Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of

Telus Corporation Telus Corporation (also shortened and referred to as ''Telus Corp.'') is a Canadian multinational publicly traded holding company and conglomerate, headquartered in Vancouver, BC, which is the parent company of subsidiaries— Telus Communicat ...

, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

national

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...

company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including

internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Interne ...

, voice, entertainment, healthcare, video, and

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

television. The company is based in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, area; it was originally based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, before its merger with

BC Tel British Columbia Telephone Company and later BC Tel was the legal operating name for the telephone company operating throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada. For most of its history, BC Tel served as one of several regional monopolies ...

in 1999. Telus'

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

division,

Telus Mobility Telus Mobility (normally typeset as TELUS Mobility) is a Canadian wireless network operator and a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its numerous networks. It operates 5G, LTE and HSPA+ on its mainstr ...

, offers

UMTS The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the In ...

, and LTE-based

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

networks. Telus is the incumbent local exchange carrier in British Columbia and Alberta. Telus' primary competitors include

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...

(in the western provinces). It also competes in the mobile sector with

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

and

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in ...

. Telus is a member of the

British Columbia Technology Industry Association The BC Tech Association (BC Tech), formally the British Columbia Technology Industry Association (BCTIA), is a not-for-profit member-funded trade association in British Columbia, Canada, which promotes the technology industry in the province. ...

History

Telus Corp was formed in 1990 by the government of

as Telus Corp, a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

in order to facilitate the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of the

Alberta Government Telephones Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) was the telephone provider in most of Alberta from 1906 to 1991. AGT was formed by the Liberal government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford in 1906Wilson, Kevin G., Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and C ...

(AGT), a

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

that provided telephone service to most of Alberta outside of

.Wilson, Kevin G.,
Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and Canadian Telecommunications, 1840–1997
', Rowman & Littlefield (2000) page 35Alberta Online Encyclopedia

''Alberta's Telephone Heritage'' In 1995, it acquired Edmonton Telephones Corporation (EdTel), the main telephone provider for Edmonton itself, from the city of

making Telus the sole provider of telephone service in Alberta. In 1996, Telus was introduced to the public as the consumer brand, replacing both AGT and EdTel.About Telus: Company history
, Telus corporate website. Retrieved February 11, 2008. In 1998, Telus and

announced a proposed merger. The merger was completed in 1999. While Telus was the nominal survivor, the merged company moved its headquarters from Edmonton to Vancouver. The corporate name was slightly altered to the present Telus Corporation.Hunter, Jennifer,
BC Telecom/Telus Merger
", ''Maclean's Magazine'', November 2, 1998 The merger created Canada's second largest telcom, with 22% of market share compared to

's 42%. Large swaths of rural

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, mainly the

Gaspé Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick ...

and the north shore, were served from 1927 by an entity known as Corporation de Téléphone et de Pouvoir de Québec, and in 1955, this became known as

Québec Téléphone Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

. In 1966, the

Anglo-Canadian Telephone Company Anglo-Canadian may refer to: * Canada–United Kingdom relations * A shorthand form for English Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ...

, a subsidiary of General Telephone and Electronics of Stamford, Connecticut (later GTE), became a majority shareholder in Québec Téléphone. Anglo-Canadian also owned BCTel, and GTE (later merged into

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

) also owned services in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. In 1997, Groupe QuébecTel was established to own Québec Téléphone. Following the merger of BCTel with Telus of Alberta, GTE sold its interests in Québec Téléphone to Telus in August 2000, which renamed it Telus Québec on April 2, 2001. In late 2004, American telecom

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

sold its 20.5% stake in Telus. This was so that Verizon could focus more on its own services. Currently Telus is rolling out its next generation fibre optic network, and will have invested more than $51 billion in British Columbia alone between 2000 and 2019. In October 2019, Telus Corp announced it would buy home security provider ADT Inc's Canadian operations for ($527.27 million).

Parent company

Telus Corporation is a conglomerate, and its wholly owned principal subsidiary is Telus Communications Inc (TCI), according to the 2010 Telus annual report.

Labour dispute

After the Telus-BCTel merger, unionized employees voted to certify the

Telecommunications Workers Union The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) was a trade union in Canada for people working for telephone and cable companies. Although the TWU had members from Shaw Cable in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, the majority of TWU ...

(TWU) as the sole bargaining agent for the expanded company's workforce. The TWU had previously been the union representing BCTel employees – it replaced the

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, a ...

(IBEW) in Alberta. A labour dispute between Telus and the TWU began after the previous contract, negotiated with BCTel before the Telus merger, expired at the end of 2000. After Telus made its final offer to the TWU it informed the union of its intention to bring an end to the dispute by unilaterally implementing its April 2005 offer to employees in

and

. The next day the union went on strike in British Columbia while TELUS locked out it's unionized workers in Alberta, although (as is common in disputes where an employer attempts to unilaterally implement a new contract) the union consistently referred to the dispute as a "lockout." On July 25, 2005, Telus blocked its Internet subscribers from accessing a website supporting striking union members. The company expressed concerns over content on the site, saying it identified employees crossing picket lines and encouraged disruptive behaviour, while the union alleged it amounted to censorship."Telus cuts subscriber access to pro-union website"
, CBC News, July 24, 2005 The

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is an autonomous, non-partisan charitable society that seeks to "promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights." It works towards achieving this purpose through l ...

issued an official objection to the unilateral blocking on July 26, stating "Telus is leveraging its power as a telecommunications service provider to censor a specific group, shut down debate and limit the messages conveyed about the current labour dispute". An Alberta court injunction ordered the blocked website, Voices For Change, to remove postings of "Telus employee photos" and other "intimidating or threatening material". The site owner agreed to comply and Telus unblocked the website. Telus and the TWU ratified a tentative agreement on November 18, 2005, ending the dispute.

Relaunch of Clearnet

In April 2011,

relaunched the Clearnet brand as a limited market trial in

Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word '' ...

, and

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education ...

. The company again closed to new business in June 2012.

Non-voting share conversion

In February 2013, Telus exchanged all non-voting shares into common shares on a one-for-one basis.

Purchase of Public Mobile

In October 2013, Telus acquired minor mobile phone provider Public Mobile and relaunched it in 2015 as a "value brand"

MVNO A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobile ...

on the Telus network.

Reception

In October 2008, Telus was named one of

British Columbia's Top Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...

by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published si ...

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's ...

and the Victoria

Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily C ...

. In recent years, the company has been accused of taking actions to hinder the emergence of competition in Canadian telecommunications. This, along with other industry concerns, has led to consumer and industry pressure to reform the regulatory system governing the Canadian telecommunications industry.

Marketing

Sponsorship

Telus currently sponsors the

Telus Spark Science Centre TELUS Spark Science Centre is a science museum with interactive exhibits, multimedia presentations and educational demonstrations in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There are more than 430,000 visitors annually, including over 82,000 students. The s ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

, Telus World of Science in Edmonton and Science World in

. Telus funds the annual Kokanee

Crankworx Crankworx is a four-stop tour of mountain biking competitions and races, the premier event of which is held each summer at Whistler-Blackcomb in Whistler, British Columbia at Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The Crankworx core competitive events are ...

freeride

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which m ...

and World Ski & Snowboard festivals, both held in

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler ( Lillooet/Ucwalmícwts: Cwitima, ; Squamish/Sḵwx̱wú7mesh: Sḵwiḵw, ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Moun ...

. Telus was a sponsor and marketing partner of

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

since 2004 and the title sponsor of Canada's national midget hockey championship, the

Telus Cup The Telus Cup is Canada's national under-18 ice hockey club championship. It is an annual event, held by Hockey Canada each April. From 1979 to 2003, the national championship was sponsored by Air Canada. The current champions are the Mon ...

, since 2005. Telus has been a sponsor of

Rogers Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was r ...

's regional broadcasts of

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

and

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

games. Telus has been the title sponsor of the

Telus Skins Game The Telus Skins Game was a Canadian annual summer golf event, sponsored by Telus, and officially known as the Telus World Skins Game. It was hosted at a different golf course each year within Canada. Between 2006 and 2012, the Telus Skins Game i ...

in addition to several tournaments on the

Canadian Tour PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, is a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed PG ...

, including the

Telus Open The Telus Open was a golf tournament that was held in the Greater Montreal area in Quebec, Canada. First held in 2000 as the QuebecTel Open, it had one of the largest purses on the Canadian Tour and the biggest on the Quebec PGA Tour. It was held ...

Telus Calgary Open The Calgary Open was a golf tournament on the Canadian Tour that was held at Heritage Pointe Golf Club in Heritage Pointe near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1997, and was the first time the tour had based an event in the Calgary a ...

Telus Edmonton Open The Edmonton Open was a golf tournament on the Canadian Tour that was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1993 as the Klondike Golf Klassic and was held during the week leading up to the Klondike Days summer fair. In 1996 Telus be ...

and the

Telus Vancouver Open The Greater Vancouver Classic was a golf tournament that was held in the Greater Vancouver area, in British Columbia, Canada. Founded as the BC TEL Pacific Open in 1994, it was a direct replacement for the cancelled British Columbia Open on the Ca ...

. Telus is the namesake tenant in several office buildings, including The Telus Convention Centre in Calgary,

Tour Telus The Telus Tower is an office building at 630 René Lévesque Boulevard West in Montreal. It was built for Canadian Industries Limited from 1960 to 1962, given the name CIL House. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft from the architectural firm Sk ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Telus Plaza ATB Place, formerly Telus Plaza, is an office complex in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Originally built as the headquarters of Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), the two office towers in the complex–ATB Place Tower and TELUS house– serve as the ...

in Edmonton and

Telus Harbour Telus Harbour, formerly Telus House, formerly Union Tower, is a 30-storey office skyscraper at 25 York Street, on the south side of the traditionally defined financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Anchor tenant Telus will occupy 60 perc ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. Beginning in 2014, Telus began sponsoring Canada's largest nationwide

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

education event:

The HTML500 The HTML500 is a multi-city Canadian technology conference that teaches 500 attendees per event the basics of HTML and CSS programming. Its goal is to promote web development and web programming literacy among Canadian youth, and open the doors f ...

. In November 2017, Telus announced it would take over as title sponsor for the Vancouver Santa Claus Parade, saving the parade from being cancelled. Telus is also the sponsor for the

PEPS The ("Laval University Sports and Physical Education Complex"), usually called PEPS for short, is a sports complex located in Quebec City, Quebec, on the Université Laval campus. PEPS opened in 1970 and includes an outdoor stadium, an indoor ...

multifunctional stadium of

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

, located in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

. This 12,750-seat stadium is the home of the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (, ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or teams co ...

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confe ...

team.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian brands Companies based in Vancouver Telecommunications companies established in 1990 Canadian companies established in 1990 1990 establishments in Alberta Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Former Crown corporations of Canada Internet service providers of Canada S&P/TSX 60 Telecommunications companies of Canada