Telus ready for new competitors

Article Excerpt

Three new wireless providers (Globalive, DAVE Wireless and Public Mobile) will probably enter the Canadian market next year. This will undoubtedly put pressure on Canada’s three existing wireless carriers, including Telus. However, Telus has dealt with strong competition from wireless and cable companies for years. For example, last year it launched Koodo, a new discount cellphone service, to attract younger users. The company has also upgraded its networks to handle a wider variety of cellphones, including Apple’s hugely popular iPhone. New TV services should also help Telus hang on to many of its traditional phone and wireless customers. Moreover, Telus’s high dividend yield should attract more investors as income trusts convert to corporations, or cut their distributions once Ottawa starts taxing them in 2011. TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $34 and T.A $32; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 318 million; Market cap: $10.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; SI Rating: Above Average) is Canada’s second-largest telephone company after BCE Inc. (Toronto…