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The Telus name originates from the Alberta provincial telephone company called AGT (Alberta Government Telephones). In 1998, Telus and BC Tel merged and the new headquarters for Telus were moved to Vancouver. In 2000, Telus Mobility acquired Clearnet Communications of Ontario and one of the larger phone companies in Québec. Telus is now a new larger company formed over several mergers of large companies (AGT and BC Tel), plus smaller companies, such as Clearnet.
At present, Telus Mobility offers various different services across Canada based on the equipment they have acquired. For example, in BC and AB this includes 800 and 1900 MHz CDMA, AMPS and 800 MHz iDEN; in ON and PQ this includes 1900 MHz CDMA plus 800 MHz iDEN, and in MB and NS only 1900 MHz CDMA is currently offered. Most newer handsets sold by Telus are both 800 and 1900 MHz CDMA to allow their customers to use both networks anywhere in Canada. Since the majority of the original Telus network was in BC and Alberta, Telus has the best network coverage in these provinces; in eastern Canada their coverage is more limited outside of major centres and corridors, but handsets will roam on Bell or other Mobility networks in these locations and customers are not charged additional fees for roaming on these networks.
Plans Telus Mobility offers several different packages: All packages (except the Talk 20) offer mini voice mail, call waiting, and conference calling. Note that the plans are called and priced the same across Canada but plans offered in the western provinces seem to be more limited in airtime. Telus Mobility gives you a choice of being on a fixed-length contract or going month-to-month. Fixed-length contracts ensure that your plan does not change over the contract duration and gives you a billing credit. Note that if you do sign a contract and then break the contract you will owe Telus the greater of $20 multiplied by the number of months remaining in the contract or $100.
Pre-Paid Plans Telus Mobility also offers a pre-paid plan called Pay & Talk. You buy either a pre-paid package or you can convert any Telus Mobility phone for $65. Either option gives you a $50 credit and airtime is deducted at $0.29/min. The catch is that you CANNOT allow your balance to drop to zero or expire otherwise you are charged a higher airtime rate if you refill your account with a $10 ($0.33/min) or $25 ($0.40/min) card. A $50 card always gives you $0.29/min and the $10 and $25 cards will as well provided that you never allow your account to become fully depleted. Note that this plan includes both digital and analog access. Pre-paid plans may be converted to monthly (post-paid) plans without charge. Online activation of this pre-paid plan also gives you a bonus $25 credit. Pre-paid plan users should also note that they can obtain unlimited weekends for a monthly charge of $25. To activate this plan, make sure that you have at least $25 on your account and then call Telus to activate 30 days of unlimited weekends.
Summary Overall, Telus Mobility targets their cellular products at casual and business users. Their packages start at $20/month (+$6.95/month for the licensing charge), including 175-200 free minutes anytime on either analog or digital networks. Although Telus Mobility is using CDMA, don't expect to be able to switch to Bell Mobility or another CDMA if you are unhappy with their service. Telus Mobility has a Service Provider Lock (SP-LOCK) on the phone to prevent just this. |
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Telus Mobility now offers cellular services in all provinces. Some provinces are strictly digital, whereas their original network in Western Canada is a mix of both digital and analog. In some locations where Telus does not have their own network, Telus customers roam on Bell Mobility, although this will be transparent and no additional charges will be incurred. Telus does not operate networks in any of the three territories, although customers may roam on existing networks in the territories, where available.
