Vancouver, B.C. — TELUS announced a 2009 capital plan to invest $500 million focused primarily on advanced wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure in British Columbia. TELUS' plans include a world-class Internet data centre that will have the capacity to support both B.C. and national clients. The facility will be one of the "greenest" in North America and at least twice as energy efficient as existing data centres. It will be designed according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria.

The construction of TELUS' next generation wireless network is currently underway, using leading edge mobile broadband technology. TELUS expects to launch the new network, based on the latest version of High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology, in British Columbia and nationally by early 2010. This investment is expected to ensure a smooth transition to long term evolution (LTE) technology, the emerging worldwide standard for fourth generation or 4G wireless networks.

These investments build on the 2005 Connecting Communities partnership between TELUS and the Province of British Columbia, which brought broadband access to 366 communities by the end of 2006.

"Our 8,700 British Columbia-based team members and 9,200 retirees are proud of TELUS' legacy in this province and despite the challenging times, we are confident in making significant investments that benefit the economy, our communities, and our customers," said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. "Our $500 million investment focused on leading broadband technology, including a world-class Internet data centre, will create sustainable employment opportunities, contribute to the province's future competitiveness, and support the launch of innovative new services for TELUS customers."

The new flagship Internet data centre, scheduled to open in 2011, will protect TELUS business clients' critical information and support their need for a more powerful IT infrastructure while having one of the lowest carbon footprints of all data centres in North America.

It will be a LEED designed facility, which will be independently reviewed by the Canada Green Building Council's rating system.

For more information visit telus.com.

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