SaskTel upgrading 4G wireless network in North Battleford

September 30, 2011

SaskTel today announced that it will be upgrading its 4G wireless network in North Battleford to address network congestion. Work in North Battleford is tentatively scheduled to take place during the week of October 10. Like other network operators throughout North America, SaskTel has experienced unprecedented customer demand for 4G data services and data usage that has exceeded forecasts by 1,000% in some areas. SaskTel will announce additional upgrade sites as work continues across the province to increase 4G capacity.

Once the upgrades are complete, SaskTel 4G customers in North Battleford should notice improved service during peak usage times including fewer dropped calls, fewer delays in sending and receiving text messages, higher Internet speeds and improved battery life.

“SaskTel is at the forefront of the transition to 4G in the Canadian wireless industry, having built the largest and fastest 4G network in Saskatchewan,” said Bill Boyd, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. “The unprecedented customer demand for 4G service and devices has driven the need for these upgrades, and SaskTel is working to ensure that SaskTel 4G customers experience the excellent service they expect.”

“SaskTel sincerely appreciates the patience of our 4G wireless customers as we work to reduce network congestion,” said Ron Styles, SaskTel President and CEO. “These upgrades will improve capacity in the short term while we continue to find ways to meet future demand for wireless data, including the acquisition of additional wireless spectrum and the introduction of LTE technology.”

The SaskTel 4G network is currently available to 98% of the Saskatchewan population and is still under construction.

About SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation (SaskTel) is the leading full service communications provider in Saskatchewan, with $1.1 billion in annual revenue and over 1.4 million customer connections including over 568,000 wireless accesses, 528,000 wireline network accesses, 230,000 internet accesses and 85,000 Max™ (TV) subscribers. SaskTel offers a wide range of communications products and services including competitive voice, data, internet, entertainment, national security, 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 4,100 employees.

For media inquiries only, please contact:
Andy Tate, SaskTel Corporate Communications
Phone: (306) 777-4548  
Email: andy.tate@sasktel.com