CALGARY and VANCOUVER – Telus has increased the speed of its EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) wireless network throughout more than 50 cities in Alberta and British Columbia, including Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Whistler.
Building on its EVDO network launched in late 2005, Telus has upgraded to the next generation EVDO Rev A service in the provinces, which provides faster speeds for clients needing connectivity on the go.
The speed improvement is part of Telus’ more than $100 million investment in delivering its clients access to EVDO.
"In today’s fast-paced information society, Canadians are increasingly looking for ways to stay connected and entertained while outside the home or office," said Robert Blumenthal, Telus senior vice-president of products and services.
The EVDO Rev A upgrade enables clients to experience upload speeds that are seven times faster than previous EVDO service with typical upload speeds of approximately 300 to 400 kilobits per second with a maximum possible upload speed of 1.8 megabits per second. The service also offers enhanced typical download speeds of approximately 450 to 800 kilobits per second to a maximum possible speed of 3.1 megabits per second.
The speed increases announced today make it even faster for clients to share large data files such as pictures and provide a better experience for streaming services.
Telus’ EVDO Rev A network now reaches more than 60% of Canadians, having already been launched in Ontario and Quebec and the city of Winnipeg. When traveling in the United States, clients can roam onto EVDO Rev A networks in 242 major metropolitan areas, says the company.
Telus offers a variety of EVDO Rev A capable devices that operate throughout the full EVDO coverage area and are "backward compatible" with the 1X data network, which offers coverage to 94 per cent of Canadians, when outside the EVDO coverage area.
