NIPAWIN — Nipawin council approved in principle the location of a new SaskTel tower.
The decision was made at council's Oct. 10 meeting
Jeff Hyrnkiw, the town's land planner, said this allows the town to proceed into further discussions with SaskTel and its contractor, Scott Land and Lease, regarding the placement of a tower. The tentative location is behind the current town office building.
The location and installation is not approved at this point, Hyrnkiw said. The town will have to have multiple conversations with SaskTel and Scott Land and a report will go back to a council meeting.
“There will also have to be an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw which will be publicly advertised, and residents will have the ability to speak in favour or against the amendment to council.”
The meeting date for this has not been set yet.
Town of Nipawin staff and council were trying to find other locations with Scott Land and unfortunately none, aside from the proposed location, were ones that both council and SaskTel/Scott Land could work with. At this point we are going to explore this location to its fullest extent to determine the benefit for the community. If this location does not work out, there may not be a new telecommunication Tower installed in Nipawin.
Hyrnkiw said the tower northwest of Nipawin is 3G, a new tower in Town would be 4G and capable for 5G in the future. A new tower would be to provide better services to the residents and visitors of Nipawin.
“The wavelength of 4G and 5G is shorter than 3G which means it doesn’t travel as far from the Tower itself, with the current technology. Higher speed data such as 4G or 5G comes at the cost of reduced range from the tower, so more towers are necessary. A new tower would mean an increase in speed and signal when in the towers radius. Any devices connected to a new tower would free up space on the existing Tower which is handling a lot of communications.”
The benefits would be less dropped calls and more certainty in connection from the existing Tower, coupled with faster speeds when in range of a new tower. The Town of Nipawin will be requesting more detailed information in this area from SaskTel and Scott Land, it will be shared with council and used as part of the decision-making process, said Hyrnkiw.
The proposed location is being explored with a lease, which the Town of Nipawin was dissatisfied with what the tower accomplished, at the end of the lease period the council of the day could decide to not renew the lease. On the other hand, if the Town sees great benefit, the lease can be continued, said Hyrnkiw.
