TELUS TV will bring customers hundreds of
digital channels via a $15 million satellite and content distribution centre
TELUS is now building north of British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Once TELUS TV
is launched in B.C. sometime in 2006, the facility will gather TV signals from
dozens of satellites for transmission to customers across B.C. and Alberta.
The centre, commonly called a ‘head end,’ will initially provide TELUS TV
customers with more than 200 video and audio channels once it is fully
operational – planned for the summer of 2006 – growing to well over 300
channels within a year. In addition to eight satellite dishes, with room for
three more, TELUS is installing Internet Protocol-based network and signal
transport technology to manage signals and distribute content to customers.
“The centre will allow TELUS to bring our customers the best possible
selection of all digital channels and superior network reliability when we
launch TELUS TV in B.C. later this year,” said Fred Di Blasio, TELUS
vice-president of Consumer Product Marketing. “In addition to the range of
local programming we are all familiar with we will be offering feeds from
stations in eastern Canada and the U.S. to give customers the option of
viewing programs three hours earlier as well as a broad range of multicultural
and specialty programming.”
The centre is TELUS’ latest investment in B.C., part of an ongoing and
significant program that has seen the company invest $1.8 billion in Internet
and other infrastructure around the province over the last three years.
The site is ideal for a satellite and content distribution centre – it is
close to B.C.’s major population centres and at a high elevation, allowing
TELUS to offer the best possible signals to customers. TELUS has also had
radio and cell facilities at the site for 50 years, reducing the cost of
installing new roads and infrastructure. Construction of the centre will
create 40 to 50 jobs, while another five to 10 permanent positions will be
created to maintain the site once it is complete.
TELUS built a similar centre in Edmonton, Alberta in 2005, which is now
delivering TELUS TV to customers in Calgary and Edmonton. The Alberta and B.C.
facilities can each serve both provinces and will back up the other, ensuring
customers will continue to receive service should one experience an outage.
TELUS TV is a 100 per cent digital service competing against traditional
television service providers. It recently launched commercially in Calgary and
Edmonton, and will be introduced to the Lower Mainland some time in 2006.
