Under the agreement, Whitecap Dakota First Nation will pay all necessary construction, currently estimated at $299,000. SaskTel will complete all construction and will own and maintain all facilities and equipment. SaskTel will also deliver high speed Internet service to Whitecap Dakota First Nation customers.

“This type of partnership allows SaskTel to expand high speed Internet service to areas where SaskTel alone would not be able provide the service in a cost effective manner,” SaskTel President and CEO Robert Watson said.  “By working with communities like Whitecap Dakota First Nation, SaskTel will continue to lead the way in Canada in deploying high speed Internet service to rural areas, including First Nations and Métis communities.”

“Offering first rate infrastructure services is an integral part of Whitecap’s economic and business attraction strategy. High speed Internet is a key service that all our businesses will need and that many of our community members will also enjoy,” Chief Darcy Bear said. “Partnerships are vital to our ability to progress and this is yet another successful model of what can be accomplished when you work cooperatively.”

SaskTel High Speed Internet is up to 50 times faster than dial-up, allows a simultaneous phone conversation on the same phone line, and includes unlimited time on-line.

Whitecap Dakota First Nation is a community of approximately 250 people located 26 kilometres south of Saskatoon. Their economic development strategy includes $11 million of infrastructure upgrades that are nearing completion. The reserve is attracting commercial development though long term leases and has over $100 million of commercial development in the works.

SaskTel employs over 3,800 people in over 50 Saskatchewan communities and is the leading full service communications company in Saskatchewan. It offers complete wireline, wireless, Internet, entertainment and e-business solutions over a state-of-the-art digital network. SaskTel maintains investments in companies that provide a variety of products and services, and partners with more than 140 Saskatchewan businesses. In 2004, SaskTel donated $2.6 million to more than 1,600 not-for-profit organizations, and spent more than $271 million on materials and services from over 3,900 Saskatchewan suppliers. 

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