Paul Andrews, the leader of the TELUS project to install a new fibre optic network in Osoyoos, handed out a door prize of a new iPad Mini to local resident Sandra Long, following a presentation about the project at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre last Friday afternoon. (Keith Lacey photo)
The introduction of a high-speed, fibre optic network in Osoyoos is going to drastically improve options for local residents and business owners, said two representatives from Telus last week.
During a presentation to 20 local residents last Friday afternoon at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre, Kevin Harpell, a business and marketing specialist, and Paul Andrews, who is in charge of the project to install a large fibre optic network in Osoyoos, answered questions and detailed why the new network will be so beneficial to so many people.
The name of the fibre optic installation project in Osoyoos is called “Project Falcon.”
“The biggest thing with fibre optic is it delivers what it promises,” said Harpell. “The fibre is made out of (smart particles) of glass and the bandwidth is unlimited.
“Some other benefits are it’s not susceptible to lightning, corrosion or interruptions due to harsh weather like copper is. You can do so many things you can’t do with copper, such as video conferencing.”
While the majority of the town has already had fibre optic installed, there are small portions of the community who won’t receive the full benefits until later in 2014, said Harpell.
Once a residence of business is hooked up to the new system, they will be able to use the internet to do business at blazing fast speeds on the state-of-the-art Telus network, he said.
Some of the most important benefits to using the new fibre optic network for Osoyoos business owners is being able to use extremely high speeds, even during peak hours, simultaneous use of multiple applications and services like point of sale credit and debit card billing, video streaming and web surfing, he said.
Businesses will also be able to add “cloud-based business applications” to help back up data, host a website and more, said Harpell.
They will also be able to upload and download large files rapidly.
Each optical fibre in the Telus network can transmit trillions of bits per second to keep your business moving at the speed of light, he said.
Using Telus office internet will give local business owners their own dedicated fibre optic connection, which means, unlike cable, the bandwidth is not shared with anyone else.
You can bill customers, view web pages and send and received files at high speed at any time of the day or night no matter how many of your neighbouring businesses are connected, he said.
“Whether you want to grow beyond your current market or simply do business more efficiently, you now have the power and the speed to be as flexible as you need to be,” he said.
Three different business internet packages will be offered, ranging from $66 per month to $105 per month and all plans include 24-hour technical support, security services and ability to bundle office internet with office phone services to save money, he said.
Fibre optic networks will also allow employees to work much more effectively from home as they can hook up to other networks in the office and quickly transfer files and information incredibly quickly, he said.
“It’s like having an office anywhere you like,” he said. “It allows for flexible hours and the ability to work from any location you wish. There are no delays in transferring information from one employee to another. You are never tied to your desk and you can easily access the information you need from your workplace.”
The ability to allow employees to work from home has reduced the company’s real estate portfolio over the past few years by more than $50 million, said Harpell.
Any customer who signs up for the Telus Optik TV package will see the company donate $25 to the Osoyoos Splash Park.
The Telus cable package offered through its fibre optic network has 80 high definition channels.
New cellphone packages will soon be able to be bundled with internet and cable packages.
Anyone wanting more information, can go online and visit www.telus.com/osoyoos.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
