Today SaskTel announced that it will be expanding DSL internet service to the Resort Village of Candle Lake. Construction is planned to begin in Spring 2020 with all households and businesses in the village expected to be internet ready before the end of that Summer. This expansion is being made possible by SaskTel’s Community Participation Program in partnership with the Resort Village of Candle Lake.

“Today’s announcement is yet another example of SaskTel’s commitment to delivering their advanced and reliable communication services to all corners of our province,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. “I also applaud the people of Candle Lake for taking a proactive approach to work with SaskTel to bring internet service to their community.”

The Community Participation Program provides communities that do not meet SaskTel’s criteria for service expansion an opportunity to receive SaskTel services. Through the program, communities provide a portion of the funds required to cover the capital costs to bring SaskTel services to their residents. This program allows SaskTel to responsibly and sustainably expand services to areas of the province where it may not otherwise be economically feasible to do so.

“We are excited about our partnership with SaskTel”, said Borden Wasyluk, Mayor of the Resort Village of Candle Lake. “Their substantial investment in our community provides a very important piece of local infrastructure and as more people frequent our beautiful village, often opting to make Candle Lake home, they can rest assured that they’ll have reliable communications services available to them.”

“It was a real pleasure to hear from the community and recognize our need for an upgrade to the communications network here,” said Terry Kostyna, a Candle Lake member of the North Central Lakeland District Planning Commission. “I’m pleased that both SaskTel and the Resort Village of Candle Lake quickly saw what a great opportunity this was to work together to find a solution, and I’m happy to have assisted in the process.”

Once construction is complete, residents and businesses in Candle Lake will have two SaskTel Internet packages to choose from, interNET Extended 5 and interNET Extended 10. interNET Extended 5 offers download speeds up to 5 Mbps while interNET Extended 10 offers download speeds up to 10 Mbps and all SaskTel interNET packages come with unlimited usage, in-home Wi-Fi, and 24/7 helpdesk support.

“With our internet service, the residents and businesses will have the bandwidth they’ll need to stay connected to their busy lives while also enjoying all the fun and beauty that Candle Lake has to offer,” said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO.

About SaskTel

SaskTel is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider in Saskatchewan, with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue and approximately 1.35 million customer connections including 610,000 wireless accesses, 333,000 wireline network accesses, 283,000 Internet accesses and 113,000 maxTV subscribers. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries offer a wide range of ICT products and services including competitive voice, data and Internet services, wireless data services, maxTV services, data centre services, cloud-based services, security monitoring services, advertising services, and international software and consulting services. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 3,900 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Visit SaskTel atwww.sasktel.com.

About Candle Lake

The Resort Village of Candle Lake is one of the fastest growing resort communities in Saskatchewan, and quickly becoming a desirable place to retire as well. Located about 50 minutes NE of Prince Albert, we share our boundaries with Candle Lake Provincial Park. The park’s 78 square kilometers provide a great introduction to the boreal forest and include two beautiful lakeside campgrounds. Nearly 1000 people call Candle Lake home all year round, and in the summer that number can grow to almost 10,000 at times. Recreation opportunities are endless, including groomed snowmobile and cross-country ski trials, walking and hiking trails, an 18 hole golf course, a curling rink, and tennis and pickle ball courts. Water sports, including a sailing club are the backbone of our activity. Other amenities include gas bars, grocery stores, restaurants, retail shops and services, a credit union and a car wash. Visit the Resort Village of Candle Lake atwww.candlelakeresort.ca/

For more information, please contact:

Greg Jacobs, SaskTel Manager of External Communications

Phone: 306.777.3433

E-mail: greg.jacobs@sasktel.com

Or,

Heather Scott, Resort Village of Candle Lake Chief Administrative Officer

Phone: 306.929.2236

E-mail: candleadministrator@sasktel.net