EDITORIAL: City a major player in burgeoning industry
It was a re-announcement of sorts, but Telus’ decision to build a major data centre in Kamloops bears repeating in this economy that continues to resemble Rocky in-between winning titles.
The telecommunications giant announced this week it will be spending $100 million in the Tournament Capital Centre, the bulk of which is in the form of the $75-million data centre in the McGill Road industrial area adjacent to Thompson Rivers University.
This clean endeavour will crate about 200 jobs during construction and another 75 permanent positions once the data centre opens.
Telus will also be spending $25 million on improving its Internet network and expanding its Optik TV coverage.
That Telus chose Kamloops is a result of a few factors coming together.
The city is not in a seismic zone, which is crucial to preserving data, and Kamloops is located in a vital geographical spot — the city is at the intersection of three major highways and is one of only two places in Canada in which both national railways cross within city limits.
In addition, the existence of Thompson Rivers University helped lure Telus to Kamloops, with Josh Blair, the company’s executive vice-president of human resources, citing the talent at the growing institution.
With information becoming a hot commodity in this new world of data transfers at the speed of light, Kamloops is in an enviable position to attract similar data centres that will certainly need a safe and secure place to call home as this decade progresses.
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