TAGGED AS SASKTEL
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 about charging consumers for email addresses.
“In light of the feedback we’ve received from...
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 be available by the end of March, 2023, the company stated in a press release.
“I’m extremely pleased with the tremendous progress SaskTel has made since first launching their 5G network last December,” said Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SaskTel. According to the release, the expansion is part of SaskTel's $1.5 billion five-year...
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...
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 vendor for the hardware, software and expertise needed for its 4G/5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core. “SaskTel’s deployment of a transformational 5G network will foster continued innovation and support the growth of Saskatchewan's technology sector,” Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SaskTel, said in a press release. “5G technology will deliver...
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....
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 Telecommunications Holding Co. said in Friday press release.
The upgrade to the 35 towers, which includes adding LTE network carriers, will cost about $4 million,...
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...
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 retire Saturday after seven years in the job.
The Saskatchewan government said in a press release that vice-president of human resources and corporate service Doug Burnett will take...
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...
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 broadband fund. “The reduction in subsidy could potentially result in rate increases for SaskTel’s rural telephone customers, less investment by the Corporation in infrastructure as a result of the lost subsidy and a reduced net income affecting dividends to the Government of...
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...
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, Unifor — which represents about 3,800 SaskTel workers — said the radio ads “highlight the unequalled value of having a publicly-owned carrier in Saskatchewan. At the end of August, Wall was reported as saying that if the government received an offer for the telecommunications company that passed a certain financial threshold, it...
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...
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 potential changing of the regulatory landscape, according to a provincially-commissioned analysis. The risk assessment and subsequent report, released Monday, was completed by Toronto-based Mark H. Goldberg and Associates Inc. and keys in on the reduction of facilities-based carriers, possibly leading to the federal government stepping in and incentivizing new entrants to the wireless market....
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...
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 big-box retailers (which is about 25 per cent of consumers) get an unlocked device, said a press release on the J.D. Power Canadian Wireless Purchase Experience Study, compared to 44 per cent of those who buy their phones from speciality electronic retailers and 28 per cent of those who buy devices at carrier-specific stores. “Owners of unlocked phones represent a...
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...
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 emergency service providers. SaskTel said it refused to provide information for 247 of these requests. "Except for court orders, SaskTel will refuse to provide the information if we believe the request is vague or not supported by statute," it said in its report. Among the requests SaskTel cooperated with, it said 1,582 fell under the category of...
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...
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 requirement of using an independent programming committee for decisions related to content considered a "local expression." SaskTel's licence for the pay-per-view service is expiring Aug. 31, the CRTC said in a posting on its website. Its renewal is in effect until Aug. 31, 2021. The CRTC denied a request from SaskTel to end the requirement that a nine-person independent committee...
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...
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 said, allows subscribers to access content from any personal computer with a high-speed Internet connection. SaskTel said the new service provides access to Max TV content, which includes Hollywood Suite OnDemand, Treehouse OnDemand, Max Local on demand and links to City TV, CTV as well as Global TV on demand video sites. “Max Online customers also have access...
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...
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 to 98 per cent of the population. The company said it has invested about $1 billion in network enhancements and estimated that nearly $100 million will be spent on additional upgrades in 2012. SaskTel currently has 1.4 million customer connections, which include 600,000 wireless accounts, 514,000 wireline network subscribers, 234,000 Internet accounts and 93,000...