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Telus Corporation

Telus Corporation (also shortened and referred to as Telus Corp, and stylized as TELUS) is a Canadian publicly traded holding company and conglomerate, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is the parent company of several subsidiaries: Telus Communications offers telephony, television, data and Internet services; Telus Mobility offers wireless services; Telus Health operates companies that provide health products and services; and Telus Digital operates worldwide, providing multilingual customer service outsourcing and digital IT services. Telus has a long history and is listed with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:T).

Overview

Telus Corporation is the parent company of Telus Communications, Telus Mobility, Telus Health, and Telus Digital. Telus Health, formerly known as Emergis, was an e-business was acquired by Telus Corporation in 2007 for $763 million.[2] Telus Health was divided into three segments: Telus Health Solutions, Telus Assyst Real Estate, and Telus Financial Solutions.

Inception

The Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), had served as the major telephone provider for the province of Alberta from 1906—when it was first established by the Liberal Party of Alberta under the tenure of then Premier of Alberta, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, until the 1990s—when then Premier Don Getty began the privatization process.[3] NovaTel's liabilities eventually cost the government more than $600 million.[3][4] The initial public offering of the newly established Telus' shares, launched on August 9, 1990,[5] represented the largest in Canadian history up to this time. The following year, the provincial government divested its remaining ownership interest in Telus for $870 million.[6] By 1996, the former brand names, ED TEL and AGT had been retired. All Telus products and companies adopted the Telus brand name.[6]

Telus merged with British Columbia Telephone Company (BC Tel) in 1999, with the merged company keeping the Telus brand name. The headquarters of BC Tel in Burnaby, British Columbia, became the headquarters of the merged Telus Corporation, and the company moved its corporate headquarters to Vancouver after completion of the Telus Garden complex.

2026 1 petabyte cybersecurity incident

In March 2026, a notorious cyber crime group known as ShinyHunters claimed to several high-profile news agencies that they stole over 1 petabyte (PB) of data from Telus & Telus Digital. The group demanded a staggering $65 million dollar ransom in exchange for not leaking the company's data. The stolen data according to multiple prominent media outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg included ‌information ⁠related to more than two dozen companies that included personally identifiable information, call data and recordings (CDRs), FBI background check information, financial information, Salesforce data, and source code spanning multiple business divisions within the business ​services and telecommunications ​company. The stolen data also reportedly impacts Telus' telecommunication services; customers and call logs. [7][8][9]

Subsidiaries

Telus Communications

Telus Corporation's principal subsidiary is the wholly owned Telus Communications. Only serving customers in Canada, services include data, internet, voice, TV subscriptions, alarm monitoring, and wireless services. It also has mobile phones, tablets, and smart watches.[10] Telus Communications merged its mobility and home service divisions in 2023, creating Telus Consumer Solutions.[11]

Telus Mobility

Telus Mobility (normally typeset as TELUS Mobility) is a Canadian wireless network operator and a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its network. It operates 5G+, 5G, LTE, HSPA+, and LPWA on its network.[12] Telus Mobility is the second-largest wireless carrier in Canada, with 10.6 million subscribers as of Q3 2020.[13]

Since 2008, Telus has operated a flanker brand named Koodo Mobile, which is targeted at high school, college and university students.

Telus Health

In the summer of 2018, Telus acquired a "chain of medical clinics" for over $100 million.[14][15] Telus also spent more than "$2 billion on digital health ventures." This included purchasing the "electronic medical record software" used by half of Canada's doctors. By March 2019, Telus had "become the biggest health-care information technology company in Canada". Telus has also partnered with the UK-based software developer and operator, Babylon, to launch a Telus Health app in Canada—digital chatbot capable of checking symptoms— in a cost and revenue sharing initiative.[16] <!-- Some of this should be moved to the Babylon article, and once there, the duplicate material discarded.

Babylon Diagnostic and Triage System

In late-2017, United Kingdom-based Babylon launched its GP at Hand app—a digital chatbot symptom checker in England.[17] According to a June 27, 2018 BBC article, Babylon claimed that their chatbox could "diagnose medical conditions as accurately as a GP."[17][18] According to Fraser, there are concerns that "technology has gotten ahead of government regulation."[16]

UK's Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) was critical of Babylon Health, "whose app providing smartphone GP consultations" is available to some National Health Service (NHS) patients.[19] The RCGP "accused Babylon Health of "cherry picking" patients, luring GPs away from front-line services, and creating a twin track for general practice."[19]

A November 24, 2018 The Lancet article, co-authored by Brown University medical science professor of medical science in Rhode Island—Dr. Hamish Fraser—questioned the "safety of patients" using Babylon Diagnostic and Triage System (BTDS).[20] According to Fraser, there are concerns that "technology has gotten ahead of government regulation."[16] Fraser said, "I think they are basically assuming that these systems are ready for prime time."[16]

On March 5, 2019, Babylon's downloadable health app, Babylon, was launched in British Columbia.[16] By March 2019, Telus Health had signed over a dozen contracts for 'virtual house calls' with doctors, some of whom practice in British Columbia regions where doctors' patient loads are not full and others willing to work "after hours or on weekends."[16] By March 2018, The B.C. Ministry of Health was reviewing their policy which allowed "doctors to bill $34 for a teleconference visit — about the same as an in-person consultation."[16]

According to Telus the target market for the app includes people with busy schedules, those without a family doctor, those in live in rural communities, and for after hours calls.[16] The app includes an "artificial intelligence 'chatbot' that assesses user's symptoms".[16] Telus Health's vice-president, Juggy Sihota, said in March 2019, that, "The only doctor I'm hoping it might replace is the doctor of the internet."[16] Costs and revenue related to the Babylon app Telus are shared between the two partners, the UK-based Babylon and Telus.[16]

On March 19, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Alberta Health announced that Babylon by TELUS Health was available to Albertans and that the services were covered by Alberta Health Care. The notification from Alberta Health said that the through the app, Albertans can "access health-care information and support in response to COVID-19 – from anywhere in the province." They "can use the service to check symptoms, book appointments, see a doctor, and get prescriptions and referrals for diagnostic imaging and specialists."[21] -->

Babylon Diagnostic and Triage System

In late-2017, United Kingdom-based Babylon launched its GP at Hand app—a digital chatbot symptom checker in England.[17] According to a June 27, 2018 BBC article, Babylon claimed that their chatbox could "diagnose medical conditions as accurately as a GP."[17][18] According to Fraser, there are concerns that "technology has gotten ahead of government regulation."[16]

UK's Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) was critical of Babylon Health, "whose app providing smartphone GP consultations" is available to some National Health Service (NHS) patients.[19] The RCGP "accused Babylon Health of "cherry picking" patients, luring GPs away from front-line services, and creating a twin track for general practice."[19]

A November 24, 2018 The Lancet article, co-authored by Brown University medical science professor of medical science in Rhode Island—Dr. Hamish Fraser—questioned the "safety of patients" using Babylon Diagnostic and Triage System (BTDS).[20] According to Fraser, there are concerns that "technology has gotten ahead of government regulation."[16] Fraser said, "I think they are basically assuming that these systems are ready for prime time."[16]

On March 5, 2019, Babylon's downloadable health app, Babylon, was launched in British Columbia.[16] By March 2019, Telus Health had signed over a dozen contracts for 'virtual house calls' with doctors, some of whom practice in British Columbia regions where doctors' patient loads are not full and others willing to work "after hours or on weekends."[16] By March 2018, The B.C. Ministry of Health was reviewing their policy which allowed "doctors to bill $34 for a teleconference visit — about the same as an in-person consultation."[16]

According to Telus the target market for the app includes people with busy schedules, those without a family doctor, those in live in rural communities, and for after hours calls.[16] The app includes an "artificial intelligence 'chatbot' that assesses user's symptoms".[16] Telus Health's vice-president, Juggy Sihota, said in March 2019, that, "The only doctor I'm hoping it might replace is the doctor of the internet."[16] Costs and revenue related to the Babylon app Telus are shared between the two partners, the UK-based Babylon and Telus.[16]

On March 19, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Alberta Health announced that Babylon by TELUS Health was available to Albertans and that the services were covered by Alberta Health Care. The notification from Alberta Health said that the through the app, Albertans can "access health-care information and support in response to COVID-19 – from anywhere in the province." They "can use the service to check symptoms, book appointments, see a doctor, and get prescriptions and referrals for diagnostic imaging and specialists."[21] -->

Telus Digital

Telus Digital is the global arm of Telus Corporation, providing global contact center and business process outsourcing services to corporations in the financial services, consumer electronics and gaming, telecommunications, energy and utilities industries.

Telus Digital has contact centers in the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Central America (Guatemala and El Salvador), and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania), where it is known as Telus Digital Europe.

Finances

For the fiscal year 2019, Telus Corporation reported earnings of CA$5.554 billion, with an annual revenue of CA$14.658 billion, an increase of 8.8% over the previous fiscal year. Telus Corp operates the largest telecommunications company (Telus Communications Inc.) in Western Canada and the second largest in Canada.[22]

Corporate governance

According to Yahoo Finance, Telus Corporation received an Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) governance risk score of 5 out of 10, as of 3 December 2019.[34]

Board of directors

The current board of directors as of September 2022[35]

R.H. (Dick) Auchinleck, the chairman of Telus Corporation's board of directors, has been lead director since 2014, when Brian Canfield stepped down. Auchinleck, who has served on the Telus board since c. 2004, had previously been CEO at Gulf Canada Resources.[36][37]

  • Darren Entwistle, president and CEO
  • Hazel Claxton, Audit Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee
  • Kathy Kinloch, Corporate Governance Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee
  • David Mowat, chair of the Audit Committee
  • Raymond T. Chan, Pension Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee
  • Tom Flynn, Audit Committee, Pension Committee
  • Christine Magee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Pension Committee
  • Marc Parent, Pension Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee
  • Lisa de Wilde, chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, Pension Committee
  • Mary Jo Haddad, chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Corporate Governance Committee
  • John Manley, Corporate Governance Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee
  • Denise Pickett, Audit Committee, Corporate Governance Committee
  • W. Sean Willy, Audit Committee, Corporate Governance Committee
  • Victor Dodig, director

Executive team

Telus executive teams as of September 2022:[38]

  • Darren Entwistle, president and chief executive officer
  • Doug French, executive vice-president and chief financial officer
  • Navin Arora, executive vice-president, Business Solutions
  • Tony Geheran, executive vice-president and chief customer officer
  • Zainul Mawji, president, Home Solutions
  • Sandy McIntosh, executive vice-president, People and Culture and chief human resources officer
  • Jeff Puritt, executive vice-president and Telus Digital president and chief executive officer
  • Jill Schnarr, chief communications officer
  • Jim Senko, executive vice-president, Mobility Solutions
  • John Raines, president, Telus Agriculture
  • Michael Dingle, chief operating officer, Telus Health
  • Andrea Wood, chief legal and governance officer

See also

External links

References

  1. 2023 Annual Report retrieved November 26, 2024^
  2. Telus buys Emergis for $763 million The Toronto Star, 29 November 2007, retrieved 16 June 2021^
  3. Mark Lisac. Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina, 2004^
  4. Kevin G. Wilson. Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and Canadian Telecommunications, 1840-1997 Rowman & Littlefield, 2000^
  5. The Canadian Press. Albertans scurrying to buy AGT shares Lethbridge Herald, 1990-08-09, retrieved 2023-06-25^
  6. Historical Timeline of Canadian Telecommunications Achievements ITU, retrieved 10 June 2020^
  7. Lawrence Abrams. Telus Digital confirms breach after hacker claims 1 petabyte data theft BleepingComputer, retrieved 2026-04-04^
  8. Margi Murphy. Canadian Telecom Telus Says It’s Investigating Cyber Breach Bloomberg, March 12, 2026^
  9. AJ Vicens. Telus says it is investigating hack of its systems Reuters, March 12, 2026^
  10. TELUS Communications Inc - Company Profile and News Bloomberg.com, retrieved 2023-03-29^
  11. Telus combines mobility and home service to create new business unit - BNN Bloomberg BNN, 2023-01-24, retrieved 2023-03-29^
  12. 5G and 4G LTE, HSPA+ & LPWA network coverage map www.telus.com, retrieved 2024-09-28^
  13. Telus Investors Relations Telus Investor Relations^
  14. Telus Health acquires chain of medical clinics retrieved 2025-02-13^
  15. Telus jumps into business of health clinics, buys national chain vancouversun, retrieved 2025-02-13^
  16. Eric Rankin. Filling the medical care gap or causing cracks? Telus launches health app CBC News, 18 March 2019, retrieved 19 March 2020^
  17. Jen Copestake. Babylon claims its chatbot beats GPs at medical exam June 27, 2018, retrieved March 19, 2020^
  18. Salman Razzaki, Adam Baker, Yura Perov, Katherine Middleton, Janie Baxter, Daniel Mullarkey, Davinder Sangar, Michael Taliercio. A comparative study of artificial intelligence and human doctors for the purpose of triage and diagnosis June 2018^
  19. Is digital medicine different? The Lancet, 2018, retrieved March 20, 2020^
  20. Hamish Fraser, Enrico Coiera, David Wong. Safety of patient-facing digital symptom checkers The Lancet, November 24, 2018, retrieved March 19, 2020^
  21. New app helps Albertans access health care Government of Alberta, March 19, 2020, retrieved March 19, 2020^
  22. TELUS - 24 Year Stock Price History www.macrotrends.net, retrieved 2020-03-22^
  23. Telus 2010 Annual Report CTF Assets, 31 December 2010, retrieved 11 June 2020^
  24. Telus 2011 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2012-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  25. Telus 2012 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2012-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  26. Telus 2013 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2013-12-26, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  27. Telus 2014 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2014-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  28. Telus 2015 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2015-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  29. Telus 2016 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2016-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  30. Telus 2017 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2017-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  31. Telus 2018 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2018-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  32. Telus employee figures 2010-2018 Statista, retrieved 2020-03-22^
  33. Telus 2019 Annual Report CTF Assets, 2019-12-31, retrieved 2020-03-26^
  34. ESG Ratings ISS, retrieved 2020-03-25^
  35. Board Members and Committees - Corporate Governance TELUS, retrieved 2022-09-02^
  36. Brent Jang. 'Mechanic' was the driver behind Gulf Canada deal The Globe and Mail, 2 June 2001, retrieved 11 June 2020^
  37. Telus names CEO as Entwistle becomes executive chairman 31 March 2014, retrieved 11 June 2020^
  38. TELUS Executive Team, Company overview - About TELUS, retrieved 2020-06-06^