TELUS brings free Wi-Fi to Montrealers this summer

The TELUS Wi-Xi allows the BIXI bike to emit free Wi-Fi

MONTREAL, July 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, TELUS is pleased to announce that the Wi-Xi squad will hit the streets of Montreal. The squad will visit various popular public places throughout the summer to give Montrealers free access to TELUS's powerful 4G LTE network.

The BIXI bike, decked out in TELUS colours, is transformed into a Wi-Fi access point thanks to the TELUS Wi-Xi, a 4G LTE modem which is linked to a battery that is recharged by pedal power. A TELUS innovation, the TELUS Wi-Xi allows up to 10 users per bike to connect to TELUS's powerful 4G LTE network. The innovation behind this pilot project highlights TELUS's desire to fully exploit the power of the Internet in order to offer the best technological solutions for households and offices and, now, on streets city-wide.

"We are proud to be associated with BIXI. This is our way of contributing to its success while, at the same time, ensuring that all Montrealers can benefit from our expertise and our cutting edge technologies," said François Gratton, Senior Vice-President, Business Market, Eastern Canada, and Consumer Mobility, Quebec at TELUS. "At TELUS, technological innovation drives each of our big projects because we believe that it can help to make the future friendly in our communities."

"BIXI, equipped with TELUS's Wi-Xi technology is a clear example of the accomplishments that our partnership can bring forth. For us, TELUS is more than a sponsor, it is a key contributor for Bixi's development across Canada", said Michel Philibert, Director of Communications and Marketing at BIXI.

As health forms one of the major pillars of TELUS's community investment commitment, for the second year in a row, TELUS will contribute $1 for each BIXI subscription, for up to a total of $50,000, to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The TELUS Wi-Xi squad will wind through the streets of Montreal and visit the various popular places in the city in order to reach as many Montrealers as possible. For more information and the schedule of when and where the squad will visit in the next weeks, visit montreal.bixi.com/about-bixi/news.

About the Société de vélo en libre-service (Public Bike System Company)

The Société de vélo en libre-service is the organization behind the design, development and operation of BIXI, the very first large-scale bike-sharing system in North America. Dedicated to complementing public mass transport, the service allows citizens to borrow a bike from one station, use the bike to get around, and then return it to any station in the network.

The Société de vélo en libre-service offers a cutting-edge bike-sharing system available in cities on three continents: London (UK); Melbourne (Australia); Minneapolis, Washington DC/Arlington and Boston (US); Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Gatineau (Canada). In addition, the Société de vélo en libre-service offers concrete alternative transportation solutions as well as technical and operational consulting services.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to numerous charitable and not-for-profit organizations, and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com

Amélie Cliche
TELUS Media Relations
Mobile : [phone]
[email protected] 

Marie-Hélène Houle
Société de vélo en libre-service
514 789-2494, poste 2053
Mobile : [phone]
[email protected]