A ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that affects Telus will put enough money for a few extra lattes in the pockets of the company’s customers.

Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said Wednesday there will be rebates going out amounting to about $20 to $30 per customer.

The total rebate Telus will be returning is $54 million. Kamloops is among the communities getting rebates, he said.

“We haven’t worked out exactly how it will work, but it’ll be done in the next six months.”

In addition, the CRTC decision will see Telus invest millions into broadband connections for small, rural communities in B.C.

“There’s a lot of good in connecting rural and remote communities to broadband,” he said.

For example, broadband will allow telehealth connections in communities so patients can have a consultation with a specialist over videolink, he explained.

Telus was among the large phone companies affected by a CRTC decision from 2002 that ordered them not to lower their rates. At the same time, those companies were limited in their profitability.

Money from that was diverted into a deferral account.

The rate limits were removed in 2006. The phone companies wanted to spent the deferral money on rural upgrades, but a consumer group took them to court to argue the funds should be returned to consumers in a rebate.

The CRTC has ruled there will be some money returned in rebates and some spent to improve rural internet access or access for disabled people.

Among the B.C. communities getting better internet connections are Blackpool, Little Shuswap Lake, Neskonlith, Skeetchestn and Upper Nicola.