Bell doubling rural Internet download speeds with Wireless Home Internet, service expanding to rural Atlantic Canada

  • First 300,000 households to access 50/10 speeds starting this fall
  • Wireless Home Internet also expanding to rural regions of Atlantic Canada
  • 5G rural Internet access to launch following federal spectrum auction

MONTRÉAL, July 23, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell today announced its Wireless Home Internet (WHI) service for rural Canada will increase Internet download speeds to up to 50 Megabits per second and uploads to 10 Mbps (50/10) this fall while also expanding to rural communities throughout Atlantic Canada this fall.

"Leading the way in delivering broadband Internet access to rural Canada is a core part of Bell's goal to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world, and we've made remarkable progress in narrowing the digital divide with Bell Wireless Home Internet. We're pleased to take this unique technology further by doubling Internet download speeds available to rural communities while also beginning our rollout of WHI service throughout Atlantic Canada," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada.

"Bell's continued investment in building the best networks has been critical to Canada's management of COVID-19's impact and will be key to the country's ongoing recovery. The intense usage of Wireless Home Internet and positive feedback from our rural customers throughout the COVID-19 crisis underscored how important fast and reliable broadband connections are to ensuring communities both large and small will be part of Canada's move forward. To meet the needs of our rural customers, Bell accelerated our service rollout in response to the unprecedented demand, bringing WHI service to 137,000 more households than anticipated by the end of April," said Mr. Bibic.

The new 50/10 WHI service will initially be offered to approximately 300,000 homes in 325 communities in Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic provinces starting this fall. Some of the first communities that will receive 50/10 service include: Selwyn, Trent Hills and Wilmot in Ontario; Dunham, Messines, Saint Adolphe d'Howard and Sutton in Québec; Doaktown, New Brunswick; Guysborough, Nova Scotia; Kensington, PEI; and Burgeo, Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Fully funded by Bell, the Wireless Home Internet program is designed to bring broadband Internet access to homes in rural communities and other hard-to-reach locations by leveraging the scale of Bell's high-performance wireless networks – which will include upgrades to 5G service as necessary wireless spectrum is made available by the federal government.

"As the key builder of Canada's network infrastructure, Bell developed Wireless Home Internet specifically to ensure that rural Canada can share in all the opportunities of our digital future," said Stephen Howe, Bell's Chief Technology Officer. "Wireless Home Internet is ready to enable all the speed and capacity capabilities of fixed 5G Internet access in future by leveraging additional 3500 MHz spectrum following the federal wireless spectrum auction in 2021."

Already available to approximately 400,000 households in Ontario and Québec with download speeds of 25 Mbps, Bell's Wireless Home Internet service is expected to ultimately reach 1 million homes in smaller towns and rural communities across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario and Manitoba. Please visit Bell.ca/FastInternet to learn more.

About Bell
Canada's largest communications company with more than 22 million consumer and business connections, Bell provides advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet and business communication services throughout the country. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out of home and digital media. Founded in Montréal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). To learn more, please visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca.

The Bell Let's Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

Media inquiries:

Caroline Audet
514-391-9794
caroline.audet@bell.ca
@Bell_News

Investor inquiries:

Thane Fotopoulos
514-870-4619
thane.fotopoulos@bell.ca

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking statements, including statements relating to our network deployment and capital investment plans, our business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities, and other statements that are not historical facts. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe our expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our network deployment and capital investment plans and the benefits expected to result therefrom are subject to risks and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that our network deployment plans will be completed or that the benefits expected to result therefrom will be realized. For additional information on assumptions and risks underlying certain of our forward-looking statements made in this news release, please consult BCE's 2020 First Quarter MD&A dated May 6, 2020, filed by BCE with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities (available at Sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at SEC.gov). This document is also available at BCE.ca.

SOURCE Bell Canada