Richard Gilhooley, director of public affairs at Telus, told RCR Wireless News that the telco’s 5G coverage currently reaches 90% of the country’s population
In sum – what to know:
90% coverage – Telus says its 5G network already reaches 90% of Canadians, with new 3.8GHz spectrum adding speed and localized capacity.
Mid-band boost – The 3.8 GHz licenses in British Columbia and Alberta will enhance urban and rural performance while supporting long-term traffic growth.
Enterprise and AI – Additional spectrum will underpin mission-critical services, including private networks, automation, public safety and AI-driven applications.
Canadian carrier Telus, which currently covers 90% of Canada’s population with 5G, says the newly acquired 3.8GHz spectrum in British Columbia and Alberta will add capacity, support enterprise use cases and strengthen long-term network evolution.
“As of the end of 2025, our 5G coverage reaches 90% of Canada’s population. The spectrum purchased through ISED’s residual spectrum auction will provide additional speed and capacity where deployed,” said Richard Gilhooley, director of public affairs at Telus, in an interview with RCR Wireless News.
In the short term, the operator plans to use the additional 3.8GHz spectrum to manage localized traffic demand. “In the very immediate term, we will be able to provide extra capacity during special events, but over time all use cases will benefit from this additional spectrum being deployed,” Gilhooley said.
Over the longer term, the new mid-band holdings form part of Telus’s broader network evolution strategy. “The additional 3.8GHz spectrum obtained during the residual auction will further enhance the advancement of our 5G growth strategy and the globally leading network quality, speed and coverage we provide to Canadians,” he said.
The executive added that rising data consumption is a key driver behind the acquisition of the new . “As the demand for wireless data continues to grow, the acquisition of additional 3.8GHz spectrum will maximize our network capacity and enable Telus to deliver enhanced urban and rural connectivity to our customers.”
Beyond consumer services, the carrier expects the spectrum to support enterprise and mission-critical use cases. “This spectrum will also complement Telus’ existing holdings to support emerging 5G applications that our team is progressing, and that enable mission critical applications with dedicated and secure resources, such as public safety advanced communications, industry automation, and private wireless networks, as well as real-time, high availability services for AI applications,” Gilhooley added.
