Canada: Telco Telus Invests Heavily in HD-Level Broadband

Telus Corp. said this week it plans to spend $600 million over the next few years to build out its broadband network infrastructure in an initiative that will permit the Vancouver, B.C.-based firm to offer HD, broadband, wireless telephony and other services.

Telus will install broadband IP equipment at about 7,000 sites, some of it via fiber-optic cable. The new infrastructure is reportedly designed to more than double or triple Internet access speeds up to 30 Mbps from the current 4-7 Mbps, depending on conditions.

The new investment, disclosed by the telco last weekend, comes on top of $190 million the firm already plans to spend in the next several months to upgrade nearly 40 areas in British Columbia, Alberta, and parts of Quebec. Completion of the build-out is targeted for 2009.

Telus is in fierce competition for telephony, TV and broadband services in Western Canada with Shaw Communications, a cable firm.