Telus - the Future Is Friendly

TELUS Case Study: “The Future is Friendly”

Telecommunication is a large and ever growing industry. Communication worldwide has transformed itself from hand written letters, to the home phone, to mass communication through wireless devices and internet capabilities. TELUS is one of the corporations competing internationally for customer usage and advancing communication technology. For TELUS, being a telecommunication company is more than providing telephone services; The use of voice, data, IP, and wireless technology allows TELUS to provide communication solutions for their customers, with cultural values and organization (TELUS.com, 2006). Their philosophy is simple: fast, efficient, customizes and convergent solutions.

The history of TELUS began with Alberta Government Telephone (AGT) created by the Alberta government in an attempt to acquire and operate Bell Canada operations within the province. Edmonton at the time had their own city owned telephone utiltiy called EdTel that contracted for long distance with AGT. The creation of the TELUS brand was accreditited to in part from the tension developed between the two companies as EdTel sought more revenue from AGT. The name TELUS was first used in 1990, it was the new name for AGT after being privatized by the Alberta government. In 1995, TELUS purchased EdTel completely putting an end to the government owned telecommunications in Alberta. A new iteration of TELUS was formed in 1999 after a merger with BCTel who was the monopoly telecommunications service provider in British Columbia. Althought BCTel was the larger of the two mergers, the regional liminations of the name abriviation “BC” resulted in the company name “TELUS”. The name made possible for the firm to appeal on an national and international level.

TELUS grew at a rapid pace during the early 21st century and they continued to acquire local service provider in Ontario and Quebec. In 2004, TELUS made a bid for Microcell Telecommunications but unfortunately was outbid by Rogers Communications. TELUS has over the past few years, acquired and partnered with many local, national and internationally telecommunication firms. TELUS International was created in 1996 to provide worldwide client requirements into world-class innovative IT and Data IP based solutions. Among TELUS’ executive leadership team is Darren Entwistle, President and Chief Executive Officer. He became CEO in 2000. Entwistle works closely with his Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Robert McFarlane, who is in charge of financial and strategic functions at TELUS supporting a 950-person finance team (TELUS.com, 2006). Their executive team includes eight other executive vice presidents.

TELUS faced intense competition when it entered its newly deregulated marketplace. They conveyed with them the reputation of being a once government owned company (Freakin, 2006). TELUS has two main competitors across Canada, which includes Rogers, Shaw, Microcell, Primus and BCE Inc. Competition is intense, not only for traditional home phone service providers, but as well from new companies that provide alternatives to this kind of service, such as the option of IP telephone (Hoovers, 2006). TELUS provides their customers with the traditional phone services that are quickly being forgotten by subscribers, who prefer methods of communication through wireless and email services. Currently, both long distance and voice local calling are on a slow decline (Hoover, 2006), but are however, expected to rise again soon, giving way to new growth opportunities. For TELUS, the biggest challenge is holding on to their market, as “competitors remain intent on winning market share in both the business and residential local and long distance voice markets as a way to sell additional data, Internet and wireless services” (Hoover, 2006).

In today’s telecommunication industry, with fierce competition among leading companies, it is easy for customers to leave one company behind and join alliances with another. Technology, as stated by TELUS, is the key factor to providing an advantage and differentiation in the marketplace. The lifecycle of communication technology is quick lived; in recognizing this, TELUS closely manages these cycles (TELUS.com, 2006). With research into new technologies, TELUS carefully introduces new advances to their customers, delivering with them superior value, services, and long-term growth for potential and current investors (TELUS.com, 2006). The company’s development department supports early innovation, stating that “TELUS is succeeding in managing technology and capital investment to deliver revenue growth, national brand recognition and cost effective network operation” (TELUS, 2006). Their customers are provided with the security of excellent service, with continuously changing new technologies,