Buffering a thing of the past for some Sask. communities

Internet speeds in areas of Saskatchewan could be getting a little bit faster.

On Friday, SaskTel announced it’s expanded 5G to 30 additional cell sites serving rural communities across the province.

SaskTel’s 5G network can currently deliver data speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second.

SaskTel says some of the future benefits of having a 5G network are massive network capacity and ultra-low latency, all of which will enable new use cases for emerging wireless technologies that will be the foundation that next-generation innovations will be built upon.

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In a news release announcing the expansion, SaskTel president and CEO Charlene Gavel said the company is firmly committed to being the best at connecting its customers to the world.

“The continued rollout of our 5G network will strengthen the technological foundation of our province and help support the development of exciting innovations that have the power to transform nearly every aspect of modern life,” said Gavel.

SaskTel says the expansion of 5G to rural areas will help to bridge the digital divide by providing residents with the capability to connect to the world faster than ever before as well as support technological advancements in remote health care, online learning, agriculture, transportation, and other services and industries.

The communities listed to receive the 5G networks are Air Ronge (west), Assiniboia, Boundary Dam, Christopher Lake (north), Christopher Lake (south), Crescent Lake, Dafoe, Delmas, Denzil, Elfros, Fiske, Gull Lake (north), Lang, Lanigan (north), Lashburn, Moosomin (east), Neuanlage, Osler, Otthon, Pilot Butte (north), Pontrilas, Springside, Viscount, Waseca, Highway 4 (south of Meadow Lake), Highway 4 (south of Rosetown), Highway 21 (north of Maple Creek), Highway 45 (southwest of Outlook), Highway 55 (east of Nipawin) and Highway 55 (northeast of Prince Albert).