Offer to purchase CLEARNET.pdf - About TELUS

‘‘Dividends’’ in TELUS’ Annual Information Form dated March 17, 2000 which is incorporated by reference in
this Circular.
Risk Factors
Expenditures, Capital and Demand for Services
The level of expenditures necessary to maintain quality of service, the availability and cost of capital, and
the extent of demand for telephone access lines, optional services, basic long distance services, wireless services
and new and emerging services, in the markets served by TELUS, constitute factors which could materially affect
its results of operations and financial condition in the future. The level of expenditures could materially increase
as TELUS seeks to expand the scope and scale of its businesses beyond traditional territories and service
offerings. Furthermore, as TELUS incurs additional expenditures to update its networks, products and services
to remain competitive, it is exposed to incremental financial risks associated with newer technologies that are
subject to accelerated obsolescence.
Economic Fluctuations
TELUS’ performance is affected by the general condition of the economy, with demand for services and the
amount of use tending to decline when economic growth and retail activity decline. It is not possible for TELUS
to accurately predict economic fluctuations and the impact of such fluctuations on its performance.
No Voting Rights for TELUS Non-Voting Shares
The holders of TELUS Non-Voting Shares are entitled to receive notice of, attend and be heard at all
general meetings of the shareholders of TELUS and are entitled to receive all notices of meetings, information
circulars and other written information from TELUS that the holders of TELUS Common Shares are entitled to
receive from TELUS, but are not entitled to vote at such general meetings unless otherwise required by law. The
decisions regarding the management of TELUS’ affairs will be made exclusively by the officers and directors of
TELUS and the holders of TELUS Common Shares and not by the holders of TELUS Non-Voting Shares.
Increasing Competition
The significant growth and size, as well as the increasing global scope, of the telecommunications industry is
attracting new entrants and encouraging parties other than existing participants to expand their services and
their markets. Mergers and acquisitions, as well as alliances and joint ventures, are creating new or larger
participants with broad skills and significant resources which will further impact the competitive landscape.
Current and future competitors are coming not just from within Canada, but also globally, and will include not
only major telecommunications companies, but also cable companies, Internet companies, wireless service
providers and other companies that offer network services, such as providers of business information systems
and systems integrators, as well as an increasing number of other companies that deal with or have access to
customers through various communications networks. Many of these companies are significant in size and
resources and have a significant market presence with broad recognition and existing customer relationships.
The markets for wireless telephone services, terminal equipment, certain data services, Internet service
provisions, long distance services, including competitive routes in the interexchange private line market, have all
been found by the CRTC to be sufficiently competitive to permit the CRTC to refrain from regulating these
services and the CRTC has done so through the issuance of forbearance orders. These forbearance orders
relieve the incumbent telephone companies from the obligation to file tariffs for CRTC approval of price
changes, however, competitive pressure may cause price erosion. In most cases, forbearance orders continue to
require that the services be subject to ‘‘light-handed’’ CRTC regulation with respect to the treatment of
customer-confidential information and that the requirement to ensure access to networks is not unjustly
discriminatory or unduly preferential. In some cases, the forbearance orders also require that the incumbent
companies allow resale and sharing of the services in question. In order to promote competition, the CRTC
requires the incumbent companies to permit interconnection and, in some cases, unbundle certain network
facilities in order to allow competition to develop in markets which are not yet fully competitive, such as the
local exchange market. Other companies, such as cable providers are now able to use their networks to compete
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