TELUS renews expiring shareholder rights plan

VANCOUVER, March 12 /CNW/ - TELUS today announced that the Company has renewed its current shareholder rights plan which is due to expire on March 20, 2010.

The company has had a shareholder rights plan in place since 2000 (the 2000 plan). The 2010 shareholder rights plan (the 2010 plan) maintains the protection afforded to shareholders under the 2000 plan and was not adopted in response to any anticipated take-over bid. The 2010 plan is substantially similar to the 2000 plan and to plans recently adopted by other Canadian companies and approved by their shareholders.

The 2010 plan is effective immediately and will be submitted to the holders of TELUS' Common Shares and Non-Voting Shares for approval at the TELUS annual shareholders' meeting to be held on May 5, 2010. A complete copy of the 2010 plan will be filed on sedar.com.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.6 billion of annual revenue and 12 million customer connections including 6.5 million wireless subscribers, 4 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and 170,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $158 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 3 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine 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 ever to receive this prestigious international recognition.

Forward looking statements

This news release contains forward looking statements based on current expectations, such as obtaining shareholder approval for the ratification and confirmation of the 2010 plan and there being no significant legal developments adversely impacting shareholder rights plans, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from the future outcomes expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

For further information: TELUS Media Relations: Shawn Hall, [phone], [email protected]