- Bell secures prime 3500 MHz spectrum in urban and rural markets
across the country
- Acquiring 678M MHz-POP in auction
for $2.07 billion
- Brings total holdings to 1,690M
MHz-POP, or 37% of 3500 MHz spectrum available to national wireless
carriers, acquired at industry-leading average blended cost of
$1.25 per MHz-POP
- Ongoing 5G leadership a key driver of Bell's
multibillion-dollar network investment acceleration supporting
Canada's COVID recovery and ongoing economic prosperity
MONTRÉAL, July 29, 2021 /CNW
Telbec/ - Bell today announced it is acquiring significant
additional mid-band, flexible-use 3500 MHz wireless spectrum in the
recently concluded auction by Innovation, Science and Economic
Development Canada. Essential to Canada's ongoing transition to 5G
communications, these high-capacity airwaves unleash the full
potential of Bell's 5G advantage, extending Bell's leadership in
delivering enhanced 5G digital experiences to Canadian consumers
and businesses in urban, rural and remote communities.
Bell is acquiring 271 licences for 678M MHz-POP of 3500 MHz spectrum – critical to
enabling the full potential of 5G – for $2.07 billion. Together with existing holdings,
Bell now possesses 1,690M MHz-POP, or
37% of this high-value spectrum available to national wireless
carriers, acquired at an industry-leading average blended cost of
$1.25 per MHz-POP, in line with
Bell's network leadership objectives and the expectations of the
financial community.
"Underscoring the Bell team's goal to advance how Canadians
connect with each other and the world, acquiring this significant
additional 3500 MHz spectrum will drive Bell's ongoing leadership
in 5G, a critical component in our multibillion-dollar program to
accelerate investment in Canada's next-generation network
infrastructure and services," said Mirko
Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "Leading the way in 5G is a great
reflection of the Bell for Better initiative and our focus on
delivering the economic, social and environmental benefits of
broadband network leadership to Canadians everywhere."
Launched in major centres across Canada last year and now first
to offer 5G roaming in the US, Bell 5G is ranked by multiple
analysts as Canada's fastest mobile network (most recently by
Ookla in its 2021 Speedtest Awards). Bell 5G is currently available
to approximately 35% of the national population, and is expected to
reach 70% by the end of 2021. Bell's Wireless Home Internet (WHI)
service is bringing broadband Internet access to small towns and
rural locations in Atlantic
Canada, Québec, Ontario and
Manitoba, and will also be
enhanced with 5G capability later this year.
Bell is acquiring 30% of total 3500 MHz spectrum available to
national wireless carriers at auction, including spectrum in major
and secondary urban markets across the country, which, together
with existing holdings, secures all the 3500 MHz spectrum necessary
for Bell to continue leading the roll out of 5G across Canada. This
includes 52% of available spectrum in WHI rural markets.
"With our strong 3500 MHz spectrum position, we're ready to take
the country's top-ranked 5G service even further, leveraging the
full capabilities of the technology to help bridge the digital
divide with enhanced broadband access for more rural and remote
communities," said Stephen Howe,
Bell's Chief Technology Officer. "The speed and capacity of 5G,
coupled with Bell's unparalleled fibre backhaul infrastructure and
rapidly expanding network footprints, offers infinite service
possibilities for consumers and business users, from augmented
reality and machine learning to smart homes, vehicles and cities,
and we're eager to deliver these benefits to Canadians no matter
where they may live."
Bell's accelerated infrastructure investment
Enabled
by government and regulatory policies encouraging significant
investment in Canada's critical infrastructure, Bell's network
acceleration program increases capital investment in 5G, fibre and
rural network infrastructure by up to $1.7
billion over 2 years – in addition to the $4 billion Bell typically invests each year in
network expansion and enhancement. With increased spending on
network capacity in 2020 to manage the extraordinary usage
increases during the COVID crisis, capital investment by Bell from
2020-2022 will total approximately $14
billion, representing the company's largest infrastructure
investment program in its 141-year history.
The Bell 5G advantage
5G capitalizes on the power of
both wireless and fibre communications, and with 94% of Bell's cell
sites connected to its fibre network, Bell 5G leads in providing
the low latency critical to real-time applications ranging from
remote surgery to ultra-HD video. With over 2,700 network locations
across the country, Bell has more network points of presence than
any other carrier in Canada, a key
enabler for multi-access edge computing (MEC) that brings the
computing power, processing and storage potential of 5G closer to
developers and end users. Bell recently announced a MEC agreement
with Amazon Web Services and a strategic technology partnership
with Google Cloud to deliver enhanced digital experiences for
Canadians that take full advantage of Bell 5G's speed, latency and
bandwidth benefits, empowering Bell to take a leading share in 5G
services.
Bell also leads the industry in research and development,
including projects under way with Université de Sherbrooke and Western
University to develop new 5G consumer and business services.
5G delivers important environmental benefits, with the Canadian
Wireless Telecommunications Association estimating 5G
technology can support 1000x the data traffic at half of current
energy consumption over the next decade. These sustainability
advantages are a prominent part of Bell's plan to achieve carbon
neutral operations in 2025.
About Bell
Bell is Canada's largest communications
company, providing advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet media
and business communication services throughout the country. Founded
in Montréal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. To learn
more, please visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca.
Through Bell for Better, we are investing to create a better
today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic
prosperity of our communities with a commitment to the highest
environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. This includes
the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which 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
Nathan
Gibson
905-614-9596
nathan.gibson@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 as well as the benefits expected to
result therefrom, including our two-year increased capital
investment program to increase capital investment in 5G, fibre and
rural network infrastructure, the benefits expected to result from
the acquisition of 3500 MHz spectrum licenses, our plan to achieve
carbon neutral operations in 2025, 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 capital investment and network deployment plans
and the benefits expected to result therefrom are subject to risks
and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that our capital
investment and network deployment plans will be completed or that
the benefits expected to result therefrom will be realized. The
value of the planned investments assumes our ability to access or
generate the necessary sources of capital. However, there can be no
certainty that the required sources of capital will be available
with the result that the actual investment made by us could
materially differ from current expectations. For additional
information on assumptions and risks underlying certain of our
forward-looking statements made in this news release, please
consult BCE Inc.'s (BCE) 2020 Annual MD&A dated March 4, 2021, BCE's 2021 First Quarter MD&A
dated April 28, 2021 and BCE's news
release dated April 29, 2021,
announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2021,
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). These documents are
also available at BCE.ca.
SOURCE Bell Canada