Telus (TSX:T) says it plans to spend $73 billion over the next five years in Canada beefing up its broadband and 5G networks, about $33 billion of which will be invested in B.C. and Alberta.
“Today we are announcing an investment of $73 billion in new infrastructure, technology, operations and spectrum over the next five years,” Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said earlier this week at the company’s annual meeting.
About $17 billion of that total spend will be invested in B.C. Another $16 billion will be spent in Alberta.
“These investments will ensure that our customers continue to benefit from the best network experience in the world, which facilitates crucial, generational changes in healthcare, education, teleworking, the environment and our digital economy and societies,” Entwistle said in a press release.
The $17 billion investment in B.C. will include enhancing Telus’ 5G network. The company also said that, in 2024, it will build twice the number of cell towers that it built in 2023.
But when asked how many cell towers it built in 2023, a Telus spokesperson said “we cannot disclose specific figures related to the number of cell towers built,” so the pledge to double an undisclosed number is a bit meaningless.
The company said it would be expanding its coverage in Burnaby, Surrey, Kelowna and Vancouver. It said it would also be expanding coverage to rural areas along Highway 20.
In Alberta, the investments will expand coverage in Calgary, Edmonton and Sherwood Park.
