SaskTel makes deal with Wind Mobile to increase bandwidth, speeds

SaskTel is picking up speed.

The phone company said isacquiringtwo blocks of wireless spectrum essentially frequencies for carrying mobile phone data from Wind Mobile.

The acquisition is supposed to increase the capacity and speed of SaskTel's 4G LTE network.

SaskTel said the significant increase will be seen inthe nine major urban centres in Saskatchewan.

Industry Canada has approved the licence transfer for unused cellular airwaves, but the deal has not been finalized.

"We are extremely pleased that the federal government has approved this spectrum licence transfer between two of the carriers that fulfill the role as the fourth competitor to the big three national carriers in their respective markets," SaskTel President and CEO Ron Styles said in a news release.

"This transaction will support more competition in the wireless market and allow both SaskTel and Wind to provide better service to our customers."

The cost of the deal is still unknown. However, a similar deal between Wind Mobile and Manitoba Telecom Services has a $45-million price tag.

Wind Mobile is selling its spectrum allowance so it can focus on competing in Alberta, B.C., and Ontario.

SaskTel serves more than 1.4 million customer connections in the province.