The plan by Canadian telecoms giant TELUS to build a giant internet data center as part of a 2009 $500 million capital investment is further evidence of underlying demand for data services and connectivity.

The company said it was searching for a site in British Columbia and that the $500 million would be focused primarily on advanced wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure.
The new data center, scheduled to open in 2011, will have one of the lowest carbon footprints of all data centers in North America. It will be a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which will be independently reviewed by the Canada Green Building Council's rigorous rating system.
Telus said that when completed the data center will be among the "greenest" in North America and at least twice as energy efficient as existing data centers and designed to (LEED) criteria.
Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS, said: "Our $500 million investment focused on leading broadband technology, including a world-class Internet data centre, will create sustainable employment opportunities, contribute to the province's future competitiveness, and support the launch of innovative new services for TELUS customers." The organization promotes a "whole building" approach to environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environment quality.
TELUS expects to launch its new network, based on the latest version of High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology, in British Columbia and nationally by early 2010.
This investment is expected to ensure a smooth transition to long term evolution (LTE) technology, the emerging worldwide standard for fourth generation or 4G wireless networks.