Innisfail's reaction to the announcement of Telus's upcoming fibre optic network has been swift and enthusiastic.
Doug Reid, manager of OK Tire, is looking forward to the arrival of the high-speed service for both his business and his personal use.
“Our mechanics do a lot of diagnosis in service facilities with their experience and tech know-how behind them,” said Reid. “The industry relies on the internet for diagnostic, quotes and part orders as it is done online. If we can accomplish our job that much faster, it will help us decrease our service times and with that, increase customer satisfaction.
On a personal note, he added it will give Innisfail citizens a choice when it comes to higher speed internet and digital television services.
George Tokaryk, owner of G. T. Electronics, sees the advent of a Telus fibre optic network that can deliver up to 100 mb/s a little differently.
“From a retail perspective, once the switch is turned on for fibre optic there should be a greater demand for smart TVs that can connect to Netflix and Telus TV services with the click of a remote control,” said Tokaryk. “I have only begun selling smart TVs over the last year or so and with that my sales of both televisions and fibre optic accessories like cables and blue ray DVD players have gone up.”
Tokaryk said he looks forward to the day fibre optic goes live, and he will then see how he can best serve the Innisfail marketplace.
Mark Walter, an avid gamer and Source employee, hadn't heard that Telus was bringing fibre optics internet into Innisfail but he is eager to explore its potential.
“As a gamer, if we can get download speeds up to what they say we will it will greatly improve any gaming experience,” said Walter. “Now, our online downloads are slow but once we can get multiples of our present speed, it will be great.”
He added he and his roommates are all enthusiastic gamers and will certainly look into the optic option when it arrives once Telus finishes its build.
Meanwhile, Shaw Communications, Telus' Internet competitor in the Innisfail market, has little to say about the specifics of last week's announcement that Telus was upping the ante in the region with its own fibre optics product.
“Shaw is committed to providing our customers in Innisfail with leading technology and exceptional services across the board. We have had a fibre backbone in the area for over a decade already,” said Ron McKenzie, vice president of operations for Shaw Communications. “This fibre backbone continues to provide Shaw customers and businesses in Innisfail with access to our top Internet speeds through Shaw Internet.”
However, when asked for further clarification via email on specific questions, such as ones on plans to upgrade its Internet, the company had yet to reply as of this writing.
According to Shaw Cable's website, upload speeds from one to five mb/s and download speeds from 10 to 50 mb/s are now available through their networks, which is one half the speed Telus says it will bring to Innisfail.
