Over the past few weeks, we’ve spoken to quite a few people in the know who have casually mentioned that TELUS is soon going to be flipping the switch on its HSDPA network in a few major Canadian markets. The focus of the soft-launch will apparently be on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. This information is further corroborated by a tip we received recently from a TELUS engineer who claims that September 2nd is the date that TELUS is eyeing for the soft-launch. The move will not only allow the company to iron out the kinks before a nationwide release, but it will also ensure that it has ample time to get everything thoroughly tested for February 12th, 2010 when all of the world comes to Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics (oh hi, HSDPA roaming fees). What makes this even more interesting is the fact that the same people also mentioned a Fall launch for Bell, the official cellular carrier of the 2010 Winter Olympics and a company that happens to have a Canada-wide tower sharing agreement with TELUS. Who’s excited to see Rogers’ HSDPA monopoly come crashing down?
