TELUS announced today it is investing an additional $54 billion in
infrastructure and operations across the country through 2024 to
further support Canadians through the Covid-19 pandemic and the
country’s economic recovery. These investments will create
important and tangible social outcomes for Canadians by enabling us
all to work, learn, access healthcare, and socialize from home
during these unprecedented times. To help us achieve these
remarkable outcomes, TELUS will expand our next-generation 5G
network to an additional 529 new urban and rural communities by the
end of the year and bring our gigabit PureFibre Internet network to
more than one million additional homes and businesses, exceeding a
total of 3.5 million Canadian premises by the end of 2021.
Together, our expanded and enhanced wireless and wireline
technologies will enable improved health and educational outcomes
for Canadians, support environmental sustainability, foster
entrepreneurship, unleash human productivity, bridge the
socio-economic divide, and drive economic growth, which is crucial
to Canada’s fiscal recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition
to the 38,000 job opportunities TELUS will create for Canadians in
the next four years across our vast partner ecosystem, the
deployment of 5G will create 250,000 jobs2 and contribute $150
billion to Canada’s economy over the next 20 years.3
“The significant
investments we are making in our world-leading networks to rapidly
expand our 5G footprint and PureFibre infrastructure are enabling
us to connect more Canadians to the people, resources, and critical
information they need as we continue to navigate the global
pandemic,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO. “Now more than
ever, TELUS is committed to keeping our citizens and communities
connected, productive and healthy through our globally-leading
wireless network, underpinned by our award winning TELUS PureFibre
infrastructure that provides the backbone for our 5G-enabled world.
Importantly, as we look optimistically toward a period of economic
and social recovery, our world-leading networks will continue to
drive the innovation that empowers the diversity and
competitiveness of our country’s private sector and improves
economic equality in our digital world, helping us answer the most
pressing social challenges in health, education and the environment
for the benefit of all Canadians.”
Expanding our 5G networkBy the end of the year,
TELUS’ 5G network will cover 70% of the Canadian population
utilizing our current spectrum holdings. Below is the breakdown of
new communities being upgraded to 5G by province:
- British Columbia: 187 communities
- Quebec: 161 communities
- Alberta: 136 communities
- Manitoba: 12 communities
- Ontario: 24 communities
See TELUS’ current coverage map here.
In addition to unleashing human productivity and supporting our
economic recovery, TELUS’ networks will further bridge digital
divides and socio-economic inequality by ensuring that safe and
quality healthcare is accessible for all Canadians through the use
of TELUS Health’s digital solutions. In the near future, 5G will
improve health experiences for Canadians with faster, more secure
connections for video health consultations and remote health
monitoring. Eventually, remote surgeries will be made possible as
innovation is enabled by our robust networks.
Enhancing our university 5G partnerships
To support students, faculty, and researchers working to advance
the technologies of tomorrow, TELUS is partnering with the
University of Windsor and St. Clair College in Ontario to make each
institution a 5G Connected Campus. Fully funded by TELUS, each
institution will receive a TELUS-designed, 5G-enabled wireless
network. TELUS will operate these networks at no cost to the
institutions, provide complementary connectivity to students,
faculty, and researchers, and collaborate on research projects to
further understanding and use cases of 5G technologies. These
partnerships will bring some of the most cutting-edge
telecommunications technology available to students that will
advance higher education and science, and unlock new ways for
technology to improve Canadians’ lives.
Building on our proven track record of
investment
These investments build upon TELUS’ continued commitment to
bring world-leading connectivity to communities across the country,
providing the technological backbone for our economic recovery and
strength well into the future. Since 2000, TELUS has invested
nearly $240 billion nationally in network infrastructure,
operations, and spectrum to enhance the coverage, speed, and
reliability of our networks.
The investments announced in this media release are consistent
with our planned capital expenditure plans, including our
accelerated broadband build as outlined in our March 2021 equity
offering news release dated March 25, 2021.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release
contains statements about future events and plans that are
forward-looking, including relating to TELUS’ infrastructure
investment plans. By their nature, forward-looking statements
require TELUS to make assumptions and predictions and are subject
to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that
the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a number of factors (such as
regulatory decisions and developments, the competitive environment
in which we operate, our operating and financial results and our
ability to carry out financing activities) could cause actual
capital and operating expenditures to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, this news
release and the forward-looking statements made in it are subject
to the cautionary note and qualified by the assumptions,
qualifications and risk factors referred to in TELUS’ 2020 annual
Management’s discussion and analysis, which are incorporated by
reference herein, and in other TELUS public disclosure documents
and filings with securities commissions in Canada (on SEDAR at
sedar.com) and in the United States (on EDGAR at sec.gov).
Forward-looking statements describe TELUS’ expectations and are
based on our assumptions as at the date of this press release and
are subject to change. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims
any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking
statements.
About TELUSTELUS
(TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications
technology company with $16 billion in annual revenue and 16
million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice,
television, entertainment, video, and security. We leverage our
global-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human
outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers
first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct
leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. In 2020, TELUS
was recognized as having the fastest wireless network in the world,
reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to
superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and
information that make our lives better. TELUS Health is Canada’s
leader in digital health technology, improving access to health and
wellness services and revolutionizing the flow of health
information across the continuum of care. TELUS Agriculture
provides innovative digital solutions throughout the agriculture
value chain, supporting better food outcomes from improved
agri-business data insights and processes. TELUS International (TSX
and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator
that delivers next-generation AI and content management solutions
for global brands across the technology and games, ecommerce and
FinTech, communications and media, healthcare, travel and
hospitality sectors. TELUS and TELUS International operate in 25+
countries around the world. Together, let’s make the future
friendly.
Driven by our passionate social
purpose to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and
enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS, our
team members and retirees to contribute more than $820 million and
1.6 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented
generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most
giving company in the world.
For more information about TELUS,
please visit telus.com, follow us @TELUSNews on Twitter and
@Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Liz SauveTELUS Public RelationsLiz.Sauve@telus.com
1 Network speeds vary with location, signal and customer device.
Compatible device required. Manufacturer’s rated peak download
speeds: 5G, up to 1700 Mbps, LTE Advanced, up to 1350 Mbps; LTE, up
to 150 Mbps; HSPA+, up to 42 Mbps.2 Based on a recent report from
Accenture3 Based on a recent report from GSMA
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