VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — (Marketwired) — 04/15/15 — TELUS intends to invest $4 billion in new infrastructure and facilities across its home province of British Columbia through 2018, including $1 billion this year alone. When combined with operational expenses, this will bring TELUS– total investment in British Columbia over the next four years to $11.5 billion. By the end of 2018, TELUS will have invested more than $47 billion in British Columbia since 2000 to extend the reach of advanced telecommunications infrastructure and healthcare technology, ensuring sustained innovation and fueling the province–s economic growth.
“TELUS is unwavering in our long-standing commitment to create opportunities for British Columbians by making the province one of the most connected places on the planet,” said Darren Entwistle, TELUS Executive Chair. “Our $4 billion investment over the next four years will enhance and extend our pervasive broadband coverage across B.C., making the province a national showcase for connectivity, innovation and technology leadership. Most notably, it will have a tangible impact on citizen–s lives as we directly connect homes, businesses, hospitals, schools, community centres and municipal governments in all corners of the province to our fibre optic network, thereby providing critical access to next-generation health, education, business and government services and applications. Furthermore, we will simultaneously enhance every wireless site in B.C. with 4G LTE, the most advanced and fastest wireless technology available.”
“Today more than ever, B.C.–s growing economy and population depend on fast, reliable connectivity to take advantage of every possible opportunity,” said Premier Christy Clark. “TELUS– continued investment in telecommunications infrastructure across B.C. is good news for families, schools, businesses, and rural communities.”
“TELUS– commitment to British Columbia extends well beyond its investments in infrastructure and operations,” added Mr. Entwistle. “Tax morality is one of the most significant global issues facing corporations and society today. Since 2000 TELUS has remitted more than $3.5 billion in income, payroll, property and other taxes to B.C.–s provincial and municipal governments, supporting critical social services across the province. Most importantly, TELUS and its 20,000 team members, community board members and retirees who live and work in British Columbia have donated more than $120 million and volunteered more than 3.3 million hours since 2000 to foster better social outcomes for British Columbians in need of a helping hand. Finally, TELUS will complete the construction of TELUS Garden this year, our new national headquarters in downtown Vancouver. Designed and built to LEED Platinum standards to reflect TELUS– deep commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, this $750 million project has supported the local economy by creating more than 520 jobs, and has attracted many high quality tenants including Amazon.”
In 2015 and beyond TELUS will:
Services
Health
Business
Community
The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS– overall capital expenditure guidance for 2015, issued on February 12, 2015.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T)(NYSE: TU) is Canada–s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12 billion of annual revenue and 13.7 million customer connections, including 8.1 million wireless subscribers, 3.2 million wireline network access lines, 1.5 million Internet subscribers and 916,000 TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada–s largest healthcare IT provider.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $396 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered and more than 6 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by Executive Chairman Darren Entwistle, TELUS– 11 community boards across Canada have led the company–s support of grassroots charities and will have contributed $47 million in support of 3,700 local charities organizations by the end of 2015, enriching the lives of more than two million Canadian children and youth. 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 license purchases that are forward-looking. The investments described for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 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 2015 annual guidance, semi-annual dividend increases through 2016, ability to sustain and complete our multi-year share purchase program through 2016), qualifications and risk factors referred to in the 2014 Management–s Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, 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.
Contacts:
Liz Sauve
TELUS Media Relations
(604) 719-6715
Darrell Rae
TELUS Investor Relations
(604) 697-8192
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