COMMITMENT TO HOME REMAINS TOP PRIORITY FOR SASKTEL IN 2000

Released on May 11, 2000

SaskTel is continuing to deliver on its commitment to Saskatchewan in 2000 with

a $109 million investment into SaskTel's core provincial network. This

commitment is part of SaskTel's ongoing network investment program, which over

the past decade, has targeted more than $1 billion dollars into improving

SaskTel's infrastructure throughout the province.



"SaskTel has always prided itself on providing products and services to

Saskatchewan residents that are on par with what is offered around the world,"

Crown Investments Corporation Minister John Nilson said. "The fact that

SaskTel invests more in Saskatchewan in one year than it has on international

projects in total over the past 14 years is a testament to SaskTel's steadfast

commitment to home."



Highlights of this year's investment program include:



SaskTel is enhancing the capability and functionality of its Internet

network to meet the tremendous increase of Internet traffic around the

province, and to meet the demands of the continued convergence of

telecommunications, computing and audio/video mass media;



Installing more fibre optics and electronics in the access network in

Saskatchewan's nine major urban centres to bring higher speed Internet

and data services to customers;



Improvements to dial-up access for province-wide Sympatico E-mail

service;



Continued development of new products and enhancement of existing

products in the QUANTUMLYNX Office (QLO) suite of web-based, virtual

private office solutions for small and medium sized business customers;

and



Digital Personal Communications Service (PCS) cellular expansion and

adding capacity to existing analog cellular service in rural and urban

Saskatchewan.



"Communication at home and at work has transformed itself over the past few

years, and this trend will continue to grow," SaskTel Senior Vice President and

Chief Technology Officer Kelvin Shepherd said. "Although traditional telephone

service will always be a necessity, many of our customers are using the

Internet as a communication tool. It's up to SaskTel to meet these needs and

allow our customers to participate in the Net Economy."



SaskTel is the leading full service communications company in Saskatchewan,

providing competitive voice, data, dial and high-speed Internet, web-hosting,

QUANTUMLYNX Office applications, secure electronic transactions, text and

messaging services over a fibre optic-based, fully digital network, as well as

digital and analog cellular, paging, wireless data and FleetNet 800 service

through its SaskTel Mobility division. SaskTel also maintains investments in

companies which provide directory publishing, remote security monitoring,

system design, project management, engineering consulting, software sales,

multimedia and cable television services. The web site for SaskTel is

www.sasktel.com.



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For more information, contact:



Tim Kydd

SaskTel Corporate Affairs

Regina

Phone: (306) 777-5638

E-mail: tim.kydd@sasktel.sk.ca