SaskTel today announced  that its EV-DO data service that operates on SaskTel’s CDMA network will be  turned down on September 30, 2014.  CDMA  devices will still continue to operate on the CDMA network after the EV-DO  turn-down using the 1X data service.

“SaskTel is committed to providing Saskatchewan residents  with the best wireless networks in the province, however as networks evolve, it  becomes necessary to turn down older networks,” said Ron Styles, SaskTel  President and CEO. “We will be repurposing the 850 Mhz spectrum that powers the  EV-DO data service and dedicating that spectrum to adding capacity to our 4G/LTE  network province-wide.”   

SaskTel’s roaming partner is also turning down their EV-DO  data service on their CDMA network in most of BC and Alberta by July  2014.  Customers will not notice any difference in coverage, voice  services, or text messaging.  However,  data service will be reduced to the slower 1X data speeds.

“We are encouraging customers to take advantage of our 4G/LTE  data speeds and upgrade to a 4G/LTE phone for as low as $0,” added Styles.

About SaskTel
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 607,000 wireless  accesses, 492,000 wireline network accesses, 250,000 internet accesses and 100,000  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 (FTEs).  Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com

For more information, please contact:

Michelle Englot, SaskTel Director of External Communications
Phone:(306)777-4476
E-mail: michelle.englot@sasktel.com