees to keep up with the consumer price index has drawn opposition from BCE Inc., Rogers...
SaskTel now offers IPTV service
Media | 08/22/2018 5:58 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel) announced the launch of a new TV service using Ericsson AB’s MediaFirst-powered IPTV platform in a press release on Wednesday. Dubbed the maxTV Stream, according to the...
Bell tops broadband speed tests, but falls in customer satisfaction survey
Media | 06/22/2018 5:06 pm EDT
In a pair of studies measuring home internet service this week, BCE Inc. was positioned at the two ends of the spectrum, topping out the list of fastest connections in Canada, but falling to near the...
$26.4 million in rural internet funding announced for Sask.
telecom | 06/08/2018 6:26 pm EDT
The federal government and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding...
CRTC consulting on NG911 network efficiency
telecom | 03/26/2018 1:29 pm EDT
The CRTC said Monday it is asking for input on next-generation 911 (NG911) network design efficiencies...
CRTC starts next steps on disaggregated regime expansion
Media | 03/12/2018 4:47 pm EDT
The CRTC is asking telecoms to provide information about demand for high-speed internet as the next step toward implementing the disaggregated wholesale regime in regions outside Ontario and Quebec. The regulator said in a letter dated March 5 that it has requested Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, Shaw Communications Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp., BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. provide demand-related information in all provinces they serve by April 4. The latter two will provide information outside Ontario and Quebec, as they already provide...
NFL Sunday Ticket returns to broadcast TV with Dazn partnership
Media | 10/11/2017 6:16 pm EDT
Perform Group’s over-the-top (OTT) sports service Dazn is partnering with...
SaskTel updating rural wireless towers
telecom | 09/01/2017 5:27 pm EDT
Rural wireless towers in Saskatchewan are being upgraded to increase their LTE capacity, Saskatchewan...
Hargrave in as new SaskTel minister
telecom | 08/30/2017 4:24 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. has a new minister responsible for the Crown telecom...
SaskTel launches smart-home service
telecom | 08/21/2017 5:29 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. has rolled out a connected-home service, allowing customers...
Transparency reporting in Canada: still opaque?
telecom | 07/31/2017 4:15 pm EDT
Without an Edward Snowden-like scandal, exposing inappropriate government access of citizens’ personal information, the current landscape may be as good as it gets for transparency reporting in Canada, a privacy expert says.
As of Monday, only two of the country’s...
No wholesale obligations for new broadband fund projects: telcos
telecom | 07/04/2017 5:17 pm EDT
Mandating wholesale access as a condition of funding for projects under the CRTC’s new broadband funding regime will increase costs while effectively discouraging investment, two of the country’s...
SaskTel CEO leaving company July 1
telecom | 06/29/2017 2:38 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s president and CEO, Ron Styles, will...
SaskTel to boost Internet speeds in indigenous communities
telecom | 06/20/2017 2:56 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. will improve Internet service...
Sask. to cost Internet improvements: report
telecom | 06/08/2017 4:50 pm EDT
The Saskatchewan government will appoint someone to investigate the cost of expanding Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s Internet coverage, Premier Brad Wall was reported as saying this week, according to CTV News....
‘Alternative video’ services more satisfying than pay TV: study
Media | 06/08/2017 3:10 pm EDT
Non-traditional TV subscribers, such as those who use over-the-top (OTT) services, are more satisfied than those with traditional pay-TV subscriptions, a new J.D. Power survey suggested. Customers...
Partial sale would bring benefits to SaskTel: Desjardins
telecom | 05/08/2017 6:53 pm EDT
The sale of a stake in Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. would help the crown corporation when it comes to adopting new technologies, according to Desjardins Capital Markets...
SaskTel minister confirms discussions about partial sale
telecom | 05/01/2017 8:22 pm EDT
Saskatchewan's minister for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said last week the government met with a major Canadian telecom company to discuss a partial sale of the...
SaskTel completes LTE expansion
telecom | 03/30/2017 8:34 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday that it has finished its LTE expansion project. In the province, 99 per cent of residents are now served by its LTE network, SaskTel said in...
SaskTel sale off the table, Wall says
telecom | 03/07/2017 5:38 pm EST
The premier of Saskatchewan said Monday that the province will not pursue the sale of its telecommunications crown corporation, according to a report in the Canadian Press. Brad Wall said last year that the province would hold a referendum on whether to pursue a suitable offer for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. Alluding to the public not wanting its sale, Wall took it off the table. “They’re not interested in a referendum. They’re not interested in the potential sale of SaskTel,” he said as the legislature returned for spring,...
Telecoms bond over stirring proposals to shake up call spoofing
telecom | 03/03/2017 7:18 pm EST
Technologies identified by the CRTC as potential tools to combat spoofed and nuisance calls have promise, but barriers to their deployment mean they’re not likely to be put in place any time...
SaskTel says it’s ‘concerned’ by end of local voice subsidy
telecom | 02/13/2017 6:09 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday that it is concerned about the CRTC’s December decision to eliminate the local voice subsidy in favour of a...
Eliminate locked phones in Canada, Freedom Mobile tells CRTC
telecom | 02/08/2017 10:05 pm EST
In a departure from the positions of its fellow wireless providers, Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile suggested Wednesday the CRTC should forbid carriers from charging...
SaskTel opens Saskatoon data centre
telecom | 01/26/2017 9:00 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. said Thursday that its newest data centre is now operational. The 24,000-square-foot Tier III facility, first announced in 2015, “significantly...
Sasktel ties for fastest LTE speeds in the world: OpenSignal
telecom | 11/10/2016 9:29 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s LTE download speeds are among the fastest in the world, according to a new OpenSignal Inc. report. “In the fourth quarter, Singapore had the fastest networks by far, averaging 37 Mbps, and two of its operators [Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.] and [StarHub Ltd.] joined Canada’s SaskTel in vying for the title of world’s fastest operator,” the report, released Nov. 10, said. Though SaskTel’s speeds were closer to 35 Mbps, the margin of error was such to make that a statistical tie with the other carriers. The...
CRTC’s lowering of HSA rates means small ISPs ‘free to innovate’: CNOC
telecom | 10/06/2016 8:00 pm EDT
The CRTC has set revised interim wholesale rates for high-speed access (HSA) services, criticizing large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for proposing “unreasonable” rates that were too...
Union-backed ads call for SaskTel status quo
telecom | 09/09/2016 4:25 pm EDT
A union representing Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. employees has launched an advertising campaign calling for Premier Brad Wall to abandon any idea of selling the telecom. In a press release Thursday,...
Public would review suitable SaskTel offer: report
telecom | 08/25/2016 6:27 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall took the conversation about a possible sale of the provincially owned telecommunications provider another step forward by suggesting that the province would put an offer, if received, to the public,...
Rogers’ OMNI application a ‘band-aid’ solution, critics say
Media | 08/18/2016 7:14 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposal for a new national ethnic programming service is neither innovative nor appropriate in today’s TV environment aimed at providing consumers more...
CRTC allowing off-tariff GSM agreements, for now
telecom | 08/05/2016 8:50 pm EDT
The CRTC has determined that a hands-off approach to regulating roaming rates on GSM networks until it approves a final set of guidelines would not put smaller carriers in a negotiating disadvantage with larger ones. The...
SaskTel sale to Telus ‘logical’: Barclays
telecom | 08/03/2016 8:28 pm EDT
Telus Corp. would be the “logical buyer” of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., according to Barclays Capital. Ahead of Telus’s second-quarter earnings report Friday, analyst Phillip Huang...
SaskTel connects Estevan to FTTH
telecom | 07/28/2016 7:04 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Thursday its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service is now available in some residential areas of the southeastern city of Estevan. The new connections will give...
SaskTel to improve Internet service in 7 communities
telecom | 07/20/2016 4:46 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it’s installing additional equipment on towers in rural areas around seven Saskatchewan communities that will relieve...
SaskTel phasing out CDMA network next summer
telecom | 07/05/2016 7:27 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Tuesday that its Code division multiple access (CDMA) network is entering its last year. In a press release, SaskTel said CDMA-reliant devices would no longer function after July 5, 2017, and that it would be transitioning existing customers to its 4G and 4G LTE network. “By shutting down the CDMA network, we can repurpose spectrum so we can continue to add capacity to our 4G and 4G LTE network province-wide and resources can be refocused towards emerging technologies, products, and services,” Ron Styles,...
SaskTel expands LTE network to reach nearly all residents
telecom | 06/21/2016 4:23 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is injecting $11.8 million to expand its LTE wireless network to include “nearly everyone in Saskatchewan.” “We anticipate that...
Bell-MTS deal could pose regulatory risk for SaskTel: report
telecom | 06/20/2016 8:43 pm EDT
The biggest risk to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. in the wake of BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is the...
Wall prefers SaskTel sale over public offering: report
telecom | 06/15/2016 4:04 pm EDT
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall told reporters he would rather sell Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. than take the company public and sell shares on the open market, Bloomberg...
SaskTel enhancing wireless coverage on Highway 18
telecom | 06/03/2016 6:44 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is updating its wireless network along a 130-kilometre stretch of highway, the company announced Wednesday. A $2.1-million investment into Highway 18 from the south-eastern...
SaskTel chooses company to conduct review
telecom | 05/27/2016 6:13 pm EDT
Toronto-based consulting company Mark H. Goldberg and Associates Inc. will conduct the third-party review of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., the company announced Friday. The review, launched in the wake of the proposed merger of BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., will be “an analysis of the impacts and risks that the MTS acquisition may have for SaskTel,” said a press release. Ron Styles, SaskTel president and CEO, said in the release that he and the chair of the SaskTel board “contacted numerous telecom...
SaskTel announces capital investment plan
telecom | 05/16/2016 8:17 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday it was making a more-than-$1.4-billion capital investment over the next five years to upgrade its systems and networks. Of that investment, $331 million is allotted...
Big-box wireless customers ‘high risk’: study
telecom | 05/13/2016 8:43 pm EDT
Consumers who shop at big-box stores are more likely to purchase unlocked phones and are more likely to switch wireless providers, according to results of a study released Thursday. Half of the customers who buy phones from...
SaskTel embarking on review in wake of Bell-MTS deal
telecom | 05/06/2016 8:00 pm EDT
Faced with the prospect of becoming “an island in Western Canada” at the conclusion of the proposed Manitoba Telcom Services Inc. sale, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is...
SaskTel says 1,000 customers hit by phishing scam
telecom | 02/26/2016 9:46 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a release Friday that it was recently the target of a “large phishing attack.” It said it estimates the attack affected about 1,000 customers. The...
Competition Bureau seeks info on iPhone pricing from carriers
telecom | 06/15/2015 9:01 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau has filed applications in Federal Court seeking information from wireless carriers about how they set prices for Apple Inc.’s devices. The applications involve BCE Inc.,...
Bell, Telus, SaskTel and Videotron rank highest in customer survey
telecom | 06/11/2015 8:45 pm EDT
A new survey from J.D. Power says wireless customers in Ontario gave the highest marks for network performance to BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., those in the West to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding...
SaskTel launches new enterprise Internet service
telecom | 04/30/2015 8:20 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a press release Thursday it has launched a new Internet service for its business customers with speeds of up to 10 Gbps per second. The Saskatchewan-government owned company...
SaskTel launches mobile-payment capabilities
Media | 04/24/2015 7:03 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday it has launched mobile-payment capabilities for wireless customers who bank with Toronto Dominion Bank and have certain devices. SaskTel said the current service works...
SaskTel extends LTE to 62 rural communities
telecom | 04/07/2015 3:24 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday that it has extended LTE coverage to 62 more rural communities in the province on the 850 MHz band. SaskTel said in a press release it is approximately doubling the network capacity in most locations. “SaskTel understands the importance of providing communications services in rural areas and they will continue to enhance the wireless network to improve the customer experience,” Kevin Doherty, the Saskatchewan minister responsible for the provincial Crown corporation, said in the release....
Wind spectrum sale to SaskTel prevented: report
telecom | 03/13/2015 2:54 pm EDT
A proposed sale of spectrum in Saskatchewan from Wind Mobile to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. was cancelled because of a negative reaction by federal government officials, the Financial Post reported. An article...
SaskTel releases transparency report
telecom | 10/01/2014 5:06 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. on Wednesday joined other telecom providers in releasing a transparency report, which showed that it received 11,857 requests for information last year from government agencies and...
TekSavvy asks CRTC for help to launch TV service
Media | 09/16/2014 9:15 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — Independent ISP TekSavvySolutions Inc. told the CRTC Tuesday it is considering becoming a TV distributor, on the same day that it announced a “partnership” with Hastings Cable Vision Ltd., an...
MTS, SaskTel to carry iPhone 6
telecom | 09/15/2014 5:26 pm EDT
Two regional wireless carriers from the Prairie provinces announced Monday they will carry Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 6. when it becomes available on Sept. 19. Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and Saskatchewan...
DiversityCanada granted fraction of costs claimed in CRTC proceeding
telecom | 08/15/2014 6:29 pm EDT
The CRTC said that four telecommunications companies must pay a portion of the costs incurred by the DiversityCanada Foundation during the CRTC’s consultation on the removal of a last payphone in a community, though less than half of what DiversityCanada was asking for will be covered. The organization had asked for costs of $11,512.44, “consisting entirely of external consultant fees,” the CRTC said on its website Friday. Telus Corp. filed an intervention in which...
Analysts, carrier question policy on AWS-3 set-asides
telecom | 08/06/2014 7:21 pm EDT
Analysts are split on the wisdom of Industry Canada’s rules for the upcoming AWS-3 auction, which appear to put valuable spectrum in two provinces out of reach for any carrier. The spectrum rules, detailed on July 28, set...
SaskTel renews PPV licence, independent committee still required
telecom | 07/18/2014 6:42 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. was granted a renewal of its licence to operate a national pay-per-view service, the CRTC said Friday, though it was denied a request to eliminate the...
700 MHz auction ‘biased against regional carriers’: SaskTel
telecom | 02/20/2014 8:09 pm EST
Ron Styles, president of Saskatchewan telecom services provider SaskTel, said Thursday that the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction’s format was “clearly biased against regional...
Sasktel boosts Internet speeds in 7 communities
telecom | 11/26/2013 7:30 pm EST
Sasktel is upgrading the Internet speeds it makes available to its customers in Pike Lake, Leask, Choiceland, Marsden, Meath Park, Sheho and Star Blanket Cree Nation, Sask., the company said Thursday. The company said in a...
SaskTel launches 4G push-to-talk
telecom | 10/30/2013 8:41 pm EDT
SaskTel launched its next-generation “push-to-talk” service, which will serve as an alternative to its service operating on the CDMA network, the company said. Push-to-talk services cater to a niche market of business...
SaskTel launches fixed wireless LTE
telecom | 09/24/2013 8:40 pm EDT
SaskTel is launching a new fixed wireless fourth-generation LTE service for its customers now receiving wireless broadband Internet (WBBI) service from towers in 12 communities where its high throughput satellite service is not...
SaskTel completes wireless upgrades
telecom | 04/19/2013 7:43 pm EDT
SaskTel completed 22 wireless “infrastructure enhancement projects” in March to expand the coverage and capacity of its mobile wireless network, the company said. In a release Thursday, SaskTel, a provincial Crown...
SaskTel expands LTE
telecom | 03/11/2013 10:08 pm EDT
SaskTel completed 22 fourth-generation LTE “network infrastructure enhancement projects” last month to address consumer demand for more network capacity and coverage, the telecom provider and provincial Crown corporation said. In a release Monday, SaskTel said its February...
SaskTel turns on LTE, announces capex plans
telecom | 01/31/2013 10:11 pm EST
SaskTel launched its next-generation LTE network in and around Saskatchewan’s two most populous cities and said it will invest about $400 million in capital expenditures this year. In a release Wednesday, SaskTel said it would launch its LTE network in Saskatoon and Regina on Thursday, as well as in some of the municipalities surrounding those cities. The new network, the provincial Crown corporation said, offers twice the coverage and up to 33 per cent more speed than other providers in the province, though it did not specify the new network’s coverage or maximum data speeds....
SaskTel billing glitch leads to $100,000 bills
telecom | 12/06/2012 9:46 pm EST
A technical glitch caused SaskTel wireless customers to receive bills for data usage of up to $100,000 each, the company said on its website Tuesday. “As part of the 4G LTE network capacity enhancements, SaskTel was...
SaskTel releases online video service
Media | 11/21/2012 10:48 pm EST
SaskTel launched a new on-demand video and music streaming service called Max Online. The company said in a release Tuesday that Max Online is available without charge to residential Max TV subscribers. The new service, SaskTel...
MTS and SaskTel reach roaming agreement
telecom | 11/07/2012 10:07 pm EST
MTS Allstream Inc. reached a roaming agreement with SaskTel that “immediately” improves its HSPA+ wireless coverage in Saskatchewan, the company said Wednesday. In a release, MTS said its customers now have access to...
SaskTel increases 2012 wireless capex
telecom | 10/19/2012 8:02 pm EDT
SaskTel increased its 2012 budget for wireless enhancements from $70 million to $100 million, the company said Thursday. In a release to promote the provincial Crown corporation’s wireless infrastructure plans, SaskTel said...
SaskTel announces fixed wireless alternatives
telecom | 09/24/2012 8:59 pm EDT
SaskTel will use Internet sticks and its high-throughput satellite signals to serve thousands of rural customers who will lose fixed wireless Internet service at the end of 2012, the provincial Crown corporation said Monday. Last week, SaskTel and the Saskatchewan provincial government received criticism from opposition legislators for not informing the company’s rural, fixed wireless subscribers that the service will be discontinued at the end of this year. The service currently utilizes the 2.5 GHz spectral frequency, which Industry Canada has ordered all operators to abandon by the...
SaskTel and Huawei to trial fixed broadband on LTE
telecom | 09/10/2012 9:21 pm EDT
SaskTel is teaming up with Huawei Technologies Co. to trial a fourth-generation LTE fixed wireless network in Saskatchewan, the companies said Monday. In a release, SaskTel said the trial will use Huawei “solutions and...
SaskTel reports 600,000 wireless customers
telecom | 08/30/2012 9:04 pm EDT
SaskTel reached 600,000 wireless customers in the province of Saskatchewan, the company said Wednesday. SaskTel said in a release that its mobile network is “the most extensive” in the province and currently available...