Telus 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

TELUS 2010 annual report . 5
We also enhanced and expanded our wireline broadband
network to enable faster speeds, advanced Internet services
and greater reach for our Optik TV service. Our footprint now
reaches more than two million households in B.C., Alberta
and Eastern Quebec. Additionally, we are implementing VDSL2
technology, which enables even faster network speeds and
more HD channels into the home, and expect to complete the
overlay this summer. Moreover, we continue to build fibre-to-
the-home access to connect new residential developments.
Focusing relentlessly on data and wireless
During 2010, TELUS experienced solid growth in data and
wireless with combined revenues now representing almost
three-quarters of TELUS’ total revenue of $9.8 billion.
We improved our position in the smartphone marketplace
with our HSPA+ network investment, which enabled us to
offer a wide array of compelling devices to meet the growing
demand of customers across Canada. Smartphone subscribers
now represent approximately one-third of TELUS’ postpaid
subscriber base, up substantially from one-fifth a year earlier.
We have also introduced leading-edge devices running
on the newest operating systems from Apple, Research In Motion
(RIM), Android and Windows Phone 7, that offer customers
enhanced applications and functionality.
Koodo Mobile®, our postpaid value brand, continues
to position us well against new wireless entrants. We have
evolved the Koodo® brand strategy from basic talk and
text to include a limited selection of feature-rich smartphones.
Late in the year, we also adjusted our Koodo pricing to
remain competitive.
In the wireline business market, we maintained our focus
on five key verticals – the public sector, healthcare, financial
services, energy and telecom wholesale. In 2010, we com pleted
the implementation of the Department of National Defence
contract and, in 2011, we will complete the implementation of
the Government of Quebec long-term contract worth up to
$900 million. These managed data solutions will increasingly
contribute to revenue and earnings in 2011 and beyond.
Providing integrated solutions
We introduced the Optik brand in June, which brings together
TELUS’ most innovative IP-delivered services – Optik TV,
powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, and Optik High Speed
Internet, which can be accessed wirelessly from anywhere in
the home. TELUS Optik TV, which includes PVR Anywhere
and Remote Recording using a wireless smartphone, offers
more choice, flexibility and control, greatly enhancing the
entertainment experience for customers. Another innovative
approach we pursued was to be among the first service
providers in the world to use Microsoft’s Xbox as a set-top box.
Optik TV is a superior customer entertainment service
compared to cable-TV offerings and customer reaction has
been distinctly positive. In 2010, total TV net additions were
a record 144,000, 57 per cent higher than in 2009. We expect
the momentum to continue in 2011.
Our approach to TV content is not to pursue content
acquisitions as other major competitors have done. We are
striving to deliver the world’s widest and best selection of
content and applications to our customers. We believe that our
best strategy is to partner as a distributor and remain a pure-
play communications company that is adding value through
the bundling of products and services in our channels. Indeed,
owning content could negatively impact our relationships with
other content suppliers. Finally, we recognize that managing
legacy broadcast and media properties is not currently a core
competency of TELUS and would not address the ongoing
shift to social media content and applications.
We are advancing our position in healthcare and, in 2010,
became the first in Canada to launch an innovative e-health
platform, called TELUS Health Space®. This complements TELUS’
leadership position in electronic health records in Canada’s
medical systems. Based on an exclusive partnership to host
innovation in action
To demonstrate the power and potential of TELUS’ communications solutions, we have set up
six TELUS Innovation Centres across Canada that showcase our suite of current and emerging
products and services and engage visitors in an interactive environment.
Using the latest technology and our leading IP-based wireline and high-speed wireless networks,
these centres offer real-life demonstrations of a variety of innovative solutions. An example includes
our Integrated Bedside Terminal for healthcare, which gives patients access to communications and
entertainment services and healthcare professionals access to patient information.