Telus (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia. Telus utilizes CDMA 2000 and HSPA+-based mobility phone networks.
Telus is a member of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association.
History
Telus Communications (Alberta) was created in 1990 by the government of Alberta as a holding company in order to facilitate the privatization of a crown corporation, the Alberta Government Telephones Commission (AGT).[1][2][3] In 1995, it acquired Edmonton Telephones (Ed Tel) from the City of Edmonton[4] making Telus the owner of all telephone service in the province. In 1996, Telus was introduced to the public as the consumer brand, replacing AGT and EdTel.[1][5] In 1999, Telus Corporation was created by the merger of Telus (Alberta) and BCTel with the new entity retaining the Telus name.[6][1] As a result of the merger Telus became Canada's second largest telcom with 22% of market share compared to Bell Canada's 42%.[6][7][8]
In the 1999/2000 period Telus acquired through merger the high performing Clearnet Communications, a cellular company that was based in Scarborough (Toronto) Ontario, which gave it foothold in the highly competitive central Canadian market (Ontario, Quebec). The company had its origins in nearby Pickering and was by 1997 outperforming the other Toronto/Ontario based cellular companies through its easily accessible product (the actual phone sold in various stores) and its high tech marketing strategy of its time, that emphasized uncluttered simplicity and a bright future outlook through its nature and animals motifs.
In 2008, Telus discontinued its analog mobility phone network due to the lack of available parts for the equipment. A Telus spokesperson said they believed they were the last major mobility carrier to do so. Telus has offered a cost-sharing arrangement to bring landlines to customers who are affected by the analog network shutdown in rural areas as digital signals do not work as well as analog ones in such areas.[9]
In October 2008, Telus was named one of BC's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by The Vancouver Sun, The Province and the Victoria Times-Colonist.[10]
Advertising
Telus advertising has been noted for its use of whimsical, nature-themed imagery and the slogan, 'The Future is Friendly'. Many of the company's television, outdoor, in-store, and print ads feature animals including pot-bellied pigs, a tree frog, a monkey, a lizard, a duck, fish, a hedgehog, a meerkat, and lately have been focusing on pygmy goats.[11][12] Beyond traditional media, Telus has also extended its brand imagery to both its website[13] and its online advertising[14].
List of Telus Animal Based Ad Campaigns in Chronological Order
| Animal |
Date Start |
Date Ended |
| pig |
? |
? |
| monkey |
? |
? |
| lizard |
February 2008 |
December 2008 |
| duck |
? |
? |
| lovebirds |
|
|
| fish |
October 2007 |
January 2008 |
| hedgehog |
? |
? |
| meerkat |
December 2008 |
July 2009 |
| Pygmy Goat |
August 2009 |
Current Goat |
The foundations of the Telus brand originated with Clearnet Communications, including its colours, use of animal motifs and the "the future is friendly" word tag, which was developed and started by Clearnet in the late 1990's. The official Telus colours are green and purple.
2005 Christmas campaign
For the Christmas season in 2005, an ad campaign was launched involving a hippopotamus named Hazina from the Greater Vancouver Zoo, accompanied by the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". On May 31, 2006, the zoo was formally charged with animal cruelty for their treatment of Hazina.[15][16] Telus pledged $10,000 towards the building of a new habitat for Hazina [17] and announced a plan to make available for 'adoption' plush hippopotamus toys through Telus dealers, with all proceeds from BC going towards Hazina and all proceeds from Alberta going towards the hippopotamus at the Calgary Zoo. The campaign raised an additional $20,000 for the Vancouver Zoo's hippopotamus enclosure.[citation needed]
Labour dispute
Telus' labour dispute with the Telecommunications Workers Union (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 offer to employees in Alberta and British Columbia. The union was lockedout the next day.
On July 25, 2005, Telus blocked its internet subscribers from accessing a website supporting locked out union members, leading to allegations of censorship by TWU members.[18][19] Telus expressed concerns over content on the site, saying it including images of employees crossing picket lines and encouraged disruptive behaviour.[18] The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association 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".[20]
On July 28, Telus issued a news release detailing an Alberta court injunction ordering 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 its subscribers from the website.[21]
Telus and the TWU reached and ratified a tentative agreement on November 18, 2005, ending the dispute.[22]
Pornography sales controversy
In 2007, Telus began offering in-house pay-per-download pornography sales via cellphone. Explicit pictures and videos were made available at prices ranging from $3 to $4 per download.[23] Industry analysts described the action as a landmark move, being the first such offering by a North American wireless company.[24].
In response to objections by religious groups, Telus has since discontinued sales of adult content.[25][26]
Mobility controversy
Telus, along with Bell Mobility, has attracted criticism over a new policy of charging 15¢ for incoming text messages to customers without a text messaging plan.[27][28] Telus has also been accused of forcing customers off of data plans which have been advertised as "unlimited" for vague terms of service violations and moving them to a capped 1GB of month plan with a high overage charge. [29]
Sponsorship and naming
Since 2000, Telus and its team members have contributed more than $91 million to charitable and non-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.7 million hours of service to local communities.[30][31][32][33]
Telus sponsors a minor league baseball stadium in downtown Edmonton called the Telus Field. Built in 1995, it was home to the now-defunct Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League and is now home to the Edmonton Capitals of the independent Golden Baseball League. Telus also donated $8 million to Science World in Vancouver under the terms that it was to be renamed Telus World of Science, $9 million to the Calgary Science Centre, and $8.2 million to the Odyssium in Edmonton; all three science museums were subsequently renamed as Telus World of Science.[34]
Telus is also the namesake tenant in several office buildings, including Tour Telus in Montreal and Telus Plaza in Edmonton.
Telus also sponsors the annual Kokanee Crankworx freeride mountain bike festival held in Whistler, British Columbia.
Telus International
Telus has an estimated 7000 employees in the Philippines where it is known as Telus International, Inc. as part of its global expansion. Its regional office is located in Pasig City, while satellite offices can be found in Taguig City and recently opened another branch in Cubao, Quezon City.[35] The majority of the workforce employed in the Philippines are used for North American contact centre support and business process services. Other regional offices are situated in Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Vancouver, Canada. The main corporate office is headquartered in Singapore. [36]
Wireless HSPA Upgrade
Telus has signed an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei to create an overlay HSPA network that will run along side their existing CDMA network, with anticipated completion by the beginning of 2010.[37] In early October 2009 Bell and Telus announced that they will launch their HSPA network ahead of schedule, on November 5, 2009.
See also
References
- ^ a b c About Telus: Company history, Telus corporate website, accessed February 11, 2008
- ^ Wilson, Kevin G., Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and Canadian Telecommunications, 1840-1997, Rowman & Littlefield (2000) ISBN 0847698254 page 35
- ^ Alberta Online Encyclopedia, "Alberta Government Telephones" Alberta's Telephone Heritage
- ^ CRTC Letter dated June 30, 1998, accessed February 12, 2008
- ^ Feakins, Kathryn H., The Telus Story: Brand Management Strategies for a Customer-Focused Identity, accessed February 12, 2008
- ^ a b Hunter, Jennifer, "BC Telecom/Telus Merger", Macleans Magazine, November 2, 1998
- ^ Canada's Second Largest Telecommunications Firm Selects Click2learn for Learning Initiative Targeting 28,000 Employees, Business Wire, November 19, 2001
- ^ Fact sheet – Telus and the company's R.O.B. placing, Telus corporate site, accessed February 11, 2008
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/08/29/bc-telus-rural-cells.html
- ^ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 BC's Top Employers competition". http://www.eluta.ca/top-employer-telus.
- ^ Kirbyson, Geoff, "Telus Mobility animal instincts", brandchannel.com, February 2, 2004
- ^ Marck, Paul, "It's a jungle out there: Canadian telecom companies embrace the animal in them to hawk their products", Edmonton Journal, February 22, 2006
- ^ Telus corporate website, "[1]"
- ^ adverlicio.us | online ad archive, "[2]"
- ^ "Greater Vancouver Zoo Charged with Animal Cruelty Baby Hippo at centre of extensive BC SPCA Investigation", BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Press Release), May 31, 2006
- ^ "Zoo criticized for baby hippo barn", CBC News, August 13, 2005
- ^ "B.C. zoo charged with cruelty to hippopotamus", CTV News, June 1, 2006
- ^ a b "Telus cuts subscriber access to pro-union website", CBC News, July 24, 2005
- ^ Doctorow, Cory, "Phone company blocks access to telecoms union's website" boingboing, July 24, 2005
- ^ "BCCLA Denounces Blocking of Website by Telus", BC Civil Liberties Association (press release), July 26, 2005
- ^ "Alberta court grants interim injunction against posting Telus employee photos", Telus (Media Release), July 28, 2005
- ^ "64% of Telus Workers Say No to Continued Labour Action", Telecommunications Industry News, November 20, 2005
- ^ Naked ambitions put Telus on the spot
- ^ Is Telus willing to accept the scorn with its porn?
- ^ Telus Stops Selling Porn After Protests From Catholic Church
- ^ World Business Briefing | Americas: Canada: Pornography Service Halted
- ^ http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/12/1419204&from=rss
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/08/08/bell-texting.html
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/08/28/tech-telus.html
- ^ CATAAlliance Announces Telus Award for Public Sector Leadership in Advanced Technology
- ^ Telus—community
- ^ Telus Tour for the Cure sends message: Detection is your best protection
- ^ Telus debuts the Samsung m620: business in the front, party in the back
- ^ Science World facility renamed ‘Telus World of Science’ as part of $9-million sponsorship deal
- ^ Telus International
- ^ telusinternational.com
- ^ Sorensen, Chris (2008-10-10). "Bell, Telus to upgrade networks". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/515644.
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