Canadian regional operator SaskTel will invest CAD313 million (USD249 million) in CAPEX in Saskatchewan province in 2015, up from CAD282.7 million spent in full-year 2014. In 2015 CAD177 million is being allocated for SaskTel’s core Saskatchewan network, while CAD45 million is earmarked for its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network (‘infiNET’) to connect 18,000 additional fibre homes in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Swift Current (compared to CAD50.4 million FTTP CAPEX in 2014). In 2015, SaskTel will invest CAD37.8 million in wireless network enhancements (compared to CAD43.9 million last year), including CAD18.2 million for 3G W-CDMA/HSPA+ (marketed as ‘4G’) and CAD14.6 million for 4G LTE expansion.
SaskTel adds in its newly published annual report that 59% of its mobile customers had LTE capable devices at end-2014, up by 30 percentage points in a year, while just 13% had CDMA devices, down by seven percentage points. The telco posted annual revenues in 2014 of CAD1.231 billion, up from CAD1.206 billion the previous year, driven by wireless, IPTV (‘maxTV’), internet and data services which offset the ongoing decline in traditional wireline services. Annual net profit fell to CAD76.4 million from CAD90.7 million due to continued investment in networks, the report noted.