TELUS has announced it will invest $4.5 billion in new communications infrastructure across the province through 2019.

This year alone, the telecommunications company will invest $1.2 billion in the province to extend fibre optic infrastructure to thousands of homes and businesses in rural and urban communities.

"By the end of 2019 TELUS will have invested more than $51 billion in British Columbia since 2000 to provide our neighbours with access to critical next-generation health, education, business and government services and solutions," said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO.

This latest announcement will see TELUS expand wireless service coverage to more than 1,540 kilometres of previously-unserved highways, build new wireless sites to add capacity to extend the reach of wireless networks in urban and rural areas, and connect communities directly to the gigabit-enabled TELUS Fibre network.

The expansion will also see the company expand its healthcare solutions as TELUS provides electronic medical records to more than 15,000 physicians, 10,000 pharmacies, 11,000 dental clinics, and 33,000 extended healthcare providers across the country.