BCE incorporated has been given final approval to buy MTS, Manitoba's telecommunications company. That makes SaskTel the last regional carrier in all of Western Canada.

That fact was cited in an independent risk assessment in 2016.  The report, commissioned by the Saskatchewan government, said SaskTel was at risk of losing net income due to certain risk factors. 

In approving the MTS sale, the federal Competition Bureu stated that regional carriers like SaskTel offer customers "substantially lower" prices than other carriers across the country. 

Just last week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall told delegates at the SUMA convention in Saskatoon that if there appears to be a benefit to the province, he'd be willing to hold a referendum on the sale of the Crown Corporation and let the people of Saskatchewan decide.