Jim Jamieson
Province
Shaw Communications established a B.C. beachhead yesterday in its bid to become a major residential-telephone player by launching Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service in Victoria.
But the larger, more significant battle with incumbent telephone company Telus Corp. looms in Greater Vancouver — where Shaw is now poised to launch sooner rather than later.
Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said the decision to launch in Victoria was related to its relatively small size.
Shaw launched its VoIP phone service initially in Calgary, followed by Edmonton in February and Winnipeg in July.
Greater Victoria‘s population is about 330,000, compared to Greater Vancouver’s two million.
“Vancouver is a big dot on our radar. We think it is going to be the most buoyant market for Shaw,” said Bissonnette. “We want to make sure that we do all the things we have to do in preparing to launch there — making sure our system is upgraded to minimize any disruption that might occur.”
VoIP — which industry watchers say is in the process of turning the telecom sector on its head — packages voice calls as data and sends them over broadband connections.
The technology is less expensive but, more importantly, opens up a wide range of new features that aren’t possible on traditional,
analog-copper phone lines.
Shaw’s service includes a local phone line and unlimited long-distance calling anywhere in North America. It offers features such as voice mail and call forwarding.
It costs $55 a month if bundled with other Shaw offerings.
Telus’ basic monthly phone service in the Lower Mainland is about $25, but long-distance service includes an administration fee of $4.95 a month. Other feature packages are extra.
Bissonnette said customers can use the same phone and phone jack they do now, as Shaw installs an interface modem to connect a home’s telephone wiring to the cable company’s high-speed network.
He said customers who will accept a new phone number can be hooked up in one day, while those who want to import their existing phone number from Telus will have about a four-day wait.
One of the biggest issues with switching is power outages, as traditional phone lines are powered separately so generally remain operational. Shaw’s modem is powered through a household AC outlet, but comes with backup batteries that last for about eight hours, a spokesman said.
Shaw had 22,450 subscribers to its VoIP service at the end of July, but has lots of room to grow with 1.2 million Net subscribers in Western Canada. It’s estimated there will be four million VoIP subscribers in Canada by the end of 2008.
Telus director of consumer marketing Jim Johannsson said Telus plans to launch its own VoIP service in mid-2006, but with a different strategy.
“The offerings from our competitors lack imagination,” he said.
“What we’ve seen is the replication of bare-bones phone service, offering it at a different price point. We’re working on tying together the telephone, the cellphone, the television and the Internet.”
Johannsson cited the example of watching a hockey game when a call comes in, but instead of hearing it ring, a box comes up on your TV saying it’s an incoming call from whoever.
It could even have a picture of the person or be a video call and give you options to send it to voicemail or take the call on the TV.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
