Article Summary
Boasting the only Crown Corporation telecommunications company left in Canada, Saskatchewan mobile plans are typically the cheapest in Canada no matter which carrier you choose. The provinces own SaskTel also features the best coverage followed closely by Bell and Telus. Rogers coverage is good in urban areas and highways but almost non-existent in rural areas.
Saskatchewan is home to clean air, pure water, light traffic and, most of all, friendly people.
Maybe it's the combination of brutally cold winters and sweltering hot summers, but there's a sense in Saskatchewan that we're all in this together and we're going to treat one another like family.
Heck, it's the type of place where multiple drivers will stop to help you if you're on the side of the road with a flat. It usually goes something like this: one car stops to help, another stops to make sure the help is going okay, another car stops to see his buddy Paul is helping out with, and so on.
Saskatchewan residents are mostly collected in the southern part of the province, with the northern portion consisting of dense boreal forests. Keep this in mind when you look at the coverage scores below—they are reflective of the province as a whole. Your coverage will likely be a lot better in Saskatoon than it will be in the untamed north.
Coverage in Saskatchewan At-a-Glance
Coverage in Saskatchewan earns a serviceable score of 53 out of 100. Longtime local player SaskTel covers more of the province than any of its competitors (though Telus and Bell are close).
What we love
- Local player SaskTel provides excellent coverage and is owned by the provincial government
- Telus and Bell also have great coverage
- Small northern villages with fewer than 1,000 residents still get local coverage
What could be improved
- Rogers coverage is weak in most of Saskatchewan's rural areas
- Coverage in Saskatchewan's untamed north spotty to nonexistent
53/100
Carrier Network Coverage in Saskatchewan
SaskTel provides the best coverage to Saskatchewan, followed by Telus and Bell. Rogers is in the game, while Freedom is a non-player.
Best Coverage in Saskatchewan, Canada by Network
| Network | Covered Area % |
|---|---|
| Bell | 53.27% |
| Rogers | 21.97% |
| Telus | 53.27% |
| SaskTel | 57.00% |
Mobile Coverage in Southern Saskatchewan
Most provinces suffer with high prices and low coverage outside urban centres. With almost half of Saskatchewan's population living outside major cities, it makes sense that there should be excellent coverage everywhere and there is by most major networks.
Regina and Saskatoon
The two most populous cities in Saskatchewan feature nearly 100% coverage from all four major networks; SaskTel, Telus, Bell and Rogers. While most of southern Saskatchewan is covered with 4G-LTE service, urban centres often feature LTE-A coverage with even faster and more complete service. And it's not just these two cities—just about every town with a population of 5,000 or more will find LTE-A service from SaskTel.
Bell and Telus share a lot of the same coverage area as SaskTel throughout the province, so Regina and Saskatoon get excellent coverage. Rogers provides full service to the two cities as well.
Rural Saskatchewan
When you can watch your dog run away for three days, you know wireless signal will go far and wide. South of Prince Albert you'll find nearly complete coverage by the province's Crown corporation, SaskTel. Having built a comprehensive mobile network during the early days of cell phones, SaskTel coverage reaches to most corners of southern Saskatchewan.
Bell and Telus share cell towers, and their service is nearly as complete as SaskTel.
Rogers coverage over major highways ensures you can drive through the province, but don't take the scenic route. Signal drops to zero when you get too far away from major cities and highways. While there's comprehensive coverage throughout Alberta and Manitoba, Saskatchewan coverage by Rogers is largely limited to the:
- Trans-Canada Highway 1 across the south
- Highway 16 across the north
- Highway 39 down to Estavan and the US
- Highway 11 up to Prince Albert
Highway 7 from Saskatoon towards Calgary is also covered, but that's it. If you're planning to visit Canada's bread basket with a Rogers phone, make sure you stay in a covered zone. You'll also be okay if you have a plan with extended network services (letting you roam on other carrier networks).
Mobile Coverage in Northern Saskatchewan
North of Prince Albert there's beautiful lakes, lush Boreal forests and sparse population. Even so, there's more than 37,000 residents who need cell phone coverage
Northern Towns and Villages
From Buffalo Narrows to Flin Flon and north to Black Lake, there are towns, villages and settlements with up to 2,600 citizens. Most have a population around 1,000 and get local coverage. Travel routes between these villages isn't usually covered, but when in town almost there's almost always 4G-LTE coverage by SaskTel, Telus and Bell. If you're on the Rogers network you'll need to make sure you have extended coverage as they don't have any cell towers north of Prince Albert.
Cell Phone Coverage in Saskatchewan by Area
Saskatchewan encompasses 652,388 square kilometers with SaskTel, Telus and Bell covering the biggest portions of it.
Geographic Area Covered in Saskatchewan, Canada per mi2
Saskatchewan Network Coverage Maps
Numbers on a page are one thing, but the coverage maps tell the full story. Fortunately, you don't have to go to all of the carriers' websites to get this information—you can see what the coverage is like from the four majors below:
The maps confirms that Telus and Bell will offer the most robust coverage in Saskatchewan, followed by Rogers. Not pictured is coverage leader SaskTel.
Big Carriers vs. Small Carriers in Saskatchewan
Did you know that there are dozens of small carriers that run on the major networks, but charge a fraction of the price for service? These companies are known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators, MVNOs for short. MVNOs purchase network service from the major providers at wholesale prices, then pass the savings on to consumers.
If you're interested in Telus's coverage, for example, but are looking for a better deal, PC Mobile, Koodo, Public Mobile, and PhoneBox are just a few of the smaller providers you'll want to check out.
Getting the Best Plan & Coverage
WhistleOut's new coverage check feature supercharges an already robust comparison engine by allowing you to instantly see what coverage is like at your location. All you have to do is punch in your address and we do the rest. This feature is the first of its kind, and empowers consumers to make better decisions when it comes to wireless. If you need help figuring out how to use it, the GIF below should help:
In addition to showing you a map of your area with the coverage from all four major carriers, we filter through the available cell phone plans and present only those from carriers who provide good reception to you.
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