SaskTel has announced that it will be turning down its 3G wireless network on October 1st, 2027. With the shutdown, 3G wireless devices will no longer be functional on SaskTel’s network.
Wireless devices that are not Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) compatible will lose access to voice services. The shutdown will affect older devices that are only compatible with 3G.
Greg Jacobs, External Communications Manager for SaskTel, says the purpose of the shutdown is so SaskTel can prioritize more modern networks, such as 5G.
“As technology has evolved and customer needs have evolved, that network isn’t necessarily as modern or as useful as it was when it was first introduced. We now have 4G wireless technology, we have 5G wireless technology. And so as is pretty standard in the technology world, as technology becomes older, it usually gets turned down in favour of more modern technology.”
He adds that SaskTel is not the only provider shutting down their 3G network, cell providers across the country are ditching 3G in favour of the faster and newer networks.
“Other providers across the country have already begun to turn down their 3G network. In Saskatchewan, we’re going to be one of the last providers to turn down the 3G network. What that means is, if you have somebody in Saskatchewan who’s on a 3G device and they leave the province, they may run into areas where their phone no longer works because that provider has turned down their 3G network.”
Jacobs adds that the shutdown will allow SaskTel to repurpose the 3G spectrum to improve the capacity of those newer networks.
“What that really means is that, that network will be able to handle more customer calls, more data, things like that. Generally speaking, I don’t anticipate customers will really notice a significant difference in their 4G connectivity when the 3G network is shut down, but it is one of those things that will just provide a little bit more capacity for us to continue to provide service to our customers.”
He adds that the long notice of the shutdown is to avoid blindsiding customers. For more information about the exit of SaskTel’s 3G network, head to sasktel.com/3Gshutdown.
