The pending arrival of Rogers to the Northwest, has many in Prince Rupert wondering what kind of packages and services might be available to lure them away from the current cellular provider CityWest.
As mentioned on Podunk yesterday, the giant Canadian telecommunications company is planning on investing 10 million dollars across the Highway 16 corridor to provide such long sought after things as Blackberry service and an interesting fleet management program called mFleet, allowing users to track their vehicles status and health as they travel for business.
The move by Rogers into the Northwest, signals a new stage in the Prince Rupert economy which will see CityWest which has enjoyed a monopoly for a number of years, having to face rather well financed competition for the cellular business of Rupertites.
The Daily News had details on the Rogers move in the Friday paper.
Rogers is looking to ring in big changes locally
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pages one and three
Rogers Wireless is making a $10 million investment in Northern British Columbia to expand its Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) wireless voice and data network.
On Thursday, the company announced a network expansion along the corridor stretching from Prince Rupert to Prince George, because of the anticipated growth.
The first phase of the network expansion will bring Rogers Wireless service to Prince Rupert and Terrace in November of this year, with the towns of Smithers, Kitimat and Hazelton set to follow during 2008.
"This northern B.C. route is a key business corridor, with dramatically expanding maritime traffic driving steadily increasing transportation volumes yearly along the highway and rail lines. And there is even greater growth expected with expansion of the ports in Prince Rupert and Kitimat," said Gordon Nelson, vice-president of Rogers in B.C.
"Rogers will be bringing a choice to people living and working along Highway 16, including essential business tools such as wireless email and mobile internet access."
Among the many Rogers services that will be made available to customers in these areas are: data services on popular BlackBerry devices; mFleet, an innovative fleet management system that tracks vehicle's position and engine health in real time to increase operator safety and vehicle economy; and Second Voice Line Service that allows customers to have two phone numbers on one wireless device - so that business people can have numbers from two different area codes such as 250 and 604.
North Coast MLA Gary Coons, who has been pushing for further infrastructure developments on the North Coast, said the news of Rogers coming to the Northwest is "another piece of the infrastructure puzzle that is necessary to push our port into world-class status."
"The opportunities are endless as long as we have the much-needed "on-the-ground"
infrastructure," he said. "The opening of Fairview, the world-wide attention and the realization that we are the Asian-North American gateway, is finally hitting home."
There will also be a benefit to the growing tourism industry in the region because visitors from other parts of North America and overseas will be able to use their mobile devices on Canada's only GSM network when travelling the popular northern route or making port in Prince Rupert on their way to Alaska, said Nelson.
"What this means for businesses and residents in B.C. is that they will be able to take their Rogers Wireless services with them when they travel this expanding tourist, trucking and rail route," said Nelson.
"And the investment we are making, in addition to the $20 million already invested in the network in Northern B.C. over the last 10 years, demonstrates Rogers' strong commitment to B.C. and the West in general."
As mentioned on Podunk yesterday, the giant Canadian telecommunications company is planning on investing 10 million dollars across the Highway 16 corridor to provide such long sought after things as Blackberry service and an interesting fleet management program called mFleet, allowing users to track their vehicles status and health as they travel for business.
The move by Rogers into the Northwest, signals a new stage in the Prince Rupert economy which will see CityWest which has enjoyed a monopoly for a number of years, having to face rather well financed competition for the cellular business of Rupertites.
The Daily News had details on the Rogers move in the Friday paper.
Rogers is looking to ring in big changes locally
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pages one and three
Rogers Wireless is making a $10 million investment in Northern British Columbia to expand its Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) wireless voice and data network.
On Thursday, the company announced a network expansion along the corridor stretching from Prince Rupert to Prince George, because of the anticipated growth.
The first phase of the network expansion will bring Rogers Wireless service to Prince Rupert and Terrace in November of this year, with the towns of Smithers, Kitimat and Hazelton set to follow during 2008.
"This northern B.C. route is a key business corridor, with dramatically expanding maritime traffic driving steadily increasing transportation volumes yearly along the highway and rail lines. And there is even greater growth expected with expansion of the ports in Prince Rupert and Kitimat," said Gordon Nelson, vice-president of Rogers in B.C.
"Rogers will be bringing a choice to people living and working along Highway 16, including essential business tools such as wireless email and mobile internet access."
Among the many Rogers services that will be made available to customers in these areas are: data services on popular BlackBerry devices; mFleet, an innovative fleet management system that tracks vehicle's position and engine health in real time to increase operator safety and vehicle economy; and Second Voice Line Service that allows customers to have two phone numbers on one wireless device - so that business people can have numbers from two different area codes such as 250 and 604.
North Coast MLA Gary Coons, who has been pushing for further infrastructure developments on the North Coast, said the news of Rogers coming to the Northwest is "another piece of the infrastructure puzzle that is necessary to push our port into world-class status."
"The opportunities are endless as long as we have the much-needed "on-the-ground"
infrastructure," he said. "The opening of Fairview, the world-wide attention and the realization that we are the Asian-North American gateway, is finally hitting home."
There will also be a benefit to the growing tourism industry in the region because visitors from other parts of North America and overseas will be able to use their mobile devices on Canada's only GSM network when travelling the popular northern route or making port in Prince Rupert on their way to Alaska, said Nelson.
"What this means for businesses and residents in B.C. is that they will be able to take their Rogers Wireless services with them when they travel this expanding tourist, trucking and rail route," said Nelson.
"And the investment we are making, in addition to the $20 million already invested in the network in Northern B.C. over the last 10 years, demonstrates Rogers' strong commitment to B.C. and the West in general."
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