Penhold may be sliced down the centre by Highway 2A, but that's not the superfast expressway newly opened for service. The new thoroughfare is a digital one.
On Jan. 31 Telus fired up 4G HSPA+ wireless service in Penhold, followed by even more powerful 4G long-term evolution (LTE) network access.
“This is truly a success story for the Town of Penhold,” said Mayor Dennis Cooper. “It was due to the activity of council and citizens writing letters and sending emails saying we had poor coverage here.”
Instead of patchy reception, the new generation of network surfers will be able to download a 600 mb music album in three to five minutes, or a 1.2 gb movie – as long as they have a 4G capable device.
Cooper says while knocking on doors during the last municipal campaign it was clear citizens were tired of calls with poor wireless communication quality.
“‘Can you hear me now?'” was a much too common refrain, he said. “They'd know you were from Penhold.”
Phones like the Samsung Galaxy and iPhone 5 are equipped to travel at LTE speeds across wireless waves, though phones in the iPhone 4 generation will use the 4G HSPA+ data stream.
“The increase in coverage will benefit everybody, especially people travelling and doing business in the area,” said Chris Gerritsen, Telus spokesperson. “It's part of our overall network.”
Wireless technology experts say Canada is at the forefront of this type of technology, and BlackBerry management has cited misjudging the rapid rise of LTE as a key stumbling block for the brand.
The Telus tower, located at the southwest end of the town, ran into its own obstacles along the way.
“The tower had been under construction for a number of months,” Gerritsen said. “We were hoping to flip the switch earlier but there needed to be a redesign of the foundation due to some water.”
Telus plans to spend $2 billion in infrastructure upgrades in Alberta over a three-year period.
Cooper says having mobile computing access providers maintain a top-of-the line network is becoming an essential.
“In today's world a lot of homeowners rely on their cellphones as their main line,” he said. “Just for emergency sake this is an improvement in our town.”
"The increase in coverage will benefit everybody, especially people travelling and doing business in the area." Chris GerritsenTelus spokesperson.
