TELUS investing $17 billion across Ontario through 2024 to support residents, businesses and the economy with the network connectivity needed to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic

Deploying 5G to 24 more communities this year

Supporting local grassroots charities with financial donations and volunteer hours

Creating 10,000 job opportunities for Ontarians

TORONTO, May 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To complement the $53 billion TELUS has invested in Ontario since 2000, TELUS announced today it is investing an additional $17 billion in infrastructure and operations across Ontario through 2024 to further support the province through the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recovery. These investments will create important and tangible social outcomes for us all by enabling Ontarians 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 connect 24 more communities across the province to 5G utilizing our current spectrum holdings by the end of 2021. The broad deployment of 5G across our province will contribute to improved health and educational outcomes for Ontarians, supporting environmental sustainability, 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.

• Hiring 10,000 Ontarians primarily in construction, engineering and emerging technologies at TELUS and through our vast partner ecosystem now through 2024.

“On behalf of our 8,000 local team members, TELUS is proud to make this generational investment in Ontario, 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. Importantly, our world-leading network will continue to drive the innovation that empowers the diversity and competitiveness of Ontario’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 Ontario’s more remote communities, the ongoing expansion of our wireless network, including the extension of our next-generation 5G technology, 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 Ontarians 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:

• 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.

"As we all work together towards Ontario’s economic recovery, it is more important than ever for communities in every corner of our province to have access to the latest communications technologies,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “We want to thank TELUS for their significant investment in Ontario’s economy at this critical juncture. This incredible $17 billion investment will create 10,000 new job opportunities for Ontario workers, capitalizing on our talented workforce in the tech, manufacturing, and construction sectors.”

In addition to the important network investments referenced above, now through 2024 in Ontario, TELUS is:

• Delivering connected technology solutions through TELUS Agriculture to Ontario’s farmers, ranchers, and producers to improve the food supply system through enhanced food traceability, security, safety and sustainability.

• Further bridging digital divides and socio-economic inequality by ensuring that safe and quality healthcare is accessible for all Ontarians through the use of TELUS Health’s digital solutions. In the near future, 5G will improve health experiences for Ontarians 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.

  • In 2020 TELUS announced partnerships with the University of Windsor and St. Clair College to make each institution a 5G Connected Campus. TELUS will operate these networks at no cost to the institutions, providing complementary connectivity to students, faculty, and researchers, and even collaborating on research projects to further understanding and use cases of 5G technologies.

• Committing to further our position as a global leader in social capitalism and the most giving company in the world by supporting charities across Ontario financially and with important volunteer hours, and expanding our For Good programs to help more Ontarians.

  • This includes deploying the Parkdale Queen West Mobile Health Clinic powered by TELUS Health throughout the mid-west region of Toronto to provide essential primary health and harm reduction services directly to Ontarians; giving youth and young adults transitioning from care a free smartphone and data plan for two years to help them as they build their independence through TELUS Mobility for Good; and offering low-income seniors across the province a heavily subsidized data plan for $25 per month through TELUS Mobility for Good for Seniors.
    

These investments build upon TELUS’ continued commitment to bring world-class connectivity to communities across the province, providing the technological backbone for Ontario’s economic recovery and strength well into the future. Since 2000, TELUS has invested nearly $240 billion nationally in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum across Canada, including more than $53 billion in technology and operations in Ontario.

The investments announced in this media release are consistent with TELUS’ capital expenditure guidance for 2021, as updated in TELUS’ first quarter 2021 earnings’ release dated May 7, 2021, and our planned future capital expenditure plans, including our accelerated broadband build, as outlined in our March 2021 equity offering news release dated March 25, 2021.

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’ 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 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.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow us @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Brandi Rees
TELUS Public Relations
brandi.rees@telus.com

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