Telecommunications company Telus has written a letter to the city of Parksville about ‘improving connectivity.’
Parksville city council voted in favour, on March 1, to support Telus in their application to the Universal Broadband Fund by sending a letter to the federal government. An amendment to the motion was added that stated council’s approval is contingent on Telus notifying the city first if they plan to build or install equipment.
Brian Gregg, a land use consultant representing Telus, penned a letter to city staff and wrote “Telus has identified an opportunity to expand wireless cellular coverage to the City of Parksville… This would include the building, operation and long-term maintenance of infrastructure. This investment will ensure that the network can withstand the demand of new technologies which will be realized over future generations.”
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Prior to voting on the motion, Coun. Doug O’Brien asked what granting approval might mean in regards to Telus’s application and the infrastructure mentioned in the letter.
“They’re asking us to give them permission to increase the connectivity but are they going to get it by increasing infrastructure, or are we talking towers, or are we talking just changing to fibreoptic lines?”
Mayor Ed Mayne said: “They’re merely asking us to support their application for the funding of it. We would still have our normal approvals for any projects that come through.”