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1880 in Canada

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Bell Canada

 

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BCE Inc.
Bell Canada
Type Public
Traded as TSXBCE, NYSEBCE
Industry Telecommunications
Mass media
Founded 1880, by Charles Fleetford Sise
Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people George Cope (CEO)[1]
Products Fixed line and mobile telephony, Internet services, digital television, broadcasting, radio and print
Revenue increase$18.069 billion CAD (2010)[2]
Operating income increase$3.672 billion CAD (2010)
Net income increase$2.159 billion CAD (2010)
Employees 55,250 (2011)[3]
Website www.bell.ca
Bell Canada's headquarters located in Montreal, Quebec.

Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications and media company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories, and a major competitive local exchange carrier for enterprise customers in the western provinces. Its subsidiary Bell Mobility (including Solo Mobile and Virgin Mobile Canada) is one of Canada's "big three" mobile telecommunications providers, while Bell TV providess direct-to-home satellite TV service. Bell Canada's principal competition is Rogers Communications in a majority of its service territory. The company, which serves a total of over 13 million phone lines, is headquartered at the Campus Bell complex in Montreal, Quebec.[4]

Bell Canada is one of the main assets of the conglomerate BCE Inc. (TSXBCE, NYSEBCE), also known as Bell Canada Enterprises. In addition to its core telecommunications operations, BCE owns Bell Media, which operates media properties including the CTV Television Network. BCE also owns 18% of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, and (together with BCE's pension plan) is in the process of purchasing a 37.5% interest in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owner of several Toronto professional sports franchises.[5] BCE ranked number 262 on the 2011 edition of the Forbes Global 2000 list.[6]

Contents

[edit] History

Historically, Bell Canada has been one of Canada's most important and most powerful companies, and in 1975 was listed as the fifth largest in the country.[7]

[edit] Inception

Bell Canada logo used from 1902 to 1922. Note the USA-oriented stars used in other Bell System trademarks. A later version used from 1922 to 1940 used maple leaves instead.

In the later 19th century Alexander Graham Bell designed an analog electrical telecom device that could simultaneously transmit and receive human speech in "real time" and in 1876 successfully patented the device as the "telephone" in the United States (U.S. Patent 174,465). Bell also patented the telephone in Canada and transferred 75% of the Canadian patent rights to his father, Alexander Melville Bell. For a few years, the senior Bell along with Thomas Henderson collected royalties from the lease of telephone hardware to customers in the limited late 1870s Canadian market who either operated their own personal network infrastructure or subscribed to a third party telecommunications service provider.[8]

In 1879 the younger Bell's father sold all Canadian rights to National Bell Telephone Company formed in Boston, Massachusetts earlier that year by the merger of Bell Telephone Company and International Bell Telephone Company, which in 1880 reorganized as the American Bell Telephone Company, initiating the Bell System. That same year the Canadian division was renamed The Bell Telephone Company of Canada Ltd. and headed by U.S. executive Charles Fleetford Sise from Chicago who served as its first general manager.[9]

The first supplier of telephones to Bell was a company established by Thomas C. Cowherd and his son James H. Cowherd, in a three story brick building in Brantford, Ontario, creating Canada's first telephone factory. Thomas and James had been good friends of Alexander Graham Bell and had provided stovepipe wire with which he conducted early experiments in Canada.[10] By 1881 the Brantford factory had manufactured 2,398 telephones to Bell's specifications.[11] With a government-granted monopoly on Canadian long-distance telephone service,[citation needed] The Bell Telephone Company of Canada was serving 237,000 subscribers by 1914.

Since its early years The Bell Telephone Company of Canada, Ltd. had been known colloquially as "The Bell" or "Bell Canada." On March 7, 1968, Canadian federal legislation renamed The Bell Telephone Company of Canada, Ltd. to Bell Canada.

[edit] Competition and territory reduction

Bell Canada originally extended lines clear from Nova Scotia to the foot of the Rocky Mountains in what is now Alberta. However, most of the attention given to meeting demand for service focused on major cities in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces.

[edit] Atlantic Canada

During the late 19th century, Bell sold its Atlantic operations in the three Maritime provinces, where many small independent companies also operated and eventually came under the ownership of three provincial companies. Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada with several private companies, and a government operation that was transferred to the control of Canadian National Railways.

Bell acquired interests in all Atlantic companies during the early 1960s, starting with Newfoundland Telephones (which later was organized as NewTel Communications) on July 24, 1962. Bell acquired controlling interest in Maritime Telephone and Telegraph Company, later known as MT&T, which also owned PEI-based Island Telephone, and in Bruncorp, the parent company of NBTel in 1966. The purchase of MT&T was made despite efforts of the Nova Scotia legislature on September 10, 1966, to limit the voting power of any shareholder to 1000 votes. Bell-owned MT&T absorbed some 120 independent companies, most serving less than 50 customers each. Bell-owned NewTel purchased the CNR-owned Terra Nova Tel in 1988.

Newtel, Bruncorp, MT&T and Island Tel later merged into Aliant (now Bell Aliant which also owns much of what were Bell Canada's more rural areas in Ontario and Quebec) in the late 1990s, in which Bell continues to own a stake.

[edit] Quebec and Ontario

Independent companies appeared in many areas of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces without adequate Bell Canada service. Bell went on during the 20th century to acquire most of the independent companies in Ontario and Quebec. Quebec, however, still has large swaths of relatively rural areas served by Telus Québec (formerly Québec Telephone, later acquired by Telus) and Télébec (now owned by Bell Canada via Bell Aliant) as well as some 20 small independent companies. As of 1980, Ontario still had some 30 independent companies, and Bell has not acquired any; the smaller ones were sold to larger independents with larger capital resources.

[edit] Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan

The three prairie provinces, at separate times, acquired Bell Canada operations and formed provincial utility services, investing to develop proper telephone services throughout those provinces; Bell Canada's investment in the prairies had been scant or insufficient relative to growth, and all three had various local telephone companies. The Alberta government's Alberta Government Telephones Commission and Manitoba Government Telephones purchased the Bell operations of their provinces in 1908. Saskatchewan's Department of Railways, Telegraphs and Telephones, established in June 1908, purchased the Bell operations on October 1, 1909; all three provinces' government operations eventually acquired the independent companies.

Having achieved a high level of development, Manitoba moved to privatize its telephone utility and Alberta privatized Alberta Government Telephones to create Telus in the 1990s. Saskatchewan continues to own SaskTel as a crown corporation. Edmonton was served by a city-owned utility, Edmonton Telephones Corporation, that was sold to Telus in 1995.

[edit] British Columbia

British Columbia, served today by Telus, was served by numerous small companies that mostly amalgamated to form British Columbia Telephone Co. (the last known acquisition was the Okanagan Telephone Company in the late 1970s), which served the province from the 1960s until its sale to Telus. (The amalgamations produced one anomaly: Atlin is surrounded by the territory of Northwestel, implying that the company that established service there was acquired by a company serving territories further south.)

[edit] Northern Canada

Although Bell Canada entered the Northwest Territories with an exchange at Iqaluit (then known as Frobisher Bay, in the territory now known as Nunavut) in 1958, Canadian National Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railways, provided most of the telephone service in Canada's northern territories (specifically, Yukon, northern BC and the western NWT). CNR created Northwestel in 1979, and Bell Canada Enterprises acquired the company in 1988 as a wholly owned subsidiary. Bell Canada sold its 22 exchanges in the eastern region of the NWT to Northwestel in 1992, and BCE transferred ownership of the company to Bell Canada in 1999. Northwestel's operating area was in 2001 opened to long distance competition (which has materialized only in the form of prepaid card business, and service to large national customers with some operating locations in the north) and in 2007 to resale of local telephone service (which has not yet occurred).

Northern British Columbia, northeastern Ontario and the James Bay region of northern Quebec were served by independent companies, though Bell Canada eventually provided service in more far-flung reaches of Ontario and Quebec, acquired ownership interests in companies serving large swaths of northwestern Quebec and northeastern Ontario, and in Northwestel.

[edit] Divestiture and deregulation

Bell Canada logo used from 1977 until December 7, 1994.[9]

The Bell System had two main companies in the telephone industry in Canada: Bell Canada as a regional operating company (affiliated with AT&T, with an ownership stake of approximately 39%)[12] and Northern Electric as an equipment manufacturer (affiliated with Western Electric, with an ownership stake of approximately 44%).[12] The Bell Telephone Company of Canada and Northern Electric were structured similarly in Canada to the analogous portions of the Bell System in the United States; the regional operating company (Bell Canada) sold telephone services as a local exchange carrier, and Western Electric (Northern Electric) designed and manufactured telephone equipment.

As part of the consent decree signed in 1956 to resolve the antitrust lawsuit filed in 1949 by the United States Department of Justice, AT&T and the Bell System proper divested itself of Northern Electric and Bell Canada.[13][14][15] Northern Electric renamed itself Northern Telecom in 1976, which in turn became Nortel Networks in 1998 with the acquisition of Bay Networks.

Bell Canada acquired 100 percent of Northern Electric in 1964; starting in 1973, Bell's ownership stake in Northern Electric was diminished through public stock offerings, though it retained majority control. In 1983, as a result of deregulation, Bell Canada Enterprises (later shortened to BCE) was formed as the parent company to Bell Canada and Northern Telecom. As a result of the stock transaction used by Northern Telecom to purchase Bay Networks, BCE ceased to be the majority owner of Nortel, and in 2000, BCE spun out its share of Nortel, distributing its holdings to its shareholders.

Between 1980 and 1997, the federal government fully deregulated the telecommunications industry and Bell Canada's monopoly largely ended. Today Bell Canada itself provides local phone service only in major city centres in Ontario and Quebec.

[edit] Convergence strategy / Internet boom and bust

BCE corporate logo used until August 2008

When Jean Monty assumed the job of CEO in 1998, he pursued a convergence strategy, attempting to combine both content creation and distribution within BCE, and to take greater advantage of the emerging Internet market. BCE Emergis was formed to market e-commerce solutions. Capitalizing on the success of its Internet service provider division, Sympatico, in 1999 BCE formed a partnership with Lycos to create an Internet portal for its customers.

Shortly after the AOL – Time Warner merger, BCE purchased the CTV television network in 2000. In 2001, BCE acquired control of The Globe and Mail, and combined it with CTV and the Sympatico-Lycos portal, its other content creation assets, to form Bell Globemedia. The desired synergies did not occur and the portal was sold back to Bell Canada in 2002. Bell Globemedia was highly profitable, however, and it was spun out as a separate company in August 2006. The new company assumed the name CTVglobemedia in 2007.

In 2000, BCE acquired control of Teleglobe, an overseas carrier coveted by Bell since the early 1980s. The acquisition was a disaster as BCE lost billions of dollars financing Teleglobe. In 2002, BCE sold Teleglobe, and Jean Monty resigned.[16][17] Michael Sabia subsequently assumed the position of CEO.

[edit] Post Teleglobe: Refocus on core business

Bell Canada logo used from December 8, 1994 to 2008.[9]

Michael Sabia refocused BCE on its core telecommunications business, prompting BCE to buy back the 20% share in Bell Canada that it had sold in 1999 to Ameritech (which was subsequently acquired by SBC).[18] BCE also spun off operating units that it did not consider to be core to its business, including Emergis in 2004, and Bell Globemedia and Telesat Canada in 2006.

On February 1, 2006, stating the need to remain competitive, Bell Canada announced job cuts of 3,000 to 4,000 employees by the end of 2006.

On April 28, BCE announced that CEO Michael Sabia was taking a 455% pay increase, his salary being raised from C$1.21 million a year to $6.71 million a year. The pay included a $1.25 million salary, a $2.2 million bonus that Sabia converted to deferred share units, a long-term incentive payout of $3 million and other compensation, the filing shows. Bell Canada also posted record revenue increases for the previous fiscal year.

Under pressure from investors, on October 11, 2006, BCE announced it would be wound down, with its remaining assets converted to an income trust. The new entity was planned to be named "Bell Canada Income Fund". As part of this restructuring, Bell Aliant offered to take Bell Nordiq private, while remaining separate from the new Bell trust.[19] Due to announced changes in taxation law by the Canadian federal government, on December 12, 2006, BCE announced it would not proceed with its planned conversion to an income trust. It had planned to restructure, eliminating the BCE holding company,[20][21] but this was put on hold due to attempts to privatize the company.

On April 30, 2007, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced its decision to allow pay phone rates for Bell Canada, Telus, Bell Aliant, SaskTel, and MTS Allstream to increase from 25 cents to 50 cents, starting as early as June 1. The CRTC also permitted local rural rates to increase by the lesser of the annual rate of inflation or five percent, and removed price caps on optional rural services, such as call display and voicemail.[22] On June 2, 2007, Bell Canada increased the cost of a local pay phone call to 50 cents when paid in cash and one dollar when paid by calling card or credit card,[23] Bell's first increase in pay phone rates since 1981.[22]

[edit] Privatization target

Due to its stagnant share price, starting in April 2007, BCE was courted for acquisition by pension funds and private equity groups, including a consortium led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as one of the participants), a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and a consortium that included Cerberus Capital Management.[24]

On June 30, 2007, BCE accepted a bid of $42.75 per share in cash, for a total valuation of $51.7 billion, from the group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and including Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, and Toronto-Dominion Bank. The proposed deal would have been the largest acquisition in Canadian history and the largest leveraged buyout ever.[25][26] The deal was approved by BCE shareholders,[27] Quebec Superior Court[28] (whose ruling was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal,[29] but was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada[30]), and the CRTC, subject to certain conditions for its corporate governance structure to ensure that Bell remained under Canadian control.[31]

Due to the tightening of the credit market caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, the investment banks financing the deal—led by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland—started negotiations on May 16, 2008, to revise the terms of their loans with higher interest rates and greater restrictions to protect themselves.[26] On July 4, 2008, BCE announced that a final agreement had been reached on the terms of the purchase,[32] with all financing in place, and Michael Sabia left BCE, with George Cope assuming the position of CEO on July 11.[1]

On November 26, 2008, BCE announced that KPMG had informed BCE that it would not be able to issue a statement on the solvency of the company after its privatization, one of the required conditions of the buyout. As a result, the purchase was cancelled.[33][34]

[edit] Convergence and consolidation, round two

With Shaw Communications purchasing the Global Television Network, Vidéotron launching its wireless telephone network with video content as a key selling point,[35] and the enormous popularity of wireless and Internet video and other media streams at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics,[36] Bell once again sought to bring a content provider into its portfolio. In September 2010, Bell announced a deal to reacquire full control of the broadcasting properties owned by CTVglobemedia including the CTV Television Network. The other major asset of CTVglobemedia, The Globe and Mail, will be 85% owned by the Thomson family, with Bell retaining its 15% interest.[37] Through this acquisition, Bell responded to an increasing trend away from traditional cable and satellite delivery channels and towards new distribution methods over the Internet and wireless networks.[38] The CRTC approved the transaction in March 2011.[39]

[edit] Criticism

Bell Canada has been the centre of much criticism due to its policies for bandwidth throttling of BitTorrent traffic across its network,[40] censorship, misleading prices and usage-based billing.

[edit] Services

Service van with current Bell Canada logo
Service van with previous Bell Canada logo

Bell Canada provides many different types of telecommunications services.

[edit] Voice

Bell Canada provides standard voice service. They formerly offered VoIP to customers, branded as "Digital Voice". Businesses can still obtain VoIP service.

[edit] Voicemail

Bell Home Phone and Bell Mobility provide voicemail service as an optional feature for residences and businesses. Bell Prepaid and Solo Mobile pay-per-use customers, however, receive a basic voice mail at no additional charge. The complimentary voice mail can store 5 messages of one minute each, for up to five days.

[edit] Wireless

Bell Mobility operates a cellular network in all Canadian provinces. It also owns the entirety of Virgin Mobile Canada as of May 2009. While it created the Solo Mobile brand in 1999, Bell shut down all standalone Solo stores in 2011 while discontinuing third-party sales of all Solo phones in November 2011. The brand continues to be active for its current customers, but there are no incentives to encourage new subscriptions.

[edit] Television

Formerly known as ExpressVu, Bell TV is a satellite television service provider. There is also a mobile TV service, Bell Mobile TV, and an IPTV service, Bell Fibe TV. The latter is currently available in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal and Québec City.

[edit] Internet access

Bell Internet provides high speed DSL Internet service in many areas where it offers phone service. DSL is offered in various speeds ranging from 500 kbit/s to 25 Mbit/s download and 256 kbit/s to 7 Mbit/s upload, depending on what the local infrastructure can support.

Bell began offering Fiber-to-the-node Internet access to some subscribers in 2010. Bell markets this service under the name "Fibe".[41] Fibe regions can access all speeds in some cases, but some Fibe regions can only obtain 16 Mbit/s down and 1 Mbit/s up. Non-Fibe regions are limited to legacy DSL technology, supporting speeds of up to 7 Mbit/s down and 1 Mbit/s up. Bell Canada has now rolled out Fibre to the Home services to subscribers across Eastern Canada, this service can provide guaranteed download and upload speeds of 175 Mbit/s.

[edit] Legacy

Bell used to offer Bell Home Monitoring, also known as Bell Gardium. Competitor Rogers Communications recently launched its Smart Home Monitoring service. It is unknown if Bell will launch a similar service.

[edit] Assets

Current BCE corporate logo

BCE operates Bell Media, one of Canada's largest privately held media companies which owns the Canadian television networks, CTV and CTV Two, along with 30 speciality television channels, Bell Media Radio which operates 35 radio stations across Canada and sympatico.ca. It also operates retail stores, as simply the Bell Store (formerly BellWorld in English Canada and Espace Bell in Quebec, and prior to 1999, Bell Phonecentre/Téléboutique Bell).

BCE also bought The Source by Circuit City (which was renamed after the sale to The Source) and all assets of InterTAN from bankrupt Circuit City.

In July 2006, Bell and former subsidiary Aliant completed a restructuring whereby Aliant, renamed Bell Aliant Regional Communications, took over Bell's wireline operations in much of Ontario and Quebec (while continuing to use the "Bell" name in those regions), as well as its 63% ownership in rural lines operator Bell Nordiq (a publicly traded income trust that controls NorthernTel and Télébec). These are in addition to Bell Aliant's operations in Atlantic Canada. In turn, Bell has assumed responsibility for Bell Aliant's wireless and retail operations. Bell Aliant, now itself an income trust, is currently 44% owned by Bell.[42] Other company assets include Western Canada CLEC Bell West. BCE partially or fully owns 17 companies in the fields of telecommunications, media, and information technology.[citation needed]

Shifting its focus to IP, Bell has in recent years deployed MPLS on their nationwide fibre ring network to support consumer and enterprise-level IP applications, such as IPTV and VoIP.

In March 2012 BCE announced the takeover bid of Astral Media for 3.3 billion dollars. It requires CRTC approval and Competition bureau approval to be able to close.[43]

[edit] Marketing

Bell Canada created the Frank and Gordon beavers to advertise its products from 2006 to 2008.

Coinciding with its advertising campaign as part of its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bell introduced a new logo and minimalist ad style, with the slogans "Today just got better" (with emphasis on the suffix "er") in English Canada and "La vie est Bell" (a pun on "La vie est belle" — French: life is beautiful) in French Canada.[44] The font used in Bell's marketing is a custom typeface known as 'Bell Slim', by Canadian typeface designer Ian Brignell.

Bell purchased Astral Media, a radio and television broadcasting corporation, on March 15, 2012 for 3.38 billion dollars.

[edit] Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of BCE are:[45] Thomas O'Neill (chair), Barry Allen, André Bérard, Ronald Brenneman, Sophie Brochu, Robert Brown, George Cope, Anthony Fell, Edward Lumley, Jim Prentice, Robert Simmonds, Carole Taylor, and Paul Weiss.

[edit] See also

Former BCE units:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "George Cope appointed to the boards of directors and as CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada" (Press release). BCE. 2008-07-11. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/corp/2008/07/11/74806.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  2. ^ Bell Canada Annual Report, 2010
  3. ^ Bell Canada Annual Report, 2010
  4. ^ "Contact Us." Bell Canada. Retrieved on August 24, 2009.
  5. ^ The Canadian Press (2011-12-09). "Bell to keep Canadiens stake". CBC.ca. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2011/12/09/sp-nhl-canadiens-bell.html. Retrieved 2011-12-09. 
  6. ^ "BCE on the Forbes Global 2000 List". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/companies/bce/. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
  7. ^ The Top 200 - Canada's Largest Companies c1973-74 - Business
  8. ^ Surtees, Lawrence (2000). "Bell, Alexander Graham". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto/Université Laval. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7894. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
  9. ^ a b c "About BCE – History". BCE Inc.. http://www.bce.ca/en/aboutbce/history/index.php. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  10. ^ Sharpe, Robert; Canadian Military Heritage Museum. Soldiers and Warriors: The Early Volunteer Militia of Brant County: 1856-1866, Brantford, ON: Canadian Military Heritage Museum, 1998, pg. 80, ref. citations No. 142 & 143, which in turn cites:
    • F.A. Field. "The First Telephone Factory, The Blue Bell", January 1931. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  11. ^ Prevey, W. Harry (ed.); Collins, Larry. Electricity, The Magic Medium, Thornhill, ON: IEEE, Canadian Region, 1985, pg. 4, ISBN 0-9692316-0-1.
  12. ^ a b Rens, Jean-Guy; Roth, Kathe (2001). The Invisible Empire. McGill-Queen's Press — MQUP, 2001. pp. 217–218. ISBN 0-7735-2052-X, 9780773520523. 
  13. ^ Todd, Kenneth P.. "A Capsule History of the Bell System". In Massey, David. American Telephone & Telegraph Company. http://www.porticus.org/bell/capsule_bell_system.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
  14. ^ The Porticus Centre (2007). "Bell Canada (and other Canadian telecommunications companies)". The Porticus Centre. http://www.porticus.org/bell/canadian_bell_companies.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
  15. ^ Nortel Networks. "Northern Electric — A Brief History". Nortel Networks. http://www.porticus.org/bell/northern_electric_history.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
  16. ^ Macklem, Katherine (2002-05-06). "Monty quits as BCE CEO". Maclean's Magazine. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1SEC677092. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  17. ^ "BCE Backs Away From The Full Monty". Forbes. 2002-04-25. http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/25/0425monty.html. 
  18. ^ "BCE to Own 100 per cent of Bell Canada" (Press release). BCE, Inc.. 2002-06-28. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/bce/2002/6/28/69087.html. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  19. ^ BCE to be wound down, Bell Canada to convert to income trust, BCE press release, October 11, 2006
  20. ^ "Bell announces 2007 business outlook — Improving revenue and EBITDA growth in 2007 guidance" (Press release). BCE, Inc.. 2006-12-12. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/corp/2006/12/12/74065.html. Retrieved 2007-01-11. 
  21. ^ "United States SEC filing, June 12, 2007, Form 6-K". Securities and Exchange Commission. 2007-06-12. http://www.secinfo.com/d16Vm2.uv.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-30. 
  22. ^ a b "Hello? The 50-cent pay phone call is coming". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-04-30. http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/04/30/payphones.html. Retrieved 2007-12-14. 
  23. ^ "Bell's pay phone price increases to 50 cents Saturday". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-06-01. http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/06/01/payphone-increase.html. Retrieved 2007-12-14. 
  24. ^ "Telus's exit likely to pull down price of BCE bids". Reuters. 2002-06-27. http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/ROC.20070627.2007-06-27T170950Z_01_N27295009_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-BCE-BIDS-COL/GIStory/. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  25. ^ "Teachers win BCE bid". CanWest News service. 2007-06-30. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=86dacb18-6f44-4c27-9c38-27e9e48f247b&k=2695. Retrieved 2007-06-30. 
  26. ^ a b Sorkin, Andrew Ross; de la Merced, Michael J. (2008-05-19). "Banks’ Terms Imperil Deal to Buy Out Bell Canada". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/business/worldbusiness/19deal.html 
  27. ^ "BCE holders approve giant buyout". Toronto Star. 2007-09-22. http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/259285. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
  28. ^ CBC News (2008-03-07). "Quebec court OK's BCE takeover, dismisses bondholders' complaints". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/03/07/bce-ruling.html. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 
  29. ^ Austen, Ian (2008-05-22). "Bell Canada Takeover Is Blocked". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/worldbusiness/22bce.html 
  30. ^ Beltrame, Julian (2008-06-20). "Supreme Court approves BCE deal". The Canadian Press. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/06/20/5941106-cp.html. Retrieved 2008-06-20. [dead link]
  31. ^ "CRTC approves BCE purchase with conditions". CNW Group. 2008-03-27. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2008/27/c7841.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  32. ^ BCE press release "BCE and Purchaser Enter Into Final Agreement Financing and Credit Agreements Signed" (Press release). BCE, Inc.. 2008-07-04. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/corp/2008/07/04/74793.html BCE press release. Retrieved 2008-08-07. 
  33. ^ CBC News (2008-12-11). "BCE takeover deal dead as fight looms over $1.2B breakup fee". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/12/11/bce-takeover.html. Retrieved 2009-01-03. 
  34. ^ "BCE statement regarding privatization transaction" (Press release). BCE, Inc.. 2008-11-26. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/corp/2008/11/26/75050.html. Retrieved 2008-12-03. 
  35. ^ Marlow, Iain (2010-09-10). "Bell's Big Bet". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/bells-big-bet/article1703448/. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
  36. ^ McNish, Jacquie; Paul Waldie (2010-09-11). "Olympic moment turned Bell CEO into champion for mobile media". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/olympic-moment-turned-bell-ceo-into-champion-for-mobile-media/article1703769/. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
  37. ^ Marlow, Iain (2010-09-10). "BCE-CTV deal remakes media landscape". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/bce-ctv-deal-remakes-media-landscape/article1702385/. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
  38. ^ DeCloet, Derek (2010-09-10). "The new convergence: A lot like the old version but much, much cheaper". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/derek-decloet/the-new-convergence-a-lot-like-the-old-version-but-much-much-cheaper/article1702799/. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
  39. ^ Canadian Press (2011-03-07). "CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia". CTV.ca. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110307/crtc-approves-ctvglobemedia-purchase-by-bce-110307/. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
  40. ^ Internett.bell.ca, Bell: Network management (Bell official website)
  41. ^ "Bell Fibe". http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpInt_Access.page. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
  42. ^ Bell Aliant (2010). "Fact Sheet". Bell Aliant. http://www.aliant.ca/english/ir/factsheet.shtml. Retrieved 2010-02-04. [dead link]
  43. ^ "Bell to acquire Québec's leading media company Astral » BCE". Bce.ca. 2012-03-16. http://bce.ca/news-and-media/releases/show/bell-to-acquire-quebecs-leading-media-company-astral?page=1&perpage=10&year=&month=&keyword=. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  44. ^ "Bell to launch its new national brand tomorrow" (Press release). BCE, Inc.. 2008-08-07. http://www.bce.ca/en/news/releases/corp/2008/08/07/74829.html. Retrieved 2008-08-07. 
  45. ^ "Bell Canada Enterprises: Board members and committees". BCE Inc.. 2011. http://bce.ca/en/governance/boardcommittee/index.php. Retrieved 2011-08-14. 

[edit] External links


3160 videos foundNext > 

Why I Say "No" To Bell Canada

I receive phone calls now from Bell Canada wanting my services back. Offering me a free cell phone in exchange for a contract. I had 6 months of hell with them due to a relationship collapse. The final conversation with Bell Corporate was that it was my responsible that I get a representative that speaks proper english. However, you can be on hold for up to 45 minutes when you first get an operator. So you wait that time frame only to request an english speaking individual. I'm not rude to the sales reps who are now calling me who want my business... but I definitely make it clear I will never deal with Bell Canada Again.

Boycott Bell Canada 2011-2012

Feel free to share your Bell Canada horror stories in the YouTube comments or at the boycottowl link below. If you would like to show your commitment to boycotting Bell Canada please go the following link and click on "Join This Boycott". www.boycottowl.com ***************************** DEMANDS OF THIS BOYCOTT Recent developments are bringing Canadians together to resist Bell's attack on their well being. And now some of them want to organize a national boycott of all Bell Canada goods and services. These are average working class Canadians who have simply had enough. This boycott of all Bell Canada goods and services will stay in place unless the following grievances are addressed. 1. Stop Usage billing. 2. Stop giving Canadians incorrect or DECEPTIVE fee amounts when they are shopping for telecom and internet services. 3. Stop harassing Canadian with aggressive telephone sales. 4. Stop giving Canadians bad customer service. ************************ BELL'S RECENT ACTIONS A TIPPING POINT FOR ANGRY CANADIANS If you get your internet service from Bell Canada you are already used to the fact that Bell has a cap on the amount of data you can download. Bell customers who go over those caps are charged heavy financial penalties on their monthly bill. Now Bell wants to impose unfair caps on the customers of OTHER internet providers that use Bell's DSL lines. This attempt by Bell to gouge Canadians for as much money as they can get borders on monopoly powers violations. The new ...

Bell Canada's Fibe TV

Nicolas Poitras, Bell Canada's vice president of marketing communications, gives a demonstration of Fibe TV, the company's new television service.

Bell Canada meets the 21st Century!

Bell Canada fibe ca gives away fibre optic T-shirts? Not yet- but watch OUR Roll-out! - As rural Quebec re-joins the third world - a fancy new hi-tech internet and phone connection line gets installed! Bell Canada can justly be proud of their their 3rd world place in Quebec's 21st Century hi-speed rural communications!

Cisco Plus Canada: Bell Canada

Cisco Plus Canada's roving reporter Warren Ross talks to Palma Petrilli from Bell Canada, Cisco Canada's largest Gold Partner and winner of the Cloud Partner of the year at Partner Summit 2012. Palma highlights some of Bell Canada's technology offerings from video collaboration to data centre solutions and focuses on Bell's dedication to cloud services.

How to make a PTT call with Bell Canada

Experience Bell's all new next generation Push to Talk service, and learn how to make a call with the (Insert phone name: Sonim XP5520 Bolt, Samsung Galaxy S2, BlackBerry Curve). To learn more about PTT go to bell.ca/PTT or visit a Bell store today.

1985 - Bell - Telemarketing

"Your Filbert Flange won't mesh with your Grapple Grommet?"

Dieppe Bell Commercial

An old Bell commercial about a kid who calls his grandfather to thank him for everything he did in WW2. For a commercial, it is pretty moving.

Bell Canada presents Fibe TV 2.1

Nicolas Poitras, Vice President of Residential Services at Bell Canada, introduces Fibe TV's new features, including the new programming guide and the ability to record up to 3 shows in HD at the same time. Bell Fibe™ TV is an unbelievable new TV service. It's delivered to your home through our new fibre optic network, so no dish is required. For more information, please visit: bell.ca Check availability in selected areas of Toronto and Montréal: bell.ca

Caitlin Bell - Canada's Got Talent Audition - Toxic (Britney Spears)

SO, I decided to audition for Canada's Got Talent. Here is my version of Britney Spears' "Toxic". WOOOO.

221 news items

 
Windsor Star
Sat, 19 May 2012 12:08:34 -0700

Bell Canada and Telus are negotiating with financial institutions to deliver the same service. If you're a wireless service provider, it's an exciting and expensive challenge. Canada's three largest carriers, Telus, Rogers, and Bell Canada, ...
 
Hamilton Spectator
Fri, 18 May 2012 21:09:57 -0700

What a surprise I got — instead of Bell Canada saying thank-you for using Bell for 50 years, they said we are going to charge you $2 every month if you want your bill mailed to you. Have any of you been as lucky as I? What is Bell going to do with ...
 
Waterloo Record
Fri, 18 May 2012 20:24:32 -0700

The Bell Canada technician of two years had just finished installing a new telephone line in a customer's backyard on Falesy Avenue when two Rottweiler's attacked him, steps from the gate. He tried to get away as they pulled at his jacket, ...

National Post

FierceTelecom
Fri, 04 May 2012 08:53:19 -0700

Bell Canada (NYSE: BCE), one of Bell Canada Enterprise's (BCE) subsidiaries, may be seeing the effects of wireless substitution and cable competition eating into its wireline revenue, but broadband service and IPTV gains is helping to ease the service ...
 
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:32 -0700

The last large such spinoff Willens recalled was in 2001, when Bell Canada spun off its stake in Nortel Networks to holders. Canadian tax laws allowed Canadian citizens to avoid taxes on the distribution, but its US shareholders were hit with a tax ...
 
Engadget
Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:39:44 -0700

By James Trew posted Apr 24th 2012 8:26PM People have been pushing to talk for a good number of years, but it's a service that has largely remained untouched by the passing of time. Bell, however, thinks it's due a little lick of "next-generation" ...

RTT News

Reuters
Thu, 03 May 2012 05:10:31 -0700

The Montreal-based parent of Bell Canada said its wireless division benefited from growth in its postpaid subscriber base and higher average revenue per user, as users snapped up data-intensive smartphones. BCE, which has recently bought several major ...

Android Community

Android Community
Thu, 03 May 2012 08:17:23 -0700

Good news, Canadians: you'll soon be able to choose between two of HTC's latest and greatest Android devices. Mobile Syrup reports that the HTC One V is now selling on Canadian carrier Bell, free on a three year contract or $299.95 with no commitment.
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You can start a Digparty to talk about Bell Canada right now, or post to our new discussions. When people join your Digparty you can all talk, watch videos, browse the web together, create sprites, and listen to music. Really.