Today SaskTel announced that residents of Sturgeon Lake First Nation and Wahpeton Dakota First Nation will be automatically upgraded at no additional cost to a faster High Speed Internet service with the launch of SaskTel High Speed Basic Internet that provides speeds of up to 5 Mbps download. SaskTel has more than doubled the Internet speeds to these communities as the maximum speed that was previously available was 1.5 Mbps.

Also receiving a speed upgrade is the community of Coronach. Residents will now be able to upgrade their current High Speed Basic Internet service to enjoy the benefits of an even faster service with the launch of High Speed Advanced that gives speeds of up to 10 Mbps download.

"High Speed Internet is essential in this day and age, whether you live in an urban or rural centre," said Ron Styles, SaskTel President and CEO. "Saskatchewan people deserve the same opportunities this access brings and SaskTel's continued investment in providing this service is evidence of our commitment to this philosophy."

SaskTel recently completed an extensive Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) High Speed Internet program in rural Saskatchewan that saw 54 communities receive service and over 251 existing DSL served communities receive speed upgrades. SaskTel currently provides DSL Internet access to over 400 communities and First Nations in Saskatchewan.

SaskTel High Speed Internet provides a superior user experience with unlimited Internet access and downloading, faster speeds, spam and email virus filtering, around-the-clock helpdesk support and installations – all for one low price.

For more information or to subscribe to our DSL High Speed Internet service, customers can visit any SaskTel Authorized Dealer or SaskTel Store, visit our web site at www.sasktel.com, or call 1-800-SASKTEL (1-800-727-5835).

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 media inquiries only, please contact:
Tara Tibeau, SaskTel Manager of External Communications
Phone: (306) 777-4548 E-mail: tara.tibeau@sasktel.com