Telus gave local residents a glimpse into the future with the presentation of their fully connected home.
Bonnyville remains one of the only towns in the northeast region with fibre optic internet access. Telus parked their Future Home at the Centennial Centre from June 27 to July 4 to give the community an idea of how important that is.
“This gives Bonnyville access to technology that, at this point, Edmonton and Calgary don't even have yet. It brings the community up to the same speed as a big urban centre in terms of opportunity,” said Chelsea O'Donohue, regional market manager with Telus.
The home itself was packed with gadgets and concepts only possible through fibre optic internet.
Facial recognition at the door connects to an interactive hub just inside. Messages, appointments and other household tasks can be taken care of at the hub, and a stove that works hand-in-hand with the fridge to meal plan for you highlights the kitchen.
Eliminating long drives to the clinic, a machine in the home records medical information and uploads it straight to the doctor. Then from the home office, users would discuss results with their physician through video chat.
Except for the interactive fridge, which is already on the market, most of these features are just concepts.
“A lot of this is hypothetical for now, but having the direct fibre access would allow you to run all these things. It's really more of a vision of the future, and it shows that Bonnyville is ready for it,” explained O'Donohue.
For those who don't want to wait to take full advantage of fibre optics, director for business strategies with Telus Glen Westerhoff gave an example of the features available now.
“We just launched one gigabit internet. With that connection, you can basically download an entire album of music in less than five seconds, or an entire high definition TV show in less than 10,” said Westerhoff.
He added, the video gaming community would also benefit as gigabit internet means no more choppy gameplay.
“There's no lag in our network. The latency and speed of the network means you really get a high quality multiplayer gaming experience,” stated Westerhoff
It's all part of a bigger plan Telus has to improve Albertans everyday lives through fibre capabilities. Though some of it's features exist only in theory, the future home was a clear representation of the direction home life is headed.
“Beyond the state of the art devices, this home is about connecting people. It's all about using technology to save time and energy. It'll allow us to work smarter, live better and spend more time on the things that are important to us,” expressed Westerhoff.
