Telus is one of Canada’s largest cable companies with operations across most of Canada. They have approximately 14 million customers and employ over 90,000 people globally. While Telus has dabbled in the smart home and security space for years, over the past few years they have expanded that part of their operations significantly. Overall, smart home makes up a small part of their overall business, however, they are the largest alarm provider in Canada (most monitored accounts nationally).
Telus was originally based in Edmonton, Alberta and then merged with BC Tel in 1999. The company initially focused operations in Western Canada, however in the early 2010s the company began expanding operations in Ontario and Quebec. Telus now operates in most areas of Canada, providing internet, cell phone and TV service, along with also having a presence in both healthcare and media.
Telus began offering security services throughout the mid 2010s, however, in 2018, Telus senior management, Darren Entwistle (President of Telus) and Jason McDougall (President of Telus Smart Security & Automation) decided the company should make a large push in the Canadian security space. The thought was by customers adding smart home and security in a bundle, the customer would be less likely to cancel their internet and other services. The bundle would make customers stickier and less likely to attrit. Plus, it would allow them to compete with other national cable providers like Rogers that were more invested in offering security services.
In 2018, Telus made a significant push in the alarm space by purchasing AlarmForce’s western Canadian customer base and operations. This cost Telus $66.5m and was purchased from BCE which then made Telus one of the three largest alarm companies in Canada.
While the company continued to purchase and absorb smaller Western Canadian alarm companies, it was in October 2019 that Telus made its biggest purchase, ADT Canada, for approximately $700m. At the time ADT Canada had approximately 500,000 accounts and employed around 1,000 people. This purchase instantly made Telus the largest alarm provider in Canada.
Telus provides security and smart home services for residential and commercial locations. This includes traditional monitored alarm systems, video surveillance systems and connected smart home devices. Telus requires customers to agree to a multi-year contract for most security services.
