Chris Langdon, TELUS Consumer Solutions’ Vice President, Network Services

"Our approach to product delivery is to make everything simple for the user."

TELUS is the largest telecommunications company in Western Canada and the second largest in the country, with $8.0 billion of annual revenue, 4.7 million network access lines and 4.3 million wireless customers. The company provides customers with a full range of telecommunications products and services including data, voice and wireless services across Canada, utilizing next generation Internet-based technologies.

BB2.0: Can you describe TELUS’ vision for next-generation broadband services?

Langdon: TELUS is one of the first major communications providers in the world to deploy a next-generation-network (NGN), a ubiquitous IP network architected for high-quality voice, data and video applications. Going forward, TELUS’ NGN will provide a common platform for the delivery of seamless, secure voice and data services to our customers. New end-user focused applications and services will simply leverage the connectivity provided by the NGN, and will not require the development of a service-specific overlay network. Our motto is ‘Future Friendly,’ a philosophy that guides TELUS’ approach in all areas of our business, from the easy-to-buy products and innovative services we offer to the way we interact with our clients, our partners and with each other.

BB2.0: As part of that vision, TELUS is offering home networking services to its DSL customers. What does that include?

Langdon: TELUS’ High-Speed Enhanced Internet service includes a wireless gateway that allows our customers to simply connect up to five computers and peripherals to the Internet using a single DSL connection.

BB2.0: Do customers require any technical expertise to install and use the service?

Langdon: The worst thing we could do is introduce a service that requires technical expertise to install and use. We want to make is simple enough for your grandmother to be able to use. That’s the customer now. Our approach to product delivery is to make everything simple for the user. We pay a lot of attention to the out-of-the-box experience, making sure all our services are plug-and-play, and backed by 24x7 phone support.

BB2.0: What is the installation experience like for the customer?

Langdon: The home networking starter kit includes our e-Care software, an automated support solution with self-diagnostic tools and wizards that walk customers through self-installation and troubleshooting. eCare automatically detects and resolves common problems, so customers can resolve technical issues with just a few clicks, they don’t need to know the technical details.

BB2.0: So what happens if the customer runs into a question or problem?

Langdon: First, eCare connects the customer directly to a support technician. And it lets us remotely monitor everything from the access point all the way into the home, so we can do things like check the settings in the modem and router to make sure they’re correct. It lets us help the customer without having to roll a truck to the house. The most expensive thing we can do in this business is roll a truck, and we recognize that our customers don’t necessarily want to take time out of their day or stay home from work to wait for a technician, so eCare lets us resolve a lot of issues remotely.

BB2.0: Are you seeing more demand for home networking services from your customers?

Langdon: The key driver for home networking now is that people everywhere are adopting digital media. Media gateways are popping up everywhere, they’re being offered by traditional audio companies, not just computer companies. Digital content is becoming a bigger part of their lives. For example, if a person’s computer crashes and they lose their entire media library, that’s a significant issue. And they want to be able to access that content on different devices, whether it’s their phone, their TV or their PC.

BB2.0: That ability to share content requires more than connecting two computers together—the traditional idea of a “home network.” How is TELUS addressing that?

Langdon: We’ve spent the last few years building out our next-generation network that’s capable of delivering 15 Mbps to the home. Now, when our installers go in to wire a customer’s home for TELUS TV service, what the customer is really getting is a high-speed LAN. Having that network installed sets them up for more advanced services in the future. There’s a lot of variation in the quality of the wiring inside the home, so we’re able to ensure that they’re wired for high-bandwidth services like TELUS TV and others down the road.

BB2.0: What kinds of value-added services do you envision?

Langdon: Right now we offer a service called Homesitter for $9.95 a month, which is a home security service that allows our high-speed Internet subscribers to monitor their homes while they’re away via any Internet connection. In the future, you’ll see more integration of TV and DSL services that transcend the devices. For example, wouldn’t it be great if, as a TELUS customer, I could get Homesitter on my cell phone, or high-speed Internet on my TELUS TV? What if I could take pictures with my camera phone, post them to my photo album on my PC and view them on my TV? Those are the kinds of services we’d like our customers to be able to enjoy in the future.

BB2.0: If customers have trouble now setting up a home network, won’t that just add to the complexity and make it harder for TELUS to manage?

Langdon: That’s why we take great care in making sure these services are ready for mainstream consumers before we roll them out. Our tagline is ‘Future Friendly,’ and it’s more than a marketing slogan. It’s our rallying cry across the organization, both internally and externally, and a strategy we use to make sure our customers have the best experience possible with our services.

Chris Langdon is the vice president of network services for TELUS Consumer Solutions. He is responsible for product development and management of the company’s wireless and Future Friendly home network service, encompassing wireless and wireline voice services, as well as wireless mobile computing, location and e-mail solutions.