SaskTel has announced that a few more communities will be receiving 5G services, speeding up data and bringing other benefits.

The communities which saw a tower upgraded include Estevan, Weyburn, and Yorkton.

While only one tower is upgraded in each community, SaskTel expects most towers to be upgraded by March 2024.

External Communications Manager Greg Jacobs details some of the improvements people will notice.

"Initially, the primary benefit to customers is that 5G can deliver extremely fast data speeds. You know where we're seeing sort of the top end of 4G networks, 5G starts out really at the top end of 4G and then speeds will increase exponentially over the coming years."  

"Some of the other opportunities that will open the door from a technological standpoint. 5G networks have a significantly larger capacity than a 4G network, which means that you'll be able to adopt more smart technologies or Internet of Things solutions."  

"5G networks also have a more real-time connection than a 4G network, which will allow for the development of technologies that require an instantaneous connection. Think of a smart car or remote surgery, things that you can't have lag or any sort of interruption in order to complete them successfully, 5G will make those types of service enhancement technologies a reality."

Estevan's one tower that's been upgraded is located on the North side of the city.

"Right now our one cell tower that's been upgraded to 5G is near Lynn Prime Park up in the north portion of the city, but we will be upgrading all of the towers in Estevan to 5G, similar to the other communities included in that announcement, Weyburn and Yorkton." 

People in other areas can expect to receive 5G, as SaskTel has plenty of plans for the future.

"Our intention is to upgrade our entire wireless network to 5G technology over the coming years. We already have our 5G network available in a number of communities. Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, and now starting in Estevan Yorkton and Weyburn. We're investing over half a billion dollars to upgrade our entire network to 5G, so it's a very large project on our part and it will take quite a bit of complex planning and execution to ensure that it gets rolled out in an efficient manner."