Telus has announced a big investment in the City of Prince George, committing $150-million towards connecting residents to faster internet.
Over the next three years, the company will work to get 90 per cent of the homes and businesses in the City and the North side of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation linked to a better fibre optic network.
Mayor Lyn Hall said this investment is helping the City’s economic development by enabling Prince George to compete on a national scale.
“It helps us be competitive when we are going after large companies to invest in Prince George to make their home here, because we are in competition not just with Kelowna and Kamloops, but nationwide.
Telus announcing faster internet for @CityofPG and area #internet #Telus @sleebogdan pic.twitter.com/AXVIgdQMTb
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) June 6, 2019
Spokesperson with Telus Liz Sauvé said representatives will be going door to door talking to homeowners about making the switch and finding out which options work best.
“It’s completely free you don’t have to be a Telus customer to say yes to the build. In fact, it increases your property value by 3.1 per cent.”
But to get faster internet speed, Sauvé said residents will have to be a Telus customer.
Telus claims this makes Northern B.C. one of the most connected regions in Canada, bringing their total investment in the area to more than $350-million.
“The City of Prince George has become a much different City in the past few years. We have a bunch of different things happening. If we did not have partners like this to help us move these things forward, it would not happen,” said Hall.