Some residents of Weyburn are still waiting for higher internet speeds but the wait is nearly over.

The High-speed internet fibre cable installation is nearly complete in Weyburn.

Crown corporation SaskTel subcontracted the drilling and cable laying to other companies.

"We've primarily finished the major distribution construction in Weyburn and now we're focusing on doing the pathway construction so actually converting customers to the Infinet network. So as of today, we have over 1300 households that are connected to that network," explained Greg Jacobs, External Communications Manager for SaskTel.

Jacobs said that there are 100 houses left to be connected to the high-speed service in Weyburn.

When asked about a deadline for construction and installation, Jacobs said that it is difficult to put a deadline on this kind of project because as they acquire new customers they are going to have to build that 'pathway' or connection, for them and put them on the network. He said that It is likely there will be new construction in Weyburn next summer as people sign up to the high-speed service over the Winter season.

Residents of the rural communities around Weyburn have been concerned about being about having reliable access to the internet at an affordable rate. Jacobs said that they understand providing internet access to rural communities is important.

"Saskatchewan is a unique case because we have the fewest people per square kilometre so it does become a little bit difficult to expand our networks in a financially responsible way, that being said though we still cover about 99% of the population of the province with internet services. We use a mixture of internet services to do this."

Jacobs said that the Infinet service is very costly to roll out in rural communities which is why SaskTel is focusing on Urban Centres.

Jacobs highlighted the fact that the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) has the goal to bring 50MB service to 98% or 99% of all Canadians.

"The Federal Government of Canada is trying to push it forward where we can get a really high level of internet service to everyone including rural customers. There needs to be a lot of work done between the announcement and actually when this will be a reality for rural Saskatchewan in general. We are also going to require advancements in technology with our Fusion service because there are some limitations there that won't let us get to there."