SaskTel says it will invest an additional $50 million in its Rural Fibre Initiative, bringing its total investment to $100 million. The additional money will bring fibre optic broadband to 24 more rural Saskatchewan communities than previously planned by the end of 2023. The company says over 30,000 more rural residents and businesses will gain access to advanced fibre optic broadband infrastructure.

The Rural Fibre Initiative is a multi-phase program that will bring SaskTel infiNETservice to over 40 rural Saskatchewan communities.

To date, SaskTel has finalized the communities to be connected in the first three phases of the Rural Fibre Initiative, these include:

Phase 1 – Balgonie, Bigger, Langham and Pilot Butte. Construction has begun in all four communities, and SaskTel anticipates that the majority of homes and businesses will be fibre ready by the end of March 2022.

Phase 2 – Kindersley, Meadow Lake and Rosetown. Construction will begin in all three communities later this year.
Phase 3 – Canora, Carlyle, Esterhazy, Fort Qu’Appelle, Hudson Bay, Indian Head, Kamsack, La Ronge, Lumsden, Maple Creek, Moosomin, Shaunavon, Watrous and Wynyard. SaskTel plans to begin construction in these communities in 2022.
Phase 4 – SaskTel will spend $50 million to bring fibre to 24 additional communities. A formal announcement will be made when the remaining communities to be included in this phase are finalized.

Upon completion of the Rural Fibre Initiative, SaskTel estimates that approximately 75 per cent of the population of the province will have access to its fibre optic broadband network. SaskTel says it will soon begin investigating partnership opportunities that would enable it to connect more communities beyond those included in the Rural Fibre Initiative. SaskTel will conduct a “Pilot Program” by issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to determine if any alternate Internet service provider (ISP) or contractor may be able to deliver fibre broadband services in any communities not included in SaskTel’s current fibre build or its Rural Fibre Initiative. The details of the RFI and the requirements will be posted on SaskTenders.