TELUS invests $53 million in Montreal as part of a five-year billion dollar commitment to Quebec
TELUS’ network investments will help Montreal become one of the smartest cities in Canada and promote the emergence of a new generation of entertainment experiences, including PY1
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, May 21, 2019 – Today, TELUS announced a $53 million investment in its wireless and wireline networks in Greater Montreal in 2019 as part of a five-year billion dollar commitment in the province of Quebec. These investments aim to help Montreal continue its growth as one of the smartest cities in Canada, while also paving the way for the arrival of 5G technology across the province.
“In a city where some of the world’s top creative and digital talent works side by side, the sky is the limit if we leverage TELUS’s world-class network to boost our imagination, innovation and creativity,” said François Gratton, Group President, TELUS, and Chair, TELUS Québec. “For us, a network is more than just a technological infrastructure. It allows us to support Montreal’s knowledge economy and contributes to economic growth. It helps support the local charities that play an important role in ensuring our communities thrive. It allows us to forge ties and experience unparalleled moments of connection. It’s also an excellent springboard to showcase local creative ingenuity around the world.”
These investments are part of a 20-year partnership agreement announced by TELUS and the Old Port of Montréal Corporation (OPMC) in 2017 with the mandate to equip the landmark site with a number of leading-edge technologies and a free high-speed Wi-Fi zone. Since then, more than 125 million megabytes of data travel over the TELUS network every summer. At the same time, TELUS also announced that it would deploy Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) technology to maximize the performance of its Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) wireless network. This technology and TELUS’ 4,000-km fibre optic network on the Island of Montreal have helped prepare TELUS wireless networks for the impending arrival of 5G technology.
The TELUS network has been recognized numerous times as having the most powerful, fastest and most reliable network in Canada by reputable independent organizations, including Open Signal, Ookla, PCMag and J.D. Power.
In the Old Port alone, TELUS has invested $4 million to date to create an open-air technology lab. The commitment by TELUS has helped make the Old Port one of Canada’s most innovative spaces and supported the emergence of a new generation of entertainment experiences. PY1, Lune Rouge Entertainment’s newest venture, chose this iconic area of the city as its home base and is benefitting from the power and reliability of the TELUS network to offer an innovative experience to audiences. This modular performance venue uses technology to drive human creativity. PY1 will harness the country’s largest and fastest network to power the premiere of its immersive show, Through the Echoes. Much more than a performance venue, PY1 is also a vibrant lab. From June to September, its creative team will test out new concepts using emerging and cloud-based technology. The team will then be able to streamline its infrastructure during its North American tour.
Nationwide, TELUS has invested over $175 billion in its network and operations since 2000 and plans to add around $40 billion in the next three years, for a total of $215 billion. For TELUS, doing business and doing good go hand in hand. Thanks to its numerous investments throughout Quebec, including in Montreal and the Old Port, TELUS is leveraging its network to serve local artists and help build diversified, healthy communities. Winner of the 2018 Mercure prize for “Engagement within the Investors Group community,” TELUS is committed to giving and to lending a helping hand to community organizations in Greater Montreal. Last year, TELUS donated $7 million to local organizations that help grow Quebec communities.
The investments announced in this media release are consistent with TELUS’ capital expenditure guidance for 2019, which was released in our fourth quarter of 2018 earnings release dated February 14, 2019.
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 one of the leading telecommunications companies in Canada, with $14.5 billion of annual revenue and 14 million customer connections, including 9.7 million wireless subscribers, 1.9 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.2 million residential network access lines and 1.1 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communication products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video as well as home and business security. TELUS is also the biggest IT service provider in Canadian health care, and its subsidiary TELUS International offers business solutions on a global scale.
In support of our philosophy to “give where we live,” TELUS, its team members and its retirees have contributed over $690 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.3 million days of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS’s 13 Canadian community boards and five international boards have spearheaded the company’s support of grassroots charities, and have contributed over $72 million in support of 7,000 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than two million children and youth annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the world’s most outstanding philanthropic corporation for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to earn this prestigious international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, visit telus.com
Media Relations
Marie Houle
514-702-0369