SaskTel expects the number of text messages will continue to sky rocket on Mother’s Day this year as the number of long distance calls will continue to decline.

The way customers connect with their moms on their special day has changed over the years. Two years ago, SaskTel customers placed approximately half a million long distance calls on Mother’s Day, almost 30% more than the 390,000 long distance calls that are expected this year.

The decline in long distance calls has been offset by a massive increase in text messages sent and received on Mother’s Day year after year. Two years ago, SaskTel customers sent and received approximately 6.8 million text messages while in 2016 SaskTel is expecting that number to nearly double to more than 12 million text messages sent and received this Mother’s Day, May 8th.

“The rapid evolution of technology and communications services allows our customers to connect in many different ways” said Ron Styles, SaskTel President and CEO. “It brings us great satisfaction that our efforts allow our customers to connect with the ones they care about wherever they are this Mother’s Day and everyday.”

SaskTel has a few tips for those who still prefer to call mom on Mother’s Day:

• To minimize delays or busy signals, customers should avoid calling between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and between 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
• It’s best to place direct-dialed calls instead of operator-assisted calls.
• Callers should also check the phone number before they dial.
• Ensure time zone differences are taken into consideration.

Customers can save on long distance calling with SaskTel calling plans and flexible bundles. More information is available at www.sasktel.com.

About SaskTel

SaskTel is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider in Saskatchewan, with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue and over 1.4 million customer connections including over 618,000 wireless accesses, 437,000 wireline network accesses, 258,000 Internet accesses and over 103,000 maxTV™ subscribers. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries offer a wide range of ICT products and services including competitive voice, data and Internet services, wireless data services, maxTV services, data centre services, cloud-based services, security monitoring services, advertising services, and international software and consulting services. 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 please contact:

Greg Jacobs
SaskTel Manager of External Communications
Phone: 306.777.3433   
E-mail: Greg.Jacobs@sasktel.com