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BCE Inc (2)
Symbol BCE
Shares Issued 897,968,882
Close 2018-04-23 C$ 53.63
Market Cap C$ 48,158,071,142
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BCE to add Oshawa to all-fibre optic network

2018-04-24 09:35 ET - News Release

Mr. George Cope reports

OSHAWA THE NEXT CITY TO JOIN BELL'S ALL-FIBRE BROADBAND NETWORK

BCE Inc. has invested more than $100-million to bring its all-fibre optic network directly to approximately 60,000 homes and business locations throughout Oshawa. Bell fibre will deliver the best Internet, TV and business communications services to Oshawa and further accelerate investment and innovation in one of Ontario's most forward-thinking and innovative urban communities.

Fully financed by Bell, the Oshawa network is part of Bell's plan to deploy all-fibre connections to an additional 1.3 million homes and businesses throughout the GTA/905 region surrounding Toronto and extending to the U.S. border. Earlier this month, Bell turned on its all-fibre Toronto network, which is connecting more than one million locations throughout Canada's largest city.

"We welcome Bell's investment in Oshawa to provide our residents, businesses and visitors with access to truly world-class Internet connectivity," said Oshawa mayor, John Henry. "High-speed networks are a primary driver of growth and innovation, supporting Oshawa's status as a smart city and our five key areas of economic growth -- advanced manufacturing, energy generation, health and biosciences, multimodal transportation and logistics, and information technologies."

Powering the fastest Internet access, business connectivity solutions and advanced TV and media services, Bell's fibre to the premises (FTTP) service delivers Internet access speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gb/s) with symmetrical upload and downloads. Built for the future, FTTP is designed to ultimately deliver speeds of 40 Gb/s and beyond.

"A city widely recognized for its innovative economic development initiatives, Oshawa understands the essential role advanced communications networks play in driving growth and innovation in urban centres that are evolving for the future," said George Cope, president of BCE and Bell Canada. "We appreciate the support and co-operation of the city and all our partners in ensuring Bell can rapidly deploy the world's most advanced broadband network technologies throughout Oshawa."

Long renowned as the centre of Canada's automotive sector, Oshawa is now also recognized as one of the country's leaders in the health sciences, education and advanced manufacturing. Oshawa is home to leading postsecondary institutions, including the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Durham College and Trent University Durham GTA, with unique research programs in IT security, adaptive technology and big data.

As an early adopter of smart city strategies, Oshawa was selected as a Smart 21 community by the Intelligent Community Forum in recognition of its partnerships with business, education and other stakeholders. Oshawa is expected to have one of the fastest-growing economies among 15 medium-sized metropolitan areas analyzed by the Conference Board of Canada.

Building on Bell's existing fibre to the neighbourhood network and working in close co-operation with the city, Bell will employ innovative installation techniques to minimize disruption to residents and businesses throughout the FTTP deployment. Bell will also be working closely with the Oshawa Power and Utilities Commission (OPUC) as well as local contractor Telecon for fibre installation. The deployment will include more than 240 kilometres of new fibre installed underground and on several hundred Bell and OPUC poles. Residents and businesses in the city are expected to have access to all-fibre connections beginning this fall.

Canada's largest fibre network

At more than 240,000 total kilometres, Bell's fibre optic network is Canada's largest by far. Across the Atlantic provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, Bell now serves more than 9.2 million homes and business locations, with over 3.7 million locations with FTTP connections -- a total expected to grow to 4.5 million by the end of this year.

Bell all-fibre cities now include St. John's, Gander, Summerside, Charlottetown, Halifax, Sydney, Moncton and Fredericton in Atlantic Canada, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres, Saint-Jerome and Gatineau in Quebec, Cornwall, Kingston, Toronto, North Bay and Sudbury in Ontario, and Steinbach and The Pas in Manitoba. Bell unveiled its major Montreal all-fibre project in 2017 and other major new centres getting Bell FTTP will be announced in 2018.

The world's fastest Internet technology

With the Gigabit Fibe Internet service enabled by Bell FTTP, customers can download a 10-megabit photo in one-10th of a second or an entire three-gigabit, high-definition movie in just 24 seconds. Customers can also upload a 500 mb business plan to the cloud in only four seconds or access the latest detailed stock quotes in the blink of an eye.

Bell fibre also delivers the innovative Fibe TV service that has transformed the way Canadians watch television and made Bell the largest TV provider in the country. Fibe TV delivers superior picture quality and exclusive interactive features not available from cable, while the fibre-enabled Alt TV is a new way to watch television on multiple screens with no need for a TV set-top box or installation.

About BCE Inc.

Founded in 1880, Bell is the country's oldest and largest telecommunications provider and continues to lead the way in Canadian communications with a strategy of unparalleled investment in broadband network and service innovation.

Bell invests more than $4-billion each year in Canada's next-generation network infrastructure, delivering world-class fibre connections to homes and businesses.

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