The CRTC has announced that as of September of 2008, all residents in British Columbia will be required to dial ten digits to make a telephone call, making the province the first in Canada to require all residents to dial ten digits instead of seven to make a local call.
The process has been in effect in the 604 area code for a few years now as the explosion of telephone, fax and computer requirements gobbles up all the available seven number combinations.
A warm-up phase begins next June, when people dialing seven digits will hear a recorded message reminding them to enter the area code before they place a call. The message will run for 2 1/2 months and then dialers are on their own.
The Vancouver Sun had further details on the planned switch.
Hello operator? 10-digit dialling on its way for all B.C.
By Matthew Kruchak
CanWest News Service
Thursday, June 07, 2007
British Columbia will become the first province requiring all residents to dial 10 digits instead of seven when making local calls.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced today the change will take place in September 2008.
Lower Mainland residents began dialing 10 digits in 2001, when the 778 area code was introduced after 604 began running out of numbers. Now, the rest of the province will follow suit.
"The 250 area code is running out of numbers and something needed to be done," said Telus official Shawn Hall.
The options were to split the 250 area code in half and assign consumers a new one or have them dial 10 digits to place a call.
The decision to go to 10-digit dialing was the easiest option, Hall said, because the only impact to callers is the extra time it takes to hit three digits.
The 778 area code used on the mainland will now apply to the entire province. Consumers in the 250 region will only be assigned the 778 area code if they apply for a new number.
Long-distance boundaries won't be affected by the change.
A warm-up phase begins next June, when people dialing seven digits will hear a recorded message reminding them to enter the area code before they place a call. The message will run for 2 1/2 months and then dialers are on their own.
Numbers are being used up faster because of the popularity of new technologies like cellphones and personal digital assistants, Hall said.
"People now have, three, four and five numbers."
The famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said that if technology continues in the direction it's headed, "man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."
If this is correct, at least British Columbians will be in excellent shape.CanWest News Service
Showing posts with label Telus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Telus. Show all posts
Friday, June 08, 2007
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Dis-connected from the world
The famous winds of the North coast have finally arrived, having apparently been redirected southbound the last three weeks or so and with their arrival came troubles for Telus and by way of location, CityWest.
Monday and Tuesday saw maddening slow internet speeds, non operating interac machines and in many instances an inability to make or receive a long distance call. The culprit was a problem with the Mount Hays relay tower which suffered a power surge sometime at the height of the nasty weather of Sunday night or Monday morning.
The recently completed fibre optic link between Prince Rupert and Terrace laid by CityWest apparently had no impact one way or the other on the problems of Telus (nor offered solutions for Rupertites), though considering internet service is down to possibly the slowest speeds seen in a while, you might wonder why that traffic couldn’t be re-routed along that corridor and what services are being used with that bit of technological wizardry.
For the current problems however, all fingers point towards Telus and their shaky platforms along the Northwest, from here to Prince George it seems we’re but a falling tree or heavy gust of wind away from isolation.
The Daily News had full details in the Tuesday edition.
STORMS HAVING A HEAVY TOLL ON PHONE SERVICE
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Page one
Winds whipping up to 90 kilometres an hour Monday morning have damaged the Telus radio link on top of Mount Hays that connects Prince Rupert to the rest of the world, seriously slowing down Interac, long distance and internet service.
What that means is with only six shopping days left until Christmas, forget about pulling out the plastic, Commerce is on a cash only basis at a lot of businesses and people calling into the area with holiday greetings are less than likely to get through until the problem gets fixed, hopefully by this afternoon.
“We supply service to the community via radio link to Terrace,” said Sean Hall, spokesperson for Telus. “The site on Mount Hays failed early Monday. We dispatched a crew immediately to the site by four-by-four but they were turned back by road closures.
The weather is absolutely terrible in the area.”
Prince Rupert has been deluged with rain and then snow and then more rain with high winds during the past four days. Hall said the crew headed out this morning by snow cat with replacement equipment and hope to reach the top.
“If what they find is what we anticipate it’s going to be- some damage to the antenna up there – we should have everybody up by afternoon today. If they have to bring in extra equipment, it may be longer,” said Hall.
While any local traffic on networks run by CityWest was working, and CityWest long-distance was still working Monday, service in and out of the community on the Telus network was down to 25 percent of its normal capacity.
“We are doing what we can to get people in there and get service restored to normal as quickly as possible under some pretty miserable conditions,” said Hall.
“It’s really been a unique series of storms that has damaged our equipment up that way. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
This is the second time in less than a month that the Telus network has crashed. In late November, a loss of service affected 2,500 businesses and 50,000 Telus customers after a tree came down in Kitwanga, taking out both a BC Hydro and a Telus fibre-optic cable line and then a vehicle slammed into a pole, also near Kitwanga, causing another line to catch fire.
And Telus crews were scrambling in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island this weekend after storms cut power to a quarter of a million residents.
“It’s mostly stuff like this where we have had something blow into a piece of equipment and we are not able to gain access that is really what is causing us the most difficulty right now,” said Hall.
“We know we need to do repairs to service be we can’t get to it because of the weather.”
UPDATED DECEMBER 20, 2006:
WEATHER HAMPERS PHONE WORK
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Page one
Telus technicians restored full long-distance service to Prince Rupert around noon yesterday.
Service was disrupted early Monday when a power surge to the Telus radio transmission site on Mount Hays burned out several pieces of equipment, said Shawn Hall, a spokesperson for Telus.
“Our guys got in there by snow cat, they left at first light,” said Hall.
“They found some equipment had been burned out by a power surge and replaced it. The problem was not the repairs, but actually getting to the site.”
Telus technicians were first dispatched Monday morning in four-by-fours but were unable to access the site because of the weather.
Hall said they suspect the power surge was caused by a storm that battered the region early Monday morning.
When the site was damaged, the Telus link to the community switched to a back-up system providing about 25 per cent of the capacity normally available for long-distance calling. Local calling was not affected.
“Telus thanks its customers for their understand, and apologizes for the inconvenience,” said Hall.
Monday and Tuesday saw maddening slow internet speeds, non operating interac machines and in many instances an inability to make or receive a long distance call. The culprit was a problem with the Mount Hays relay tower which suffered a power surge sometime at the height of the nasty weather of Sunday night or Monday morning.
The recently completed fibre optic link between Prince Rupert and Terrace laid by CityWest apparently had no impact one way or the other on the problems of Telus (nor offered solutions for Rupertites), though considering internet service is down to possibly the slowest speeds seen in a while, you might wonder why that traffic couldn’t be re-routed along that corridor and what services are being used with that bit of technological wizardry.
For the current problems however, all fingers point towards Telus and their shaky platforms along the Northwest, from here to Prince George it seems we’re but a falling tree or heavy gust of wind away from isolation.
The Daily News had full details in the Tuesday edition.
STORMS HAVING A HEAVY TOLL ON PHONE SERVICE
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Page one
Winds whipping up to 90 kilometres an hour Monday morning have damaged the Telus radio link on top of Mount Hays that connects Prince Rupert to the rest of the world, seriously slowing down Interac, long distance and internet service.
What that means is with only six shopping days left until Christmas, forget about pulling out the plastic, Commerce is on a cash only basis at a lot of businesses and people calling into the area with holiday greetings are less than likely to get through until the problem gets fixed, hopefully by this afternoon.
“We supply service to the community via radio link to Terrace,” said Sean Hall, spokesperson for Telus. “The site on Mount Hays failed early Monday. We dispatched a crew immediately to the site by four-by-four but they were turned back by road closures.
The weather is absolutely terrible in the area.”
Prince Rupert has been deluged with rain and then snow and then more rain with high winds during the past four days. Hall said the crew headed out this morning by snow cat with replacement equipment and hope to reach the top.
“If what they find is what we anticipate it’s going to be- some damage to the antenna up there – we should have everybody up by afternoon today. If they have to bring in extra equipment, it may be longer,” said Hall.
While any local traffic on networks run by CityWest was working, and CityWest long-distance was still working Monday, service in and out of the community on the Telus network was down to 25 percent of its normal capacity.
“We are doing what we can to get people in there and get service restored to normal as quickly as possible under some pretty miserable conditions,” said Hall.
“It’s really been a unique series of storms that has damaged our equipment up that way. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
This is the second time in less than a month that the Telus network has crashed. In late November, a loss of service affected 2,500 businesses and 50,000 Telus customers after a tree came down in Kitwanga, taking out both a BC Hydro and a Telus fibre-optic cable line and then a vehicle slammed into a pole, also near Kitwanga, causing another line to catch fire.
And Telus crews were scrambling in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island this weekend after storms cut power to a quarter of a million residents.
“It’s mostly stuff like this where we have had something blow into a piece of equipment and we are not able to gain access that is really what is causing us the most difficulty right now,” said Hall.
“We know we need to do repairs to service be we can’t get to it because of the weather.”
UPDATED DECEMBER 20, 2006:
WEATHER HAMPERS PHONE WORK
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Page one
Telus technicians restored full long-distance service to Prince Rupert around noon yesterday.
Service was disrupted early Monday when a power surge to the Telus radio transmission site on Mount Hays burned out several pieces of equipment, said Shawn Hall, a spokesperson for Telus.
“Our guys got in there by snow cat, they left at first light,” said Hall.
“They found some equipment had been burned out by a power surge and replaced it. The problem was not the repairs, but actually getting to the site.”
Telus technicians were first dispatched Monday morning in four-by-fours but were unable to access the site because of the weather.
Hall said they suspect the power surge was caused by a storm that battered the region early Monday morning.
When the site was damaged, the Telus link to the community switched to a back-up system providing about 25 per cent of the capacity normally available for long-distance calling. Local calling was not affected.
“Telus thanks its customers for their understand, and apologizes for the inconvenience,” said Hall.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Preparing for the telecommunications turf war
Citywest, Telus and Rogers Communications are all making their plans as the communications options on the North coast suddenly become the thing of a hot property.
And if you’re looking for a ground zero for this battle of the communication titans, look no further than Port Edward. In mid October, Citywest announced it’s desire to offer high-speed internet services to the town, while Citywest was trumpeting it’s plans, Telus was announcing an initiative of its own, investing $800,000 dollars to bring mobile phone service to four coastal communities in the coming months.
Telus is upgrading its existing switching sites and transmitters in Port Edward, Hartley Bay, Klemtu and Oona River, which when completed will provide cellular and wireless data services, text messaging and internet access in each community.
The interesting location of that group of four is Port Edward, which may actually end up with a choice of two competing internet hook ups by next.
Also coming into the mix shortly will the Rogers empire, presently looking at installing two communications towers in the city, one on Mount Hays and the other on the west side of highway 16 south of the old parking lot for the Tall Trees trail.
Once they are up and operating, Rogers plans to bring a network on line to offer the full range of Rogers services to the northwest within two years. They say that they will offer a connection matching or exceeding that of the Telus coverage, one wonders what that means for CityWest, which having acquired the Monarch Cable system in the last year is suddenly looking at competition from not one, but two major competitors in its markets.
Of particular concern to CityWest could be the introduction of Telus TV to those markets that already have a Telus presence. It offers up a television delivery service that could rival that of CityWest, including such options as video on demand and a myriad of other options. Presently it is only offered in selected markets in the province, but in those locations it offers programming that compares favourably to the offerings of the major satelite television companies at the moment. One assumes that it's only a matter of time before they roll the service out past the big cities and into the rural areas that may be underserved by their local cable options.
Not to be outdone, Rogers as well offers what they call Personal TV, which also offers a number of entertainment options to the consumer, whether they would offer those services in the Northwest remains to be seen, but if they indeed plan to "offer a connection matching or exceeding that of the Telus coverage", then it could be a very different communications landscape in the next two years or so.
All in all, it should make for an interesting time for northwest residents who may be anxious to do a little comparison shopping for their telecommunication and home entertainment needs.
TELUS FIRES NEW SALVO IN PHONE WAR
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, October 23, 2006
Page One
Telus announced last week that it will invest $800,000 to launch mobile phone service to four coastal B. C. communities in the coming months.
It’s the latest move in a telecommunications war between CityWest, Telus and Rogers to bring coverage to northwestern communities.
Telus is upgrading existing central switching offices with state-of-the-art cellular network and transmission equipment in Port Edward, Hartley Bay, Klemtu, and Oona River. The sites will price PCS cellular and wireless data services such as text messaging and internet access to each community. Similar upgrades were just completed to bring mobile phone service for the very first time to the Queen Charlotte Islands, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. <BR>R>“By adding cellular network equipment to existing TELUS landline sties we are able to extend wireless service to small communities along British Columbia’s mid-coast that would otherwise be prohibitively costly to serve.” Said Shaun Greffard, TELUS general manager for Interior North.
“TELUS is dedicated to bringing all our customers the best possible telecommunications service, whether in metropolitan centres or rural communities.”
Greffard added that this project complements ongoing $500,000 enhancements to wireless coverage along the Prince George-Prince Rupert highway and the $110 million Connecting Communities investment that will bring broadband Internet facilities to 119 rural B. C. communities by the end of this year.
TELUS crews are working to connect Port Edward late this year, Hartley Bay, Klemtu, and Oona River in 2007.
Telus isn’t the only one looking to bring broadband internet service to Port Edward.
In July 2006, the District of Port Edward announced that it had warded an infrastructure grant for $20,000 to CityWest for the purpose of bringing high-speed internet services to the town. CityWest and The District of Port Edward agreed that the grant would get dispersed back to Port Edward residents in the form of credits for those who signed up for high-speed internet service. As a result, the first 150 customers who sign up for CityWest high speed internet in Port Edward will receive a free installation plus a cable modem rental free for one-year.
The first phase of the expansion plan is to run fibre-optic lines into Port Edward. On Sept. 25, CityWest began tying into the existing fibre optic network along Highway 16 and running a line into Port Edward in order to enable the local plant to carry high-speed data traffic. The final phase of the project will see the installation of a state-of-the-art Cable Modem Termination System in Prince Rupert that would run the high-speed cable internet network.R>
Al though no firm date has been set for the availability of service, CityWest is currently taking pre-orders from Port Ed residents who want to be among the first to access the service.
Meanwhile, back in February, Rogers Wireless also began the process of bringing its cellular service to the region. The company has applied for permission to use Crown Land for two new telecommunications towers in Prince Rupert – one on Mt. Hays and one on the west side of Highway 16 just south of the old parking lot for the Tall Trees trail.
Steve Forrest, regional manager of new site development for Rogers, said the company’s service currently ends in Vanderhoof. However, during the coming two years, the company plans to install a network to bring the full range of Rogers services to the Northwest.
“Our intention is within two years to have connection matching or exceeding Telus coverage,” said Forrest.
And if you’re looking for a ground zero for this battle of the communication titans, look no further than Port Edward. In mid October, Citywest announced it’s desire to offer high-speed internet services to the town, while Citywest was trumpeting it’s plans, Telus was announcing an initiative of its own, investing $800,000 dollars to bring mobile phone service to four coastal communities in the coming months.
Telus is upgrading its existing switching sites and transmitters in Port Edward, Hartley Bay, Klemtu and Oona River, which when completed will provide cellular and wireless data services, text messaging and internet access in each community.
The interesting location of that group of four is Port Edward, which may actually end up with a choice of two competing internet hook ups by next.
Also coming into the mix shortly will the Rogers empire, presently looking at installing two communications towers in the city, one on Mount Hays and the other on the west side of highway 16 south of the old parking lot for the Tall Trees trail.
Once they are up and operating, Rogers plans to bring a network on line to offer the full range of Rogers services to the northwest within two years. They say that they will offer a connection matching or exceeding that of the Telus coverage, one wonders what that means for CityWest, which having acquired the Monarch Cable system in the last year is suddenly looking at competition from not one, but two major competitors in its markets.
Of particular concern to CityWest could be the introduction of Telus TV to those markets that already have a Telus presence. It offers up a television delivery service that could rival that of CityWest, including such options as video on demand and a myriad of other options. Presently it is only offered in selected markets in the province, but in those locations it offers programming that compares favourably to the offerings of the major satelite television companies at the moment. One assumes that it's only a matter of time before they roll the service out past the big cities and into the rural areas that may be underserved by their local cable options.
Not to be outdone, Rogers as well offers what they call Personal TV, which also offers a number of entertainment options to the consumer, whether they would offer those services in the Northwest remains to be seen, but if they indeed plan to "offer a connection matching or exceeding that of the Telus coverage", then it could be a very different communications landscape in the next two years or so.
All in all, it should make for an interesting time for northwest residents who may be anxious to do a little comparison shopping for their telecommunication and home entertainment needs.
TELUS FIRES NEW SALVO IN PHONE WAR
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, October 23, 2006
Page One
Telus announced last week that it will invest $800,000 to launch mobile phone service to four coastal B. C. communities in the coming months.
It’s the latest move in a telecommunications war between CityWest, Telus and Rogers to bring coverage to northwestern communities.
Telus is upgrading existing central switching offices with state-of-the-art cellular network and transmission equipment in Port Edward, Hartley Bay, Klemtu, and Oona River. The sites will price PCS cellular and wireless data services such as text messaging and internet access to each community. Similar upgrades were just completed to bring mobile phone service for the very first time to the Queen Charlotte Islands, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. <BR>
“TELUS is dedicated to bringing all our customers the best possible telecommunications service, whether in metropolitan centres or rural communities.”
Greffard added that this project complements ongoing $500,000 enhancements to wireless coverage along the Prince George-Prince Rupert highway and the $110 million Connecting Communities investment that will bring broadband Internet facilities to 119 rural B. C. communities by the end of this year.
TELUS crews are working to connect Port Edward late this year, Hartley Bay, Klemtu, and Oona River in 2007.
Telus isn’t the only one looking to bring broadband internet service to Port Edward.
In July 2006, the District of Port Edward announced that it had warded an infrastructure grant for $20,000 to CityWest for the purpose of bringing high-speed internet services to the town. CityWest and The District of Port Edward agreed that the grant would get dispersed back to Port Edward residents in the form of credits for those who signed up for high-speed internet service. As a result, the first 150 customers who sign up for CityWest high speed internet in Port Edward will receive a free installation plus a cable modem rental free for one-year.
The first phase of the expansion plan is to run fibre-optic lines into Port Edward. On Sept. 25, CityWest began tying into the existing fibre optic network along Highway 16 and running a line into Port Edward in order to enable the local plant to carry high-speed data traffic. The final phase of the project will see the installation of a state-of-the-art Cable Modem Termination System in Prince Rupert that would run the high-speed cable internet network.
Al
Meanwhile, back in February, Rogers Wireless also began the process of bringing its cellular service to the region. The company has applied for permission to use Crown Land for two new telecommunications towers in Prince Rupert – one on Mt. Hays and one on the west side of Highway 16 just south of the old parking lot for the Tall Trees trail.
Steve Forrest, regional manager of new site development for Rogers, said the company’s service currently ends in Vanderhoof. However, during the coming two years, the company plans to install a network to bring the full range of Rogers services to the Northwest.
“Our intention is within two years to have connection matching or exceeding Telus coverage,” said Forrest.
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