TELUS has announced it will invest $1 billion in Edmonton to roll out fibre-optic Internet, which will turn the city into Canada’s first “urban gigabit society”, says CEO Darren Entwistle, according to The Financial Post:
“We are making a generational investment and creating the first, significant urban gigabit society in Canada,” Entwistle said.
“Our gigabit-enabled network will deliver speeds of 150 megabits per second right to the doors of more than 300,000 homes and businesses as well as medical, educational and community facilities to dramatically improve the way we live, work and socialize in a digital world,” Entwistle said.
The fibre optic investment in Edmonton is TELUS’ largest in history and largest in Canada, with Entwistle saying “Our fibre network will future-proof Edmonton’s growing digital demands for decades to come,” to enable a technological advantage that will foster innovation, streamline healthcare and also education.
The CEO touted faster internet as allowing workers in remote camps to access TV and high-speed Internet, a way to improve lives and ensure connections with loved ones, as one example of how fibre-optic could play out.
The $1 billion in investment for Edmonton will be allocated over the next 5-6 years, set to create an expected 1,500 jobs.
Back in April, TELUS announced it would upgrade all wireless sites in Alberta to LTE, part of a $4.2 billion investment in the province. Earlier this month, the company partnered with the Edmonton Eskimos to setup free public Wi-Fi at Commonwealth Stadium.
