Revelstoke Cable isn't going down without a fight.
Now known as YourLink Revelstoke, the smaller player in the local TV and Internet business has completed a rebranding and will be offering new, higher speed Internet service in order to compete with Telus.
"One of the focuses on the relaunch is offering comparable packages as far as speed and bandwidth usage. That will happen in October," said Tracey Buckley, the manager of YourLink during an open last Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The big news this year has been Telus' fibre optic network, which they've been rolling out across the town over the past few months. The major telecommunications company can now offer speed of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps).
In response, YourLink is undertaking upgrades of their own that they say will allow them to offer speeds of up to 60 Mbps — a substantial upgrade from the current maximum of six Mbps.
To do that, they've installed a new back haul, which is the equipment that connects the network to the main broadband line into town.
They will also be installing a new router to help disperse the connections, and a new service line so instead of all the traffic going through one cable, it will go through several.
"We'll be able to offer our set of packages and we're going to be competitive with Telus in our prices for the same speed," said Buckley.
YourLink is also changing its cable TV packages. It will be introducing a new basic TV package for $25, with pick-and-pay options available on top of that. The changes are mandated by the CRTC.
Buckley said many people are still interested just in basic, analog cable.
"There's a lot of people that don't want a digital box, they don't want a lot of technology confusing them," she said.
Her other big emphasis was on customer service. She noted YourLink has an office in Revelstoke, with staff you can see in person, and technicians that can off make same-day calls. They also launched new Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to communicate with their customers.
While Buckley acknowledged YourLink has lost subscribers to Telus, it hasn't been because of customer service.
"Everyone is happy with how responsive our service is," she said.