Telus opens new Internet data centre in British Columbia

Telus Corp.’s latest Internet data centre is now open in southern British Columbia.

One of eight across the country, the $75 million facility 115,000 sq. ft. facility in Kamloops is part of $3 billion the Buraby, B.C., based carrier is making across the province.

The centre will employ 25 people in a city with a population of about 86,000.

“The Kamloops Internet Data Centre will be the cornerstone of our national next-generation cloud computing services, handling complex data storage and offering unsurpassed connectivity, superior functionality, state-of-the-art security and industry-leading reliability to our clients,” Lloyd Switzer, the company’s senior vice president of network transformation, said in a release.

The location was chosen in part because of the city’s proximity clean power – it lies at the junction of two branches of the Thompson River — a highly skilled workforce, and the climate.

According to the Tourism Kamloops Web site, the city is the warmest municipality in the country, with more hot days above 30C than anywhere else. The city dates back to 1812 when a fort was established there.

Built to LEED environmental standards, Telus says the facility is one of the most environmentally sustainable Internet data centres in the world. An advanced cooling system takes advantage of Kamloops’ naturally low humidity to consume 80 per cent less electricity and 86 per cent less water than typical data centres, the carrier says.

That means it will require at maximum only 40 hours of mechanical cooling energy per year, says Telus, which will keep nearly 2,300 tons of carbon dioxide from the environment annually, the equivalent emissions of 10,000 Canadian households.

It has also received Tier III reliability certification from the Uptime Institute. Telus [TSX: T] also has a Tier III data centre in Rimouski, Que.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Howard Solomon
Howard Solomon
Currently a freelance writer, I'm the former editor of ITWorldCanada.com and Computing Canada. An IT journalist since 1997, I've written for several of ITWC's sister publications including ITBusiness.ca and Computer Dealer News. Before that I was a staff reporter at the Calgary Herald and the Brampton (Ont.) Daily Times. I can be reached at hsolomon [@] soloreporter.com

Featured Articles

Cybersecurity in 2024: Priorities and challenges for Canadian organizations 

By Derek Manky As predictions for 2024 point to the continued expansion...

Survey shows generative AI is a top priority for Canadian corporate leaders.

Leaders are devoting significant budget to generative AI for 2024 Canadian corporate...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now