SaskTel to resume charging overage fees on June 9

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. will become the second Canadian telecom to resume charging overage fees to home internet customers who go over their data caps, with the company announcing it will end the COVID-19 relief measure on June 8. SaskTel announced in a Friday press release that it had extended the suspension of overage fees -- scheduled to end on May 31 -- a further eight days, but customers would again be charged for exceeding their caps as of June 9. SaskTel president and CEO Doug Burnett said in the release that the company understood the importance of “worry-free data connections” and were pleased to extend the suspension so it ends on the same day the government of Saskatchewan’s reopening plan enters its third phase. In the release, SaskTel said customers would be able to use their full monthly data amount in the remaining 22 days in June. All other companies who were scheduled to end the suspension of home internet overages on May 31 -- Teksavvy Solutions Inc., Xplornet Communications Inc. and BCE Inc.’s Northwestel -- all announced extensions of the relief measure until the end of June. Northwestel’s extension was approved on an interim basis by the CRTC on May 26. Distributel Communications Ltd. was scheduled to end its 90-day overage suspension on June 15, but announced in a Thursday press release that it had eliminated overage fees on all plans. "We thought about extending the program past the initial three months, but we quickly realized that customers' needs have changed for the long term,” Distributel CEO Matt Stein said in the release. “The right thing to do was to eliminate these charges permanently. The internet has become such an essential part of our lives, that we want to make sure our customers can stay connected without ever worrying about additional charges." Cogeco Inc. was the first Canadian internet service provider to resume charging overage fees when it lifted the suspension on May 1. Cogeco said in April that it would instead focus on other measures it considered to be “more essential” to customers. Bell, Telus Corp., Rogers Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc., Execulink Telecom and Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink have all previously announced that they will not resume charging overage fees until at least June 30. A number of providers, including Shaw Communications Inc., only offer unlimited home internet plans, so do not charge overage fees.

SaskTel to resume charging overage fees on June 9

Brief | May 29, 2020

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SaskTel to resume charging overage fees on June 9

Brief | May 29, 2020

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