Moving large amounts of data over the Internet in northeastern Saskatchewan just got a whole lot easier.
SaskTel, SaskPower and Cameco announced a $30 million infrastructure upgrade Friday morning that will vastly improve high speed Internet service from La Ronge to Collins Bay.
Minister of SaskTel Don McMorris says the infrastructure upgrade benefits both businesses and residents in northeastern Saskatchewan.
“The fibre line that will provide greater communication, more reliable power, I think it’s a win-win for all three,” he says. “But most importantly, it’s a real benefit for the people living up there. Being able to access stronger communications – whether it’s high speed Internet – and also the reliability of power. So it’s a win-win-win for the citizens up there as well.”
SaskTel President Ron Styles also says the upgrade brings Internet services in northeastern Saskatchewan in line with those that already exist in southern half of the province.
“So in the south, we take 5 megabits or 10 megabits for granted, our high speed is there, we like it,” he says. “In the north it’s not there, it is 1.5 megabits, so it’s really slow, it’s what we call last generation. This gives them the opportunity to get the same kind of services.”
SaskTel says the upgrade will affect about 25,000 people.
Cameco is contributing $8 million to the project.