Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel) is a provincial Crown Corporation operating under the authority of the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Act. SaskTel provides telecommunications services to 13 cities, 535 smaller communities and surrounding rural areas, including 49,000 farms. The corporation has over 425,000 business and residential customers, and has a work force of approximately 5100 employees throughout the province and in its wholly owned subsidiaries. SaskTel's head office is located at 2121 Saskatchewan Drive in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan. SaskTel is the primary asset and wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company, the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, which manages assets of approximately $1.2 billion. In 2007, SaskTel was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine, the only telecommunications company to receive this honour.2 While SaskTel oversees the corporation's core telecommunications business, the following business units have diversified into other services, products, and markets:
SaskTel delivers its communication services over a digital, fibre optic-based network. SaskTel Mobility delivers its cellular communication services over the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network. SaskTel Mobility is in the process of updating their cellular communication services to EV-DO Rev A enhancement. EV-DO technology enables a host of wireless data services, including web browsing, content downloads and video streaming. This expansion is part of an $11.3 million project to expand or improve EV-DO service in 64 locations across the province by the end of 2008.
Services
HistorySaskTel, known from 1947 to the 1980s as Saskatchewan Government Telephones, has its origin in the Department of Railways, Telegraphs and Telephones, which was established on June 12, 1908. On October 1, 1909, the Department expanded its system by purchasing the Bell Telephone Company, the Saskatchewan Telephone Company, and the Wapella-Harris Telephone Company. The newly acquired facilities consisted of 18 telephone exchanges, 53 long-distance offices, and 492 pole miles of long-distance lines. Among the telephone exchanges purchased were those in Estevan, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Prince Albert, and Regina. In 1911, the Department expanded further with the purchases of Saltcoats District Telephone Company, the North-Western Telephone Company (Saskatoon), and the Swift Current System. On December 1, 1912, Yorkton was added to the provincial telephone system with the purchase of the North West Electric Company. Technological and service advances
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