Telus targets MTS Allstream with $48-M network

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This article was published 24/02/2011 (5528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TELUS Corp. has spent $48 million to launch its new “extreme” speed mobile network in the province, putting MTS Allstream in the crosshairs.

The B.C.-based telecommunications company has built cellular towers and other infrastructure to support its new 4G (fourth-generation) network in Manitoba, which will give smart phones and Internet keys effective download speeds of 14 to 21 megabits per second. By the end of this year, Telus will have 70 towers in the province, about double from a year ago.

“These are equivalent to what you’re getting with a high-speed connection at home and they’re just going to get faster,” said Brent Johnston, vice-president of mobility solutions at Telus.

The company’s 4G network will initially service Winnipeg, but it plans to expand to Brandon and cottage country in the next six to 12 months. Next month, it plans to bring dual cell HSPA+ technology — which will provide even faster download speeds — to Manitoba.

Johnston said there’s no question Telus has its sights set on the customers of long-term incumbent MTS.

“Absolutely. We want people to switch providers. Being the largest provider in Manitoba, they certainly are a target,” he said.

Kelvin Shepherd, president of Winnipeg-based MTS, said it has been competing against Telus for the past decade and remains confident in its ability to remain the top dog. He said while Telus has carved out its niche, it won’t have anywhere near the coverage MTS has.

“If Manitobans are travelling, clearly they want their phone to work in as many places as possible,” he said.

Shepherd said while MTS is working on 4G and dual cell technology, it isn’t a near-term priority.

“None of the smart phones out there can use it today. There’s very little benefit to the consumer until you have handsets that actually use the technology,” he said.

Iain Grant, a Montreal-based telecommunications analyst, said it makes sense for Telus to go after MTS customers because it has long had the dominant market share in the province. MTS, however, has a “secret weapon.”

“Its network is in more places. If your Manitoba consists of more than just Winnipeg, Telus’s ability to serve people drops off dramatically,” he said.The good news for Telus, he said, is the majority of people in the province live in Winnipeg.

Johnston said he hopes part of Telus’s allure with Manitobans will be its simplicity of rate plans and lack of system access fee.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Tell us about Telus

Founded through the merger of Telus (Alberta) and B.C. Tel in 1999, the resulting company has become a national player in the past 12 years, with nearly $10 billion in annual revenue and 12.3 million wireless, wireline, Internet and television customers across Canada.

In Manitoba, it provides wireless services and business solutions. According to The SeaBoard Group, a Montreal-based industry consulting firm, Telus has 11 per cent of the wireless market in the province, trailing MTS (54 per cent) and Rogers (30 per cent), but ahead of Bell (five per cent).

Telus donated $48,000 this week to CancerCare Manitoba, part of its fundraising campaign where it set aside $25 from the sale of each pink BlackBerry sold across the country.