TELUS investment enhancing wireless services and extending the reach of high-speed Internet and Optik TV
Vancouver, B.C. – TELUS is investing $290 million in Vancouver this year to increase available Internet speeds in several communities; expand the reach of 4G LTE, the world’s fastest wireless technology; offer innovative healthcare IT solutions; bring TELUS’ Internet-based TV service Optik TV to more neighbourhoods; and complete construction on TELUS Garden, a technologically and environmentally advanced residential and commercial development in downtown Vancouver.
“The demand for broadband and healthcare applications is booming across Vancouver, and our $290 million investment means local residents, businesses and healthcare providers will have improved access to the world’s fastest wireless technology and ultra-fast Internet in addition to innovative health IT solutions,” said Josh Blair, TELUS Chief Corporate Officer. “This significant investment is part of TELUS’ commitment to invest $2.8 billion in B.C. from 2014 through 2016. By the end of 2016, TELUS’ investment in operations and infrastructure across the province since 2000 will exceed $40 billion. Also, since 2000, TELUS has paid income, payroll, property, sales and other taxes totalling $3.2 billion to provincial and municipal governments in B.C., helping to support services in communities across the province.”
TELUS’ investment in communities extends beyond providing customers with world-class technology. As members of every community they serve, TELUS, their team members and retirees give where they live, supporting grassroots community organizations across B.C.
“Across the province, our TELUS family truly sees themselves as members of each community where we operate, and we believe our investment in local organizations is just as important as our investment in technology,” continued Blair. “Our philosophy, We Give Where We Live, is exemplified by our TELUS family of employees and retirees in Vancouver donating more $90 million and most importantly, volunteering more than 295,000 hours to charitable and community organizations since 2000.”
This year’s investment will advance TELUS services for the benefit of Vancouver by:
• Installing new wireless sites to expand the reach of LTE and enhance wireless capacity by filling in coverage gaps
• Introducing Optik TV to more local residences
• Bringing faster Internet speeds to residents and businesses
• Updating older infrastructure and technology to enhance network reliability
• Providing access to innovative healthcare IT solutions
About LTE
• 4G LTE is the world’s fastest wireless technology, offering Internet downloads and uploads two to three times faster than previous speeds.
• 4G LTE offers TELUS customers a wireless Internet connection as fast as their home Internet on their smartphones, tablets and Internet keys – bringing high-speed Internet everywhere they go.
About Optik TV
• TELUS’ Internet-based Optik TV offers more than 650 channels, including more than 185 in HD.
• Optik TV extends the traditional TV experience outside of the home with applications such as the Optik Smart Remote App which enables users to manage PVR recordings from their iPhone or iPad, and Optik on the Go which provides access to more than 2,000 on demand shows and movies on your smartphone, tablet and laptop.
About Spectrum
• Canadians lead the world in wireless data consumption and Canada’s wireless industry invests almost twice the average of developed countries in its networks.
• TELUS has invested $1.143 billion to acquire 700 MHz spectrum across Canada, which will ensure TELUS’ ability to continue to deliver world-class speed, coverage and reliable wireless services to customers.
• Today, TELUS brings 4G LTE to almost 85% of Canada’s population. The acquired spectrum will be used by TELUS to further enhance LTE coverage in urban and rural areas, eventually reaching 97% of the population.
• TELUS has already begun preparing its wireless sites to operationalize the 700 MHz spectrum to ensure TELUS customers can take advantage of the new spectrum as soon as possible.
About We Give Where We Live
• We Give Where We Live is a simply philosophy at TELUS – through locally-focused Community Boards, charitable partnerships and employee and customer engagement programs, TELUS is committed to building stronger and healthier communities where TELUS team members live, work and serve.
• As a focal point of TELUS’ commitment to give with their hearts and hands, the 9th annual TELUS Day of Giving will be held on May 31. On this day, more than 14,000 TELUS team members, retirees and family members volunteer their time at more than 500 local activities nationwide.
The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS' overall capital expenditure guidance for 2014 issued on February 13, 2014.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $11.4 billion of annual revenue and 13.3 million customer connections, including 7.8 million wireless subscribers, 3.3 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 815,000 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 $350 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 5.4 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. 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 including TELUS’ projected multi-year capital and operating expenditures, which include spectrum licence purchases that are forward-looking. The investments described for 2015 and 2016 are subject to the ongoing review and approval of TELUS’ Board of Directors. 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 (such as regulatory and government decisions, the competitive environment, economic conditions, our ability to purchase spectrum licences through auctions or third-parties, and our earnings, free cash flow and financial position) could cause actual capital and operating expenditures to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, this news release is subject to the disclaimer and qualified by the assumptions (including the assumptions for our 2014 annual guidance, semi-annual dividend increases through 2016, ability to sustain and complete our multi-year share purchase programs through 2016), qualifications and risk factors referred to in the 2013 annual report, which are specifically 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). Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.
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For more information, please contact:
Liz Sauvé
TELUS Media Relations
(604) 719-6715
liz.sauve@telus.com