NORTHERN BC – As part of a strategic partnership with the Province, TELUS has invested $1 million to build a new wireless site along Highway 29, bringing wireless service to approximately 23 kilometers of Highway 29 between Hudson’s Hope and the Highway 97 Junction. The site went live in late December, and also provides coverage to the community of Moberly Lake.
“This investment brings wireless service to Moberly Lake for the first time, and fills in a large coverage gap which means there is now wireless service to more than 90 per cent of Highway 29 between Moberly Lake and Chetwynd,” said Lance MacDonald, TELUS General Manager for Northern British Columbia.
“Bringing wireless services to this stretch of highway enhances the safety of travel for residents and visitors by providing access to 911 in the event of an emergency, while also bringing much-anticipated new coverage to nearby communities.”
The project is part of the Connecting British Columbia Agreement TELUS signed with the Province of B.C. in 2011. Under the terms of the agreement TELUS invested to connect more than 1,700 kilometers of unconnected highways with wireless service by the end of 2016.
With the completion of this site, the Cellular Highway Expansion Program which brought new wireless service to previously unconnected highways across the province is now complete.
“Wireless communication services are an important upgrade for prominent travel routes in our area such as Highway 29,” said Mike Bernier, MLA for Peace River South. “As part of our agreement with TELUS, this new wireless service will provide safer travel in the region, better response times by emergency workers and faster reporting of road accidents.”
This April, TELUS announced a commitment to invest $4.5 billion in British Columbia through 2019 to extend fibre optic infrastructure directly to thousands of homes and businesses in rural and urban communities, further strengthen wireless service, and support key services including healthcare and education with new technologies. By the end of 2019 TELUS will have invested more than $51 billion in British Columbia since 2000.
