Telus Communications | Explained and Reviewed by Canadians

Telus PureFibre: Western Canada’s Best Internet With a Customer Service Wake Up Call

For thirteen consecutive years, Telus held the title of Canada’s least complained about major telecom provider. That streak ended in 2025, and the way it ended tells you something important about where Telus is right now.

The CCTS mid year report (covering August 2024 to January 2025) showed Telus topping the complaint rankings for the first time ever, with a 63% increase in customer grievances. The full year 2024–2025 report was even worse: 4,904 complaints, up 78% year over year, driven by breach of contract issues (up 299%), regular price increases (up 195%), and incorrect charges on monthly bills (up 70%). Telus went from having the fewest complaints to having more than Bell.

And yet, the network itself remains excellent. Telus PureFibre is arguably the best residential internet technology in Western Canada, delivering symmetrical fibre to the home connections with speeds up to 5 Gbps. If you live in BC or Alberta and PureFibre is available at your address, the actual internet experience is genuinely great: low latency, consistent performance, and uploads that match your downloads. The WiFi 6 equipment is strong, and the network keeps getting faster.

So the Telus story in 2026 is one of a company with an excellent network and an increasingly rocky customer experience. The internet is good. The billing, pricing, and support are getting worse. That paradox shapes everything about whether Telus is right for you.

Telus PureFibre Plans & Pricing (March 2026)

All PureFibre plans include symmetrical speeds (upload matches download), unlimited data, and a WiFi 6 router. Promotional pricing requires a 24 month term. Prices shown are before the $5 autopay discount and $10 mobility bundle discount, which are available on top.

The Real Pricing Picture

Listed prices and what people actually pay are very different. Telus retention deals on RedFlagDeals consistently show 1 Gbps PureFibre for $50 to $60 per month with $200 to $300 in bill credits. Boxing Day 2025 deals included 1 Gbps for $50 per month (tax included in some Alberta cases) with $300 credit. The key is calling the loyalty department at 1-888-811-2323 and mentioning a Rogers offer. Be persistent, as different agents offer different rates. The autopay discount ($5/mo) and Telus mobility bundle ($10/mo) stack on top of retention pricing.

Copper/DSL Plans (Where Fibre Is Not Available)

In areas without PureFibre, Telus offers DSL at 25 Mbps ($55/mo) and 75 Mbps ($65/mo). These are significantly slower and should be treated as a last resort. If your address only qualifies for DSL, check if Rogers (Shaw) cable is available as it will deliver much better speeds, or consider Starlink for rural areas.

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Network Technology: Why PureFibre Matters

PureFibre (FTTH): The Real Deal

Telus PureFibre delivers a dedicated fibre optic strand directly into your home. This is genuine fibre to the home (FTTH), the same technology category as Bell Pure Fibre and Google Fiber. The key advantages are symmetrical speeds (your upload matches your download), consistent performance regardless of neighbourhood congestion, and extremely low latency for gaming and video calls. Telus uses GPON technology for plans up to 1 Gbps and XGS-PON for the 3 Gbps and 5 Gbps tiers.

Opensignal’s March 2025 testing showed Telus averaging 90.2 Mbps upload speed, which is second in Canada behind Bell’s 109.9 Mbps. The download average of roughly 135 Mbps is lower than Rogers (198 Mbps), but this reflects the blended average across all Telus customers including those on slower DSL plans, not the PureFibre experience specifically. On PureFibre, real world speeds typically match or exceed advertised rates.

WiFi 6 Equipment

Telus includes a WiFi 6 router (the Telus WiFi Hub) with all PureFibre plans. It supports tri band connectivity and handles 20+ devices well for most households. WiFi Plus mesh extenders are available for $10 per month or roughly $200 to purchase for larger homes. The equipment is generally well reviewed, though some technically savvy users note limitations with bridge mode configuration.

Copper DSL: The Legacy Network

In areas without PureFibre, Telus offers DSL over copper telephone lines at 25 to 75 Mbps. Upload speeds are much slower (5 to 15 Mbps) and performance degrades with distance from the node. Telus is actively migrating customers from copper to fibre, investing over $1 billion annually in PureFibre expansion. If you are on DSL, check periodically whether PureFibre has reached your address.

Coverage: Where Telus PureFibre Is Available

The Complaint Spike: What Happened to Telus Customer Service

This is the most important context for any 2026 Telus review. For over a decade, Telus proudly touted having the fewest CCTS complaints among national carriers. That era is over.

The CCTS mid year report (August 2024 to January 2025) saw Telus top the complaint rankings for the first time, accounting for 19.7% of all complaints with a 63% year over year increase. The full year 2024–2025 report confirmed the trend: 4,904 complaints against Telus, up 78% from the prior year, leapfrogging Bell (3,966 complaints) for second place behind Rogers (6,485). The specific issues driving the spike were breach of contract complaints (up 299%), regular price increases on monthly plans (up 195%), incorrect charges for monthly price plans (up 70%), and credits or refunds not received (up 74%). Telus also had the highest number of confirmed Wireless Code breaches among national carriers, accounting for 36% of all confirmed breaches.

Telus acknowledged the problem publicly. Senior VP of customer service Terry Wells stated that Telus takes “full responsibility” and reported a 20% reduction in complaints since January 2025. The Trustpilot rating of roughly 3.0 out of 5 is still significantly better than Bell (1.2) and Rogers (1.3), so Telus remains the least bad of the Big Three for customer satisfaction. But the trajectory is concerning.

Telus vs Rogers in Western Canada

This is the head to head that matters for BC and Alberta households. Since Rogers absorbed Shaw in 2023, both providers compete directly across Western Canada.

Telus wins on technology, uploads, customer satisfaction, and network quality. Rogers wins on download speed averages and listed pricing (though retention deals equalize this). For most Western Canadian households, Telus PureFibre is the better choice when available. Rogers cable is a perfectly acceptable alternative if PureFibre does not reach your address, and is worth considering if you prioritize raw download speed over upload symmetry.

Telus vs Bell: The Fibre vs Fibre Comparison

Bell and Telus rarely compete directly since they serve different regions. But if you are moving between provinces or comparing fibre technologies, here is how they stack up.

Both use fundamentally similar fibre technology and deliver excellent FTTH performance. Bell edges ahead on raw upload speeds and maximum tiers (8 Gbps vs 5 Gbps). Telus has a significantly better Trustpilot score but more CCTS complaints this year. In practice, most Canadians cannot choose between them since they serve different territories. If you are in BC or Alberta, Telus PureFibre is your fibre option. If you are in Ontario, Quebec, or Atlantic Canada, Bell Pure Fibre is.

Pros and Cons

How to Save Money on Telus

Call the loyalty department at 1-888-811-2323. Mention a Rogers offer and request a retention deal. Customers consistently report 1 Gbps for $50–$60 per month with $200–$300 in bill credits. Stack the $5 autopay discount and $10 mobility bundle discount. If your contract is expiring, call before it ends rather than letting the regular rate kick in. The 5 Gig plan with 5 year price lock at $95 per month is worth considering if you want to avoid the retention negotiation cycle entirely.

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