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MAY 6, 2021

TELUS investing in new technology and infrastructure and creating 38,000 jobs across Canada to help make the future friendly for Canadians

529 new Canadian communities will have access to TELUS' blazing fast 5G network by end of year, covering more than 70% of Canada's population, and providing speeds up to 1.7 Gbps
More than 3.5 million homes and businesses in B.C., Alberta, and Quebec will be connected to TELUS PureFibre
Creating over 38,000 Canadian job opportunities at TELUS and across our partner ecosystem
Vancouver, B.C. – 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 jobs and contribute $150 billion to Canada’s economy over the next 20 years.
“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 network
By 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, 2024.
Forward-Looking Statements
This 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 TELUS
TELUS (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.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Liz Sauve
TELUS Public Relations
[email protected]