Starting in February SaskTel is planning to charge some of its customers more for their monthly phone bill.

It has filed an increase request to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The increase would affect rural and remote communities.

Right now, most of those residential lines pay just over $24 a month.

But SaskTel plans to phase in the increase in three increments ending June 2013.

By then thousands of customers will pay an average of $30 a month.

The company has filed for the first increase to be effective starting February 2012, the second in June 2012 and the last in June 2013.

In total the increase will affect 150,782 lines.