By end of year, TELUS will have injected more than $24 billion into Ontario since 2000;
Extending 4G LTE, the fastest and most advanced wireless technology in the world, for customers in communities throughout the province
Toronto, ON – TELUS is investing $245 million in new infrastructure and technology across Ontario in 2013, bringing more customers the world’s fastest and most advanced wireless technology – 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). Part of a three-year, $650 million commitment made a year ago, today’s announcement builds upon the more than $24 billion TELUS has already invested in operations and technology throughout the province since 2000.
“In little more than a decade, we’ve gone from not having a network in Ontario to blanketing the province with the fastest wireless network technology in the world. We’ve laid fibre optic cable in every major city in the province,” said Joe Natale, TELUS Chief Commercial Officer. “The TELUS story in Ontario is one of strategic and sustainable investment and high-value job creation. We’ve put down deep, deep roots, and we are building on this record with our 2013 investment of $245 million. It makes me very proud to say that establishing a foundation here in Ontario is what’s made TELUS a truly national company.”
Thousands of TELUS team members will draw on this investment to:
Light up hundreds of new wireless sites enhancing coverage in urban areas to increase wireless data capacity and extend coverage to rural communities and highway corridors.
Extend TELUS 4G LTE technology to more Ontarians. It’s already available to more than 80 per cent of the province.
Continue being part of the solution in healthcare by extending healthcare technology to more people in a way that saves taxpayer money while improving care. TELUS has invested more than $1 billion in the healthcare sector and now has a team of almost 1,600 healthcare innovators working on projects large and small across the country.
TELUS’ investment in communities extends past providing customers with world-class technology. As members of every community where we live and work, TELUS, our team members and retirees give where we live, supporting grassroots and community organizations across Ontario including Operation Come Home, iSisters, Sistema Toronto and the United Way.
“At TELUS, we believe that helping build stronger communities is our responsibility as corporate citizens,” said Mr. Natale. “We bring the same kind of innovation and passion to our charitable giving and volunteering that we do to our business. ‘We give where we live’ is an authentic, vibrant expression of our attitude and approach. The whole TELUS team’s participation, heart, and hard work raising donations is making a difference every year right across Ontario.”
The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS' overall capital expenditure guidance for 2013.
What is LTE?
The world’s fastest wireless technology, called 4G LTE, offers Internet speeds two to three times faster than past technology, offering TELUS customers connections as fast as their home Internet on their smartphones, tablets and Internet keys. In the last year, TELUS rolled out LTE service that now covers more than 82 per cent of Ontario, and will connect even more by the end of 2013.
What is We Give Where We Live?
At TELUS, we give where we live. Whether through our locally focused Community Boards, charitable partnerships or employee and customer engagement programs, we are committed to building stronger and healthier communities.
On May 25, 13,000 TELUS team members, retirees and family members participated in the eighth annual TELUS Day of Giving, volunteering their time at more than 500 local activities nationwide. They helped out at children’s hospitals, fed homeless citizens, sorted thousands of pounds of food bank donations, pulled invasive plants out of cherished parks, and helped clean up and maintain the buildings and grounds of dozens of charities.
Our more than 8,000 employees and retirees in Ontario have donated more than $48 million and, more importantly, volunteered 300,000 hours to community and charitable organizations since 2000.
There are 11 TELUS Community Boards in Canada that provide funding to grassroots organizations in major centres where TELUS operates. In Ontario there are Community Boards in Toronto and Ottawa. Since inception in 2005, the Community Boards in Ontario have contributed over $8.9 million to both national and grassroots charitable organizations and supported more than 547 community projects.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $11 billion of annual revenue and 13.2 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.
Forward looking statement:
This news release contains statements about expected future events of TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company 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 could cause actual future events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.
For more information, please contact:
Jill Yetman
TELUS Media Relations
416-992-2639
jill.yetman@telus.com