Expanding the advanced TELUS PureFibre network to 530,000 more residences and businesses in rural and remote communities

Deploying 5G to 136 more communities this yearSupporting local grassroots charities with financial donations and volunteer hoursCreating 8,000 job opportunities for Albertans

EDMONTON, Alberta, May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To complement the $51 billion TELUS has invested in Alberta since 2000, TELUS announced today it is investing an additional $14.5 billion in infrastructure and operations across Alberta through 2024 to further support the province throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recovery. These investments will create important and tangible social outcomes for us all by enabling Albertans to work, learn, access healthcare, and socialize from home during these unprecedented times. TELUS’ significant investments include:

• Bringing our blistering-fast 5G network speeds to 136 more communities including 31 Indigenous communities across the province utilizing our current spectrum holdings, connecting a total of 153 Albertan communities by the end of this year. The broad deployment of 5G across our province will contribute to improved health and educational outcomes for Albertans in addition to enabling our entrepreneurial spirit and unleashing human productivity. It is estimated that 5G will create 250,000 jobs1 and contribute $150 billion to Canada’s economy over the next 20 years2.
• Connecting an additional 500,000 Albertan households and businesses to the gigabit-enabled TELUS PureFibre network by the end of 2024. TELUS PureFibre is Western Canada’s largest fibre-to-the-premise network with symmetrical upload and download speeds to easily manage bandwidth demand. TELUS PureFibre supported more than two million Albertans as they adapted to new ways of living throughout the pandemic, enabling people to work with large files at home while other family members could simultaneously be doing virtual school, virtually connecting with healthcare practitioners, or staying socially connected.
• Hiring 8,000 more Albertans primarily in construction, engineering and emerging technologies at TELUS and through our vast partner ecosystem now through 2024.

“On behalf of our 15,000 team members and retirees, TELUS is proud to make this generational investment in Alberta, providing the technology to connect citizens to loved ones, as well as vital resources and information as we continue to navigate the global pandemic,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. “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, our world-leading networks will continue to drive the innovation that empowers the diversity and competitiveness of Alberta’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. Indeed, in our province’s more remote communities, the ongoing expansion of our broadband networks, ubiquitously deployed, is bridging time and distance, allowing residents to live and work in any community without compromising productivity or economic opportunity. As we look ahead with optimism to a period of social and economic recovery, our investments are enabling more Albertans with world-best connectivity to work, learn, socialize, access healthcare and transact safely and effectively from their homes.”

Here are some of the ways TELUS supported our customers, team members, and Canadians through the Covid-19 pandemic:

• In April of 2020, we pulled forward capital investments originally targeted for 2021, bringing TELUS’ total investment in network infrastructure and operations in Alberta in 2020 to $3.5 billion. This included bringing high-speed Internet and TV to 107,000 premises across 30 rural communities, ensuring more Albertans had the network connectivity they needed to adapt to new ways of living and working.
• Our world-class networks accommodated a surge in demand, including a 120% increase in text, photo, and video messages; a 40% surge in Internet usage; a 60% increase in average monthly call volumes; and a 26% increase in TV viewing.
• We gave $85 million to charities across Canada and the world, representing five per cent of our pre-tax profits -- more than any other Canadian organization -- to drive meaningful change for our most vulnerable citizens in 2020 alone.

“COVID has showed us the vital importance of internet connectivity, as Albertans have adjusted to working from home, students learning at home, and much of our regular interactions moving online,” said Premier Jason Kenney. “TELUS’ continued investment in Alberta will have a great influence on our lives and enable our communities and businesses to interact despite obstacles like COVID. TELUS’ work to improve and expand infrastructure in Alberta demonstrates their commitment to our province, as they support new jobs, growth and the prosperity we need to power our recovery.”

From today through 2024 in Alberta, TELUS is:

• Delivering connected technology solutions through TELUS Agriculture to Alberta’s farmers, ranchers, and producers to improve the food supply system through enhanced food traceability, security, safety and sustainability.
  • TELUS Agriculture is leveraging Alberta-made technologies from Decisive Farming and Feedlot Health as part of its mission to connect the global food value chain.
  • TELUS Agriculture invested $1 million in the Olds College Smart Farm, leveraging our technology to help produce nutritious food, safely and sustainably for the world’s ever-expanding population.
• Committing to further our position as a global leader in social capitalism and the most giving company in the world by supporting charities across Alberta financially and with important volunteer hours, and expanding our For Good programs to help more Albertans.
  • This includes expanding our Internet for Good program - which offers low-income families Internet for $9.95 per month - to students in-need and Albertans living with a disability; offering low-income seniors across the province a heavily subsidized data plan for $25 per month through TELUS Mobility for Good for Seniors; and supporting Covid-19 vaccination efforts for at-risk and underserved residents in Edmonton through the Boyle McCauley Mobile Health Clinic powered by TELUS Health. Originally launched in early 2020, the specially-equipped clinic on wheels brings essential primary health, harm reduction, and now, as of this April, Covid-19 vaccination services, directly to marginalized persons in the communities it serves.

These investments build upon TELUS’ continued commitment to bring world-class connectivity to communities across the province, providing the technological backbone for Alberta’s economic recovery and strength well into the future. Since 2000, TELUS has invested nearly $240 billion nationally in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum, including more than $51 billion in technology and operations in Alberta.

The investments announced in this media release are consistent with TELUS’ capital expenditure guidance for 2021, released in the fourth quarter of 2020 earnings release dated February 11, 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’ 2018 and first quarter 2019 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 statement 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 SauvéTELUS Public RelationsLiz.Sauve@telus.com

1   Based on a recent report from Accenture. 2   Based on a recent report from GSMA