SaskTel to invest $36M in its FTTP program in 2015

SaskTel is maintaining its dedication to bring fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) services to more parts of the country, announcing that it will invest $36 million on the program this year.

As a result of that plan, the FTTP program will pass 27,200 new homes while connecting 18,000 more customers to its infiNET network in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Swift Current.

Initially delivering up to 260 Mbps, the service provider said that it can increase capacity "significantly" over time. However, it did not reveal what those higher speeds would be or when they would be introduced.

Data services are just one part of the FTTP plan.

infiNET will also support up to 7 HD capable set-top boxes and the ability to combine faster Internet speeds with maxTV, which SaskTel says is part of its effort to "continue improving the TV watching experience."

This latest FTTP service drive is part of a broader $700 million plan it announced in 2012 to bring fiber to 100 percent of the homes it serves in the nine major centers of the province passed by 2020.

In 2014, the service provider hatched a plan to invest $55 million on its consumer FTTP and fiber to the business (FTTB) programs.

For that plan, SaskTel passed over 33,700 homes, with the aim of connecting 18,000 more residential customers to its inifiNet brand service in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert.

FTTP is just one part of the nearly $313 million capex plan for Saskatchewan in 2015, with about $177 million being allocated toward its core Saskatchewan network.

For more:
- see the release

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