Le Lézard
Subject: NEW PRODUCTS/SERVICES

TELUS innovation takes on a major technical challenge to provide the Lower North Shore region with ultra-high-speed internet and mobile services


RIMOUSKI, Quebec , May 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TELUS announced today that it will be enhancing its network service in the Lower North Shore. In partnership with the federal government's Connect to Innovate program and the government of Quebec's Société du Plan Nord, we will be building IP transport infrastructure and adding LTE cell towers in the Lower North Shore.

Our innovative solution will provide 1,750 households and around 100 businesses with high-speed internet access and cellular phone services offering renowned TELUS quality.

"TELUS is proud to be leading one of the biggest digital infrastructure projects north of the 49th parallel," affirms François Gratton, Executive Vice-President, TELUS, and President, Business Solutions East and TELUS Québec. "Day after day, our teams are actively working to develop creative solutions and apply the best available technology in order to promote development in the regions of Quebec. By 2020, we'll have invested over $300 million in bringing ultra-high-speed internet to all of eastern Quebec. The technical challenge of the Lower North Shore lies in leveraging a wireless solution to connect the region's residents with the rest of the world. We're creating a real bridge to the future. . . one that we'll maintain for years to come."

We are employing our creativity and innovation to take on the large-scale technical challenge of deploying the network along more than 400 km of coastline on the Lower North Shore. This solution will give 4,700 residents access to average navigation speeds of 25 and 75 Mbps, which is 40 times the region's currently available bandwidth. The communities will be gaining access to both high-speed internet and mobile services.

"We are committed to offering our clients the best technology," adds Jacques Garceau, TELUS Senior Vice-President, Broadband Networks Engineering. "By developing a mixed network combining optic fibre, microwave transmission and cell units, TELUS is bringing its technological expertise to the forefront in order to connect rural communities regardless of how complex the service solutions might be."

This technological challenge includes establishing a land link from Baie-Comeau to Blanc-Sablon. A second backbone microwave network will provide overlapping service to the communities, particularly the 12 communities only accessible by sea.

"Our teams have been working for over five years to find an ambitious solution for providing service in the Lower North Shore," explains Marie-Christine D'Amours, Vice-President, Consumer Market and Customer Contact Centres, TELUS Québec, "and we are now able to launch this incredible project. It will be carried out over a four-year period, and the first cell towers will be operational as of the third quarter of 2019."

About TELUS

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX:T) (NYSE:TU) is Canada's fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $13.1 billion of annual revenue and 12.9 million customer connections, including 8.8 million wireless subscribers, 1.7 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.3 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. 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 $482 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations since 2000 and volunteered more than 7.7 million hours of service to local communities. Established in 2005 by TELUS President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS Canada's 13 community investment committees and five committees abroad direct activities to support local charitable organizations. These committees have provided over $60 million in support to 5,595 local projects dedicated to enriching the lives of some two million children and youths each year. 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.

Media relations
François Gaboury
438-862-5136
[email protected]


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