TELUS investing $210 million in the Ottawa-Gatineau region over the next three years

TELUS is investing in the world's fastest wireless technology in the Ottawa-Gatineau region

OTTAWA, June 1, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS will invest $210 million in Ottawa-Gatineau over the next three years to further expand TELUS' 4G LTE network to the community, using the fastest wireless technology in the world.

"TELUS is investing in technology because having the best services and solutions in the market is absolutely essential to our customers in the National Capital Region," said Joe Natale, TELUS' Chief Commercial Officer. "For them, technology isn't a luxury: it's the foundation of communication, education and collaboration for their businesses, and for their personal lives. Today's announcement of our strong financial commitment to strengthening the technology platform here speaks to our resolute commitment to our Ottawa-based customers. We are deeply grateful to be of service."

TELUS' investments will also result in the hiring of 80 people in Ottawa and Gatineau in 2012 to support its wireless growth.

TELUS' commitment also extends to supporting local charities and community organizations. As part of our commitment to give where we live, TELUS is hosting today a series of community workshops to educate not-for-profit organizations on how to provide the safest environment for youth in partnership with the Canadian Centre of Child Protection, BackCheck, the Ottawa Police, the Ottawa Citizen and Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL player who has publically shared his own story of childhood abuse. The workshops will focus on helping Ottawa organizations take a proactive approach to protecting children in their care. As part of its commitment to supporting local charities, TELUS presented a cheque to the Centre of Child Protection for $185,000.

"There is a symbiotic relationship between the success of business and the health of our communities," Mr. Natale said. "At TELUS, we recognize that it's a partnership. As our company benefits from a strong, loyal base of consumers and customers, we have an inherent obligation to return that loyalty by helping forge richer and fuller communities. Today's event with the Canadian Centre of Child Protection is one of many examples of sharing our spirit of innovation and support in Ottawa. Tremendous good can be done when we all care enough to contribute."

Since 2000, TELUS and our more than 640 team members and retirees here in the Ottawa-Gatineau region will have contributed more than $11 million to local charities and community organizations by year-end through Team TELUS Charitable Giving and more importantly, TELUS Ottawa and Gatineau Team Members have helped support countless charities and community organizations including The Ottawa Mission, the Children's Hospital Of Eastern Ontario and the Ottawa Food Bank.

In addition, the TELUS Ottawa Community Board has contributed $3.3 million to 204 charities including Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, South East Ottawa Community Health Centre and the Ottawa Art Gallery since its inception in 2005. Moreover, in 2012, the Board will donate an additional $400,000 to local grassroots charities.

TELUS' $210 million investment over the next three years will enhance and expand its 4G LTE network in Ottawa-Gatineau Region. 4G LTE is the most advanced, fastest wireless technology available in the world today. TELUS 4G LTE network supports manufacturers' rated peak download speeds of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps), with an expected average of 12 to 25 Mbps.

The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS' overall capital expenditure target for 2012.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. 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 of TELUS that are forward-looking. 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 could cause actual future events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

Elisabeth Napolano
TELUS Media Relations
416- 906-9830
[email protected]