Telus said Tuesday it is looking for tech enthusiasts and environmentally conscious Canadians to join its Telus SmartHome+ Beta program that it said will help shape future smart home technology.
Participants in the beta program will get an exclusive look at Telus’s new SmartEnergy product, “an innovative, first of its kind product in Canada that enables customers to save on their energy bills,” according to an emailed announcement.
“Participants will also get early access to our new Home View smart camera plan, which uses AI technology to detect and differentiate between various…
Continue Reading
Telus, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday they are teaming up to create North America’s first virtual roaming gateway, improving reliability, speed and latency for customers travelling abroad.
“Traditionally, roaming traffic (voice, data, and SMS) is routed through the provider’s home country, resulting in slower speeds for customers. With this revolutionary new approach, TELUS is able to house their network within AWS Regions worldwide, using virtualized roaming gateways,” a Telus press release explains. “This means that traffic no longer needs to go through Canada, but will be routed directly to the…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus’s proposal to ride on its competitors’ internet networks outside of its home territory would be destructive to facilities-based competition and would create an existential crisis for regional wholesalers, two prominent cable companies told the CRTC on Thursday.
Representatives from Telus said Wednesday that the Vancouver-based telecom should be able to wholesale internet capacity from competitor networks to drive diversity of choice and competition, or the regime would be “useless.” The telco also pushed back against claims that it is a national incumbent, instead saying that its preferred status would be a regional player that’s a new…
Continue Reading
Telus and Samsung announced Thursday they will build the first commercial 5G virtualized and open radio access network (RAN) in Canada, and they are expanding their existing collaboration from greenfield to brownfield deployments.
Telus selected Samsung as one of its 5G network vendors in June 2020. Their approach to infrastructure deployment “embodies the essence of collaboration, bringing together manufacturers and providers to create a modular, state-of-the-art wireless network,” a Telus press release says.
“It is also one of the first truly virtualized Open RAN deployments within a complex, brownfield network environment,” the…
Continue Reading
Bell says market has ‘never been more competitive’
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus said Wednesday that it should be allowed to use the wholesale internet regime outside of its operating territory, but noted that an unfettered framework without limits will create a disincentive to invest in networks.
Telus took issue Wednesday with being labelled a national “incumbent” because it mainly operates in the west and has few facilities east of its home court, including some in Quebec.
The telco argued that it be given access to the wholesale regime in areas outside of its operating territory because that would boost competition. In contrast, it…
Continue Reading
In late January, the CRTC shot a letter to Telus’s vice-president of telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel, Stephen Schmidt, requesting detailed information about the Vancouver-based telecom provider’s proposed March 8 disconnection of home telephone service in an area of Tranquille Valley near Kamloops, B.C.
Having become aware of Telus’s intention to disconnect the service, CRTC staff “is concerned that TELUS’ plans could jeopardize access to telephone services in the Tranquille Valley, and perhaps elsewhere,” the letter said.
“Without reliable alternatives, Canadians in this area would lack access to public safety services…
Continue Reading
Telus said last week the copper-to-PureFibre transition of its network is driving significant sustainability benefits and contributing to Canada’s net-zero targets, having already resulted in a cumulative reduction of more than 7,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions since 2018, the Vancouver-based telecom claims.
“This is attributed to the decommissioning of thousands of copper devices and our copper retirement program, where we have recycled or repurposed more than 3,600 tonnes of copper, offsetting the need to mine new copper sources,” a Telus press release says.
“Copper plays a vital role in Canada’s electrification strategy,…
Continue Reading
Company reported 17 per cent higher net income in the quarter
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus executives said Friday they are not satisfied with where their churn numbers are and are seeking to aggressively bundle products to further reduce the rate of defections from the company.
Last month, the Vancouver-based telecom launched its latest version of its Stream+ product, which bundles three popular streaming services. The telecom’s latest version bundles Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video in one package at a reduced rate compared to if a customer were to buy the individual services separately.
Telus executives said Thursday that this…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC accepted late last month a request by Quebecor for the regulator to determine a rate for its access to Telus’s wireless network.
The carriers had tried to come to a commercial agreement and a commission-staff-assisted mediation on the rate for access through the mobile virtual network operator framework but could not come to amicable terms.
The regulator will now choose which rate – Quebecor’s or Telus’s – is most appropriate for that access, which will allow the Montreal-based telecom to further expand into new territory.
Telus had opposed going to final offer arbitration (FOA) because the parties were…
Continue Reading
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson announced Monday it has partnered with Telus to launch and optimize the Canadian telecom company’s 5G standalone (SA) network from coast to coast.
The Telus 5G SA network leverages Ericsson’s 5G Core technologies, delivered through Ericsson’s cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core solution, says an Ericsson press release.
“This network is purpose-built to power the 5G ecosystem,” Jerome Birot, vice-president of platform technology and services at Telus, said in the release. “Our new standalone network provides never-before-seen speeds and low latency to enable the next generation of 5G edge…
Continue Reading