SaskTel discontinues rural wireless internet | Customers say price goes up, service goes down
Thousands of internet users in rural Saskatchewan will be forced to look for new service this year, and some of them aren’t impressed with the alternatives.
SaskTel, Saskatchewan’s provincially owned telephone and telecommunications company, has been informing rural internet subscribers for the past month that its wireless broadband internet service (WBBI) will be terminated by Dec. 31.
The decision will affect 8,000 internet subscribers in the province.
Roughly 7,000 of those will have access to Xplornet, a high-throughput satellite service being promoted by SaskTel.
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Another 1,000 or so will have to rely on less popular or less reliable options.
Michelle Englot, SaskTel’s director of external communications, said the crown corporation is taking steps to inform all WBBI subscribers of the alternative services that are available.
However, some users say those alternatives are more expensive and offer inferior service.
SaskTel’s WBBI offered unlimited data downloads at speeds of two to three megabits per second (mbps).
Alternative services such as Xplornet offer download speeds of 1.5, three or five mbps, but data use is capped at 10, 20 or 30 gigabytes per month, which some users consider inadequate.
Doug Eidem, who farms near Stewart Valley, Sask., said SaskTel’s decision to terminate WBBI service is frustrating and inconvenient.
SaskTel recommended that Eidem switch to Xplornet.
But according to him, the switch will mean larger monthly internet bills and unreasonable limits on use.
It will also require the installation of new hardware on the roof of his house.
Xplornet’s least expensive internet package costs $54.99 per month, about the same as SaskTel’s current WBBI service, but monthly use is capped at 10 gigabytes.
“Ten gigabytes is nothing,” Eidem said. “You download something today and (every file) is one or 1.5 gigabytes. You’d have 10 gigabytes used up in four or five days.”
Eidem, who spends winters in nearby Montana, said residents there have access to internet packages for $40 or $50 a month that offer unlimited data and download speeds of 15 mbps.
Xplornet’s best package offers download speeds of five mbps and has a 30 gigabyte cap on monthly usage. That package costs $60 per month for the first 12 months and $85 per month after that.
“I’m tired of being shafted by SaskTel,” Eidem said. “I’m just so disgusted by those guys, I don’t know what to say.”
Englot said SaskTel’s decision to terminate WBBI service was precipitated by an Industry Canada initiative that will reallocate a portion of the publicly regulated broadband spectrum that SaskTel now uses.
SaskTel had an opportunity to reacquire that portion of the broadband spectrum through an Industry Canada auction process, but Englot said the price to reacquire it was too high.
As a result, SaskTel decided to terminate WBBI internet services and is now focusing on switching rural users to other services.
“I think that’s one thing that customers need to keep in mind is that technology does evolve and it does become obsolete,” Englot said.
“The (WBBI) technology is outdated and needs to be upgraded. We have a number of good options and we’re … trying to put (customers) on the best service based on their usage.”
SaskTel is also looking at another new technology known as LTE, which could serve as an alternative platform for rural internet subscribers.
LTE is already being used by other internet providers in North America and would be capable of delivering service at download speeds of 100 mbps, which is 30 to 50 times faster than WBBI.
SaskTel announced Sept. 10 that it would launch LTE in three areas of Saskatchewan on a trial basis.
That trial launch will begin in December and conclude in August.
After that, SaskTel officials will assess its performance and determine if it should be launched in other parts of the province.
SaskTel’s decision to explore an LTE upgrade came too late for Eidem.
If LTE is rolled out in his area, he could be looking at switching internet hardware yet again a year or two down the road.
“The switch to Xplornet is just so futile,” he said.
“I know that we’re going to have to update for another expense when this LTE comes, and what does it hurt to use (WBBI) spectrum until that happens. It’s just foolish.”
Englot said SaskTel is offering a number of incentives for WBBI subscribers to switch to Xplornet.
For example, SaskTel will waive activation fees, termination fees, equipment fees and installation fees for all WBBI subscribers who sign a three-year Xplornet contract.
However, SaskTel will not be reimbursing customers for WBBI hardware.
“At this point, it’s obsolete technology,” Englot said. “There is no use for it.”
Details on Xplornet packages can be obtained by calling Xplornet customer care at 866-303-1985.
Other rural internet options include mobile internet (MiFi), which runs off SaskTel’s 4G cellular network but has a monthly cap of 10 gigabytes.
YourLink, an independent provider, also offers residential internet packages in some parts of the province. Details are available at www.yourlink.ca.
- EssentialDownload speed 1.5 mbps Upload speed 256 kbpsMonthly usage 10 GBPromo price n/aMonthly price $54.99
- Advantage Download speed 3.0 mbps Upload speed 500 kbpsMonthly usage 20 GBPromo price $54.99 (1 yr)Monthly price $59.99
- PerformanceDownload speed 5.0 mbps Upload speed 500 kbpsMonthly usage 30 GBPromo price $59.99 (1 yr)Monthly price $84.99
- LiteDownload speed 256 kbps Upload speed 128 kbpsMonthly usage Unlimited Monthly price $30.99
- BasicDownload speed 1 mbpsUpload speed 256 kbpsMonthly usage UnlimitedMonthly price $47.99
- AdvantageDownload speed 2 mbps Upload speed 256 kbpsMonthly usage UnlimitedMonthly price $55.99
- 8 GB planMonthly price $75
- 4 GB plan Monthly price $55
- 1 GB plan Monthly price $30
