TELUS introduces trade-in program - credit towards new device for your old handset

Survey finds most Canadians have old devices lying around the house, but would like to trade them in

TORONTO, March 21, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS is making it even easier for customers to get into the latest, greatest wireless devices with the introduction of a trade-in program. TELUS' new trade-in program will reward customers with instant in-store credit for their used devices while giving them a chance to dispose of their electronic waste safely and smartly.

"Putting our customers first is at the core of what we do at TELUS, and that means we are listening and understand they want to upgrade devices more easily and more often," said Brent Johnston, TELUS vice-president of mobility solutions. "Over the last few years, we've launched a number of initiatives making our service easier and more transparent. We have applied the same principles to our new trade-in program. It's a smart and future friendly way for our customers to get to their next device faster by trading in their current device for credit toward the latest and greatest smartphones and accessories."

The need for a trade-in program has never been greater. TELUS recently commissioned a survey to find out what Canadians do with their old devices, and found that 61 per cent said they have between one and five old cell phones lying around at home. That same number of Canadians surveyed, 61 per cent, said they would happily trade their old phones in if they would get something in return for doing so. Furthermore, Canadians are very concerned about the electronic waste piling up at home, with 82 per cent stating they would hand in their old phones if they knew they would be disposed of safety.

Working in collaboration with eRecyclingCorps (eRC), TELUS is making its trade-in program available to all TELUS customers, both new and existing. As of today, customers can simply present their device at a TELUS store and will be offered a credit if the phone is recent enough that it can be refurbished or, if not, a donation of $3 to Tree Canada in their name toward the planting of a tree for each unit recycled. Customers can trade in up to three phones, mobile Internet keys or mobile Wi-Fi devices (with a maximum combined value of up to $200). Credits will be applied to device or accessory costs for a new activation or renewal at time of trade.

"This research shows that Canadians not only want a hassle-free way to trade-in their retired devices, but they would also like to be rewarded. TELUS is partnering with eRecyclingCorps to give them exactly what they want - instant credit for devices right at the store," said David Edmondson, CEO of eRecyclingCorps. "The TELUS trade-in program makes it easy for customers to get credit toward the purchase of the latest phones and accessories while safely keeping their old phones out of landfills."

The survey also found:

• 54 per cent of Canadians would like to recycle their cellphones but don't know how to
• 24 per cent of Canadians 18-34 years old see themselves as tech gurus and always use the latest wireless phone vs. 11 per cent for Canadians 35-54 years old
• Quebec is the champion of device recycling with 61 per cent of Quebecers recycling their old devices

TELUS and its team members are committed to delivering a fair, transparent and reliable customer experience by continuing to make friendly changes to services and rate plans. Recent initiatives include:

• Clear and Simple rate plans with no system access and carrier 911 fees
• Flexible data rate plans to avoid bill shock
• Free SMS data usage notifications
• Device unlocking services
• International roaming rates that have been reduced by up to 60 per cent and are available without a complex travel pass
• Redefined device ownership terms that makes it easy to upgrade to the latest and greatest smartphones anytime.

For more information about how TELUS is putting customers first, please visit www.telus.com/you.

In 2011, at a ceremony in Ottawa, Tree Canada formally recognized TELUS as an Ultimate sponsor for contributing more than $1 million to their cause.

Visit about.telus.com/community/en/partnerships/treecanada to learn more.

About the survey

From February 9th to February 10th 2012, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1,011 Canadian adults who are also Angus Reid Forum panel members. The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/- 3.09 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The sample was balanced by age, gender, region and education according to the most recent census data, to be fully representative of the population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About eRecyclingCorps

eRecyclingCorps (eRC) is the world's leading provider of carrier-grade wireless device trade-in solutions.  Founded in 2009 to provide a scalable model to repurpose and reuse perceptually obsolete devices, eRC partners with global carriers and retailers to provide instant, in-store trade-in credit.  eRC renews devices to stringent certification standards and sells them to consumers in developing countries at an affordable price thereby bridging the digital divide.  eRC will complete more than 5 million wireless trade-ins worldwide in 2012.  For more information, please visit erecyclingcorps.com.

About Tree Canada

Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established 20 years ago to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, more than 77 million trees have been planted, more than 450 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has organized 9 national urban forest conferences. For more information, please visit www.treecanada.ca.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.4 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 500,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Elisabeth Napolano
TELUS Media Relations
416-906-9830
[email protected]