OTTAWA — On July 1, the IEEE, the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) and the Canadian National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (CNC-URSI) will partner with Bell Canada, Telus and SaskTel to recognize the history and legacy of the Trans-Canada Microwave System, which officially opened on July 1, 1958.
Called “one of the greatest engineering achievements in Canadian history”, the Trans-Canada Microwave System “introduced live network television and direct-dialled long distance telephone service to Canadians from coast to coast,” explains a press release from IEEE Canada.
When it was completed in 1958, it was the world’s longest microwave network, comprised of 139 relay towers spanning more than 6,275 kilometres from Victoria, B.C., to Sydney, N.S., according to the release. (Pictured above is a microwave relay station in downtown Toronto, photographed in 1953.)
“Extended and upgraded several times during its four decades of operation, it laid the foundation for most of the telecommunication infrastructure that we rely upon today,” the release reads.
As part of the recognition of the achievement in 1958, the completion of the Trans-Canada Microwave System will be designated as an “IEEE Milestone” and 19 representative sites across Canada will be designated as “Engineering Institute of Canada Landmarks”, with large bronze plaques in both official languages mounted at each site, explained IEEE Canada’s historian, David Michelson, professor at the University of British Columbia, in an email to Cartt.ca. (Below is a copy of the foundry proof for the English-language plaque, supplied by Michelson.)
In fall 2022, a dedication event will be held featuring contributions and commentary from the chief technology officers of Bell, Telus and SaskTel, as well as Michelson himself and other experts, he said.
“The event will mirror ‘A Memo to Champlain’, the live CBC television program at which the Trans-Canada Microwave System was officially opened on 1 July 1958, and feature multiple locations across Canada connected via state-of-the art telecommunications technology,” Michelson said.
In the press release, Michelson is quoted as saying: “On July 1, 1958, Canada’s official motto suddenly took on a deeper meaning when the Trans Canada Microwave System was officially opened and Canadians were, for the first time, able to direct dial telephone calls and share television programming a mari usque ad mare — from sea to sea. It brought us together as a nation like few accomplishments before or since.”
“As Canada celebrates its 155th birthday, IEEE Canada is proud to partner with EIC, CNC-URSI, Bell, Telus, and SaskTel to recognize and remember completion of the Trans-Canada Microwave System in 1958,” said IEEE Canada’s president, Robert Anderson, in the release.
“It was arguably the greatest exercise in nation-building that Canada had seen since the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 and one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in Canadian history,” Anderson added.
Stephen Howe, Bell’s chief technology and information officer, said Bell is honoured to partner with the other organizations “in recognizing the Trans-Canada Microwave System which reached across our vast country connecting Canadians for the first time over 60 years ago.
“It was a significant achievement, and since then we’ve been able to connect even more Canadians in communities large and small, and in rural and remote locations across the country. I’m proud that Bell is continuing to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world with the most advanced communications networks,” Howe said.
Ibrahim Gedeon, Telus’ chief technology officer and an IEEE fellow, said the Trans-Canada Microwave System “had a significant impact on our society at the time connecting Canadians from coast-to-coast, and making Canada among the very first countries in the world to use the telephone on microwaves.”
Gedeon added: “It’s a testament to our Canadian innovation that has since continued to evolve, maintaining our global leadership position as having one of the best networks in the world.”
“The Trans-Canada Microwave System was instrumental in connecting Saskatchewan and SaskTel to the rest of the country,” said Daryl Godfrey, SaskTel’s chief technology officer. “SaskTel is honoured to be one of the many partners that celebrate this milestone achievement, and the significance it has in our Canadian history.”
In addition, also as part of the recognition, IEEE Canada and CNC-URSI are kicking off the Trans-Canada Microwave System History Project, which is “an effort to reach out to the thousands of Canadian engineers with recollections and memorabilia of the system and preserve these in a digital archive” to be jointly administered by IEEE Canada and CNC-URSI.
For more information about the Trans-Canada Microwave System and the history project, please visit ieee.ca/tcms or ursi.ca/tcms.
Photo courtesy of the Bell Historical Collection.
