The ratings on Vancouver-based Telus Corp., Canada's second-largest integrated telecommunications provider with about 12 million customer connections, reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' opinion of the company's business risk profile, which we view as "strong," given the company's substantial exposure to, and solid market position in, the large and expanding national wireless services industry; its leading position as the incumbent local telephone service provider in western Canada and eastern Quebec; good brand recognition; broad product portfolio, including its ability to bundle voice, high-speed Internet (HSI), wireless and video services within its incumbent markets; and healthy diversity of revenue among business and residential customers. The ratings are also supported by what we view as the company's "intermediate" financial risk profile given
