Project dramatically increasing broadband and wireless capacity across region

Port Hardy, B.C. - TELUS has completed a $14 million fibre optic network build connecting Northern Vancouver Island. Residents, businesses, healthcare facilities and schools are now able to take advantage of dramatically faster, higher-capacity Internet and data connections. Running 150 kilometers through part of the traditional territories of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nations from the Sayward Junction to Port McNeill, the new infrastructure connects communities including Woss Lake, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Alert Bay, Port Alice, Holberg, Quatsino, Winter Harbour, Tahsis, Zeballos, Hesquiaht, Kingcome, Inlet, Hope Island, Fort Rupert and Dead Point on Harbledown Island.

The fibre build also enables TELUS to enhance wireless service in the area, providing the capacity needed to upgrade existing sites to 4G LTE, the fastest wireless technology available in the world today. TELUS anticipates the wireless upgrades will be complete within the next year.

"Completing this fibre build has been an accomplishment on a number of levels. We've built strong relationships with the Kwakiutl Band Council, other First Nations and local communities, developed an environmentally sustainable way to install 150 kilometers of fibre optic cable along the highway, and unleashed significant possibilities for the region's 11,000 residents, local businesses, healthcare facilities, and schools," said Ray Lawson, General Manager for Vancouver Island. "This investment is bringing high-speed Internet to some communities for the first time, while enabling new approaches in healthcare, education, business and home entertainment on the North Island for years to come."

Vancouver Island is home to some of the most diverse geography in the province, presenting unique challenges for this significant fibre build. TELUS began preliminary engineering and environmental reviews four years ago, and completed the build in collaboration with the Kwakiutl Band Council, local governments, businesses and community groups. Marking a first in Canadian history, TELUS completed the build by using specialized equipment to place the fibre optic cable in narrow but deep trenches within the roadbed alongside the highway, eliminating the need for road-side logging and reducing the visual impact for residents and visitors. TELUS estimates using this approach saved hundreds of thousands of trees, as safety regulations require trees within 50 metres of the highway be cut down if lines are strung aerially.

"Whether we are connecting people by improving the safety of our provincial highways or by expanding our digital networks, these important investments will improve access for local residents to services and resources," said Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services, Amrik Virk. "This commitment by TELUS to grow B.C.'s digital infrastructure means North Island communities can better compete in the global marketplace."

Many TELUS customers are already able to take advantage of the new network, and TELUS anticipates most customers will be moved to the new network by the end of this year. TELUS is building a similar fibre optic network for other Vancouver Island communities from Port Alberni to the Ucluelet Junction, and expects work will be complete next year.

TELUS recently announced a commitment to invest $4 billion in British Columbia through 2018 to bring advanced telecommunications infrastructure to every corner of the province, enabling sustained innovation, providing access to world-class education programmes, extending critical healthcare technology to more communities, and fueling economic growth. By the end of 2018, TELUS will have invested more than $47 billion in British Columbia since 2000.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is Canada's fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.1 billion of annual revenue and 13.9 million customer connections, including 8.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.1 million wireline network access lines, 1.5 million high-speed Internet subscribers and 937,000 TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada's largest healthcare IT provider.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $396 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered over 6 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by Executive Chairman Darren Entwistle, TELUS' 11 Canadian community boards and 4 International boards have led the company's support of grassroots charities and will have contributed more than $54 million in support of over 4,800 local charitable projects by the end of 2015, enriching the lives of more than 2.1 million children and youth. 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.

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For more information, please contact:

Liz Sauvé

TELUS Media Relations

604-719-6715

Liz.sauve@telus.com

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