PROFILES IN ACHIEVEMENT
The Company:
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation (SaskTel) is the leading full service communications provider in Saskatchewan, with $1.2 billion in annual revenue and over 1.4 million customer connections including over 609,000 wireless accesses, 361,000 wireline network accesses, 279,000 internet accesses and 112,000 maxTV subscribers. SaskTel offers a wide range of communications products and services including competitive voice, data, Internet, entertainment, security monitoring, messaging, cellular, wireless data and directory services. In addition, SaskTel International offers software solutions and project consulting in countries around the world. SaskTel and its wholly owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 4,000 full-time equivalent employees.
The Achievement:
Most people take for granted being able to bank, stream movies and do research online, but for many people in rural Saskatchewan, that has been a luxury.
To address this shortfall, SaskTel has committed to investing over $300 M in Saskatchewan in 2017/18 and $1.4 B through 2016-2021. These investments include improvements to Internet services throughout rural parts of our province. These investments will ensure that all Saskatchewan residents will continue to receive some of the best communication and entertainment services in the world.
Over the past year, 17 communities received high speed internet services and 26 more had their high speed internet service upgraded. As well, 25 Indigenous and First Nations communities had their high-speed services enhanced with 22 more expected to have their internet services upgraded in 2018. SaskTel also continued construction of the ultra-high-speed infiNET™ fibre optic network in the smaller urban centres of Yorkton, Rosthern, Estevan, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Swift Current and Weyburn.
The Team:
More than 20 SaskTel engineers, as well as their teams of Engineers-In-Training and engineering assistants, led the rural Internet initiative, which included contributions from numerous other APEGS members throughout the corporation.