TELUS announced on Tuesday, Optik, its rebranded and repackaged suite of advanced TV and Internet services. This latest move from the carrier is aimed at taking on Shaw, which has effectively enjoyed a monopoly in entertainment business in Western Canada. The company said that it plans to invest another $1.7-billion this year to expand its network and bring faster Internet and Optik TV to more homes in Alberta and British Columbia.
Will TELUS manage to succeed in its quest to end the cable monopoly? Can the Canada’s second-largest telecommunications company pull off a major upset in segments where it’s relatively lesser known – TV & Internet?
Telus launched its digital-TV service in 2006, and it has 6.6 million wireless subscribers, 1.2 million Internet subscribers and 200,000 TV customers. The erstwhile TELUS TV will now be known as Optik TV and will offer TV channels using a high speed internet connection over phone lines. The service is based on Microsoft Mediaroom and allows customers to record up to three programs simultaneously on a single Personal Video Recorder and then play them back on any TV in the home with a digital box, even switching TVs mid-program when life calls for a little flexibility.
“Seeing is believing. Optik is a TV and high speed internet service like nothing you’ve seen before. Our TELUS team has tapped the latest fibre optic and IP technologies to bring our customers a compelling set of home entertainment and communications services that can be tailored to their lifestyles,” said Joe Natale, TELUS’ Chief Commercial officer.
Optik TV offers:
• PVR Anywhere, networking all TVs in the home with one multi-tuner PVR so customers can pause a recorded show or movie in one room and pick it up in another from where they left off
• Video On Demand with DVD-style controls
• Picture-in-Picture browsing
• Fast channel changing
• Call Display on your TV.
Telus also said it will introduce remote recording, the ability to program its TV personal video recorders from smartphones or Web-enabled computers.
TELUS has been under pressure to find alternative revenue streams as the entry of new carriers like WIND Mobile, Public Mobile, Mobilicity and others is likely to hit its wireless margins. TELUS TV was a moderate success since its launch in 2006. With the rebranding exercise, TELUS will be hoping for a revival of fortune in a segment dominated by Shaw. Will it succeed? Only time will tell.
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Written by: Gaurav Kheterpal. www.digitcom.ca >. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com > by: RSS>, Twitter >, Identi.ca >, or Friendfeed >
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have no idea of the service sucks… as I can not seem to get it installed.. I contact Telus last week to have the service installed in my building which apparently is a test building for the new multi dwelling system. Well it appears due to a computer glitch with the previous tenant leaving and me moving in the system is in what they called “stuck” mode… They (ASH the Escalation Manager) said this has happened before and that the CEO and media are aware of there troubles. Customers beware!!! Initially I was told it usually takes 48 hours to clear.. Well it’s a week now.. They can not provide a date ann answer, a via option like there Telus Mobility Stick until resolved. I feel like I have been told “suck it up sunshine we have a monopoly on this.. we’ll get to you when we feel like it”. Is this the way to treat customers when you are trying to promote a new product… I can’t even go to Shaw or others because of the agreement with the building according to the sales reps…
Telus… If you care, please resolve this problem.
“Stuck”
I agree Telus sucks. I had them install Optik TV in my home 1 month ago and have had nothing but problems, not only with the TV service but also with my internet service. I spent from 2 to 4 hours a night on the phone with Telus to find out what the problem was as Optik TV kept loosing the signal. Telus expects you to wait over 2 weeks for someone to come out and fix it, which I think is totally unacceptable, so they escalated my call to a manager who guaranteed that they would have someone over on Monday, the guy never showed up. So of course I phoned them to see what the problem was, no one at Telus could tell me, I just kept getting transferred from person to the next person. Telus does not call you back whey they say they will nor do they show up for scheduled appointments. If you don’t have any problems with Telus products your fine, but the minute you have a problem Telus has to deal with be prepared to have your stress level increased substantially. I finally gave up trying to get the Optik TV fixed, dealing with Telus is like banging your head against the wall.