Mr. Dan McKeen reports

BELL ALIANT HAT TRICK: FIBREOP NETWORK PASSES 1 MILLION PREMISES, INTERNET SPEEDS BOOSTED AND TV EXPERIENCE GETS A FACELIFT

BCE Inc.'s Bell Aliant has achieved its goal of making FibreOP available to one million homes and businesses by the end of 2014, reaching this significant milestone in Oromocto, N.B.

Bell Aliant also announced that in the coming weeks, FibreOP customers in Atlantic Canada will be upgraded to FibreOP 3.0 with a free 50-per-cent boost in Internet speeds, a brand new on-demand guide and more on-demand programming.

The FibreOP network is setting the pace with the best Internet and TV experience in the market. Bell Aliant launched its fibre-to-the-home network in Fredericton in 2009 and has brought this world class-network to more than 90 communities over the past five years. Today, the network is better than ever, offering the only technology built to infinitely accommodate growing demand for broadband.

Customers can continue to expect more as Bell is committed to continue its momentum for broadband and wireless growth with a $2.1-billion investment over the next five years to extend broadband services in the region. Bell's fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint is now the largest in Canada.

"We hit our target of passing one million homes and businesses just a stone's throw from where we started our FibreOP build in Fredericton. It's been an incredible journey," said Dan McKeen, vice-chair and senior vice-president, residential services, Bell Aliant. "Our employees went above and beyond to build the best fibre optic network to meet the digital needs of households and businesses today, and in the future. Giving our customers an extra speed boost and a new TV experience with FibreOP 3.0 is just one way that we continue to make our FibreOP experience second to none."

Free Internet speed boost

FibreOP's 100-per-cent fibre optic network direct to homes and businesses powers an on-line experience that is unparalleled in Atlantic Canada. This free Internet speed upgrade from Bell Aliant is the third increase in the last two years and will deliver a 50-per-cent faster Internet experience. On Dec. 7:

• 50/30 megabytes per second jumping to 75/30 Mbps;
• 80/30 Mbps jumping to 150/30 Mbps.

At the same time, the company is increasing its top speed from 250/30 Mbps to 400/350 Mbps.

New TV features, more programming

Bell Aliant will also roll out its new easy-to-use and easy-to-love on-demand guide for all its FibreOP customers in the coming months. The new guide allows customers to search by poster art or title and access on-screen Rotten Tomatoes ratings and reviews. Customers will also be able to access more on-demand programming than ever with CTV on demand and be able to enjoy shows to go on their phones, tablets or computers with the new CTV Go app.

In addition, in a recently announced partnership with Bell Media, Bell Aliant will also offer a new subscription on-demand video streaming service -- code named "Project Latte" -- to give customers unprecedented access to TV's most acclaimed programming, including the entire off-air library of HBO's iconic programming catalogue with series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, The Wire and Entourage. Other popular programs include Seinfeld, Corner Gas, Community and Weeds, with a total of more than 10,000 hours of premium TV programming. The service will be available on set-top boxes, mobile apps, the Web, game consoles and smart TVs. More details on the product and pricing will be announced soon.

Better business offering

The FibreOP network connects thousands of Atlantic businesses to global services and systems, and fosters growth by enabling e-commerce, meeting bandwidth demands and more. Last month, Bell Aliant gave each of its business customers a boost to their Internet speeds. For many businesses, smarter technology enables them to be on the forefront of great customer experiences.

"Providing great customer service is critical to our success, and FibreOP has provided a whole new level of efficiency," said Gerry Lye and Tanya Dwyer of Newfoundland's formal sales and rentals. "We can order product on-line quickly and easily. Our customers can upload images of dresses and look at designer websites with our sales staff. It also drives a speedy payment transaction."