Questions and answers

TELUS has made a number of investments and innovations in recent years to significantly improve our competitive position in the wireless market and prepare for new competitors.

Koodo, our postpaid value brand, was launched in 2008 with lower price points and a simplified, lower-cost approach. This brand continues to successfully position TELUS against new entrant service offerings, which have largely focused on the value segment of the wireless market. The now widely recognized and differentiated Koodo brand attests to TELUS' best-in-class brand and service development.

TELUS' acquisition of Black's Photo in 2009 strengthened our wireless distribution network in premium mall locations, particularly in Ontario. And early in 2011, we acquired Smart Communications, a successful TELUS dealer in Western Canada with 21 locations, which augments our exclusive retail presence. Our extensive established distribution network represents an important competitive advantage, particularly relative to new entrant brands.

In late 2009, TELUS launched Canada's fastest* coast-to-coast mobile network based on high-speed packet access (HSPA+) technology, now offering 97 per cent of Canadians access to manufacturer-rated wireless data download speeds of up to 21 Mbps and international roaming in more than 200 countries. The move to HSPA+ also enabled us to offer customers an increasingly wide selection of devices, services and applications, based on a variety of new mobile platforms. New entrants do not have the same wide array of customer choices.

In early 2011, we launched HSPA+ dual-cell technology, which we expect will further increase manufacturer-rated maximum data download speeds to up to 42 Mbps to meet the growing wireless needs of Canadians.

In late 2010, TELUS continued to expand our promise of pricing and contract transparency, building on the Clear & Simple rate plans first launched in late 2009. We introduced Clear and Simple Device Upgrades, which offer customers a fair and simple way to upgrade to a new device without waiting until the end of their contract term. Our approach is working as indicated by the addition of 447,000 new wireless customers in 2010, an increase of 10 per cent in net additions from a year ago.