1920s
Throughout the 1920s, the growth of local service continued to be more dramatic in rural company owned systems than in those owned by the Department of Telephones. In fact, the number of rural telephones in service outnumbered those of the department from 1919 until 1931. Early in 1921, rural companies were providing local service to approximately 58,000 farm subscribers while the government system was serving approximately 30,500 customers.
In those days the rural companies supplied the building necessary to house central office equipment for their local systems. The central office equipment itself was installed and maintained by the department’s staff. Inspections by qualified departmental personnel were necessary before connections to the government’s network were allowed.
In the mid-20’s there was one telephone for every eight people in Saskatchewan. Despite a number of years of poor crop conditions, over half of the province’s farmers had telephone service. The hundreds of rural companies, under their ambitious construction programs, and with the department’s help, had succeeded in building a rural system second to none. Early in 1924, the percentage of farmers with telephone service was greater in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in Canada.
1923
SaskTel provided lines for the first church service broadcast in Canada. Later in the same year, long distance lines were used for the first time in Saskatchewan to carry a music festival program from Prince Albert to Regina For radio broadcasting.
1928
SaskTel installed the first Canadian- manufactures carrier system. This system, placed into service in October 1928 between Regina and Saskatoon, made it possible for four conversations to be transmitted simultaneously over the same pair of wires.