Faster Internet speed and better cellular service will be among the benefits of $7.5 million in infrastructure upgrades in Nanaimo, says Telus.
Part of a $4.5-billion investment across B.C., Liz Sauve, Telus spokeswoman, said there will be a number of different ways to enhance the capacity of wireless sites, including the addition of new hardware at the Nanaimo central office and an antenna to provide better service.
Sauve said the investment is to help Telus stay a step ahead of the demand. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing someone on their smartphones or mobile devices. A lot of Telus’ work will be on its wireless network, she said.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean more infrastructure ... so what the technicians do is they climb up on our existing wireless sites to deploy that spectrum. They also add different infrastructure to our existing wireless sites to ensure that we’re enhancing capacity,” said Sauve.
Customers will benefit from faster speed, less lag time and better connectivity, Sauve said.
“If there are any areas where maybe capacity has been crunched and people noticed dropped calls, this investment is going to open that up ... so in areas where maybe you would’ve only had two or three bars in the past, now you’ll be at full bars in terms of using your cellphone,” said Sauve.
Ron Gueulette, Cranberry Fire Improvement District fire chief, uses Telus’ mobility services and is impressed with the service.
“The service is good, Telus has got one of the best coverages of all the service providers as far as cellphones go,” said Gueulette.
Improvements will likely make service faster, he said.