THUNDER BAY – Technology is changing. Innovation is fueling the future. For over a century, Tbaytel has been committed to improving the quality of life, infrastructure and economic health of Northern Ontario and providing unparalleled products, service, and customer care. “We understand that our continued growth, and success as a major player in the field of telecommunications, depends upon you, our valued customers. At Tbaytel we have always understood the power of investment: in people, in products and in the local economy. We know that community involvement is vital to the future of our business and in the past year alone we have supported over 100 local events. After all, our neighbourhood, unlike our competition, is the only neighbourhood we serve,” states Tbaytel in an update on company operations.
“Things are exciting at Tbaytel right now. The company is moving into a new area, offering television service and the opportunity for you to bundle your services. It has been a fairly long path to this point, Tbaytel has had to go through the CRTC process and to set up the system and then get it ready for you, the potential user”.
Tbaytel states, “First there was black and white. Then there was colour. Now, get ready to embrace the future of TV. Tbaytel is proud to introduce the new wave of TV entertainment. Digital TV has arrived! Our Digital TV is an advanced broadcasting technology that will transform your television viewing experience. Tbaytel Digital TV enables customers to receive television with better picture and sound quality. It also offers multiple programming choices, interactive capabilities, VOD, HD and digital theme packs”.
“Digital TV is a giant leap forward in the evolution of television,” said company president and CEO Don Campbell. “It uses state of the art technology combined with a wide array of features, tailored content and interactivity. It’s going to provide our customers with a entirely new television viewing experience.”
So how does it work? NNL first reported the latest moves by the local telecommunications company in September 2010 (http://netnewsledger.com/?p=2388).
Tbaytel Digital TV is a product of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technology. An encoded stream of Internet Protocol (IP) packets is sent to a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) which sits on top of your TV and is tied into your home’s broadband connection. This allows content to be sent via the Internet instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequency broadcast, satellite signal, and cable television formats. The PVR Smart Box interprets and stores the Digital TV signals as a binary code in much the same way your computer stores information. This allows for a much more compact signal and, as only requested data is sent, takes up far less space on your bandwidth. Tbaytel’s Digital TV IP technology enables programming to be delivered seamlessly to your TV and gives you access to extensive, tailored content, thus enriching your viewing experience.
The Tbaytel Digital offering includes, in its basic package the option for two CTV stations, Vancouver and Toronto. That move will fill the gap left by the dropping of CTV last year by Dougall Media when the local company shifted their television coverage to Global TV. Tbaytel also includes the option of an eastern and western choice for other channels as well, including ABC, CBC, CityTV and Global as well. This is a great addition to the channel mix, as it will allow viewers to catch programs at times they want.
There could be an impact on local businesses advertising on local television if lots of views are watching the Toronto or Vancouver stations, but that is a matter for another day, and not really related to the new packages offered by Tbaytel.
The new television offer from Tbaytel might jumpstart some serious competition between Shaw and the Thunder Bay based company. If it does that, it will likely benefit all consumers in our region.
To check out the local offers for service, check out www.tbaytel.net and www.shaw.ca.