Mr. Marc Choma reports

BCE RECOMMENDS SHAREHOLDERS REJECT TRC CAPITAL'S "MINI-TENDER OFFER"

BCE Inc. has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by TRC Capital Corp. to purchase up to two million BCE common shares, or approximately 0.23 per cent of the company's outstanding common shares, at a price of $56 per share. BCE does not endorse this unsolicited offer, has no association with TRC Capital or its offer, and recommends that shareholders do not tender their shares to the offer.

BCE cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below market price for BCE shares. The offer represents a discount of 3.48 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange closing price and 3.47 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange closing price for BCE common shares on March 7, 2017, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced.

According to TRC Capital's offer documents, BCE shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw their shares at any time before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on April 6, 2017, by following the procedures described in the offer documents.

Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5 per cent of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities.

The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price."

BCE strongly encourages brokers, dealers and other market participants to exercise caution and review the letter regarding broker dealer mini-tender offer dissemination and disclosures on the SEC's website.

BCE requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to TRC Capital's mini-tender offer for BCE shares.

Comments from the CSA on mini-tenders can be found on the Ontario Securities Commission's website.

Information about mini-tender offers can be found on the SEC's website.

TRC Capital has made similar unsolicited mini-tender offers for shares of other public companies in Canada and elsewhere.

About BCE Inc.

As Canada's largest communications company, BCE provides broadband wireless, TV, Internet and business communication services from Bell Canada and Bell Aliant. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out of home and digital media.