investor briefing - bce inc
TRANSCRIPT
April 25, 2001
First Quarter 2001 (Unaudited)
This supplement to the press release announcing BCE’s Quarterly results is intended toprovide, on a timely basis, information of interest to the investment community.
Results are reported in Canadian dollars and prepared according to Canadian GAAP.
For further information, please contact Sophie Argiriou at (514) 786-3845 or GeorgeWalker at (514) 870-2488.
The Investor Briefing is also available on BCE’s web site at www.bce.ca under theInvestor Relations section.
Investor Briefing
Certain sections of this document contain forward-looking statements with respect to BCE and itssubsidiaries. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks anduncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by theforward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materiallyfrom current expectations are discussed on page 24 under “CAUTIONARY STATEMENTCONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS”.
This material is presented for information only, and should not be construed as a solicitation to investin any securities of BCE Inc.
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001
April 25, 2001
n BCE's Core Operations Drive 34% Increase in EarningsData, High Speed Internet, Wireless and Satellite Television continue strong growth
• BCE today reported its firstquarter results which continueto show strong growth by BellCanada and BCE Emergis.
• Revenues from core activities,excluding BCE Ventures, of$4.9B were up 12.4% over thefirst quarter 2000 proformarevenues and reflect a 31%increase in Bell Canada datarevenues, a 23% rise inwireless revenues and an 88%increase in revenues at BellExpressVu.
• Consolidated revenues for thefirst quarter of 2001 were$5.5B, reflecting a 6.2%increase compared to thesame period last year.
• EBITDA from core activitieswas $1.7B reflecting 9.7%growth compared to the sameperiod last year. ConsolidatedEBITDA growth was 4.0%.
• Consolidated cash baselineearnings per share of $0.37 forthe first quarter increased 28%compared to proforma cashbaseline earnings per share of$0.29 last year.
Summary of First Quarter Results
(Millions of dollars, except where otherwise indicated)2001 2000* % change
Proforma Consolidated results
Revenues – Core 4,899 4,359 12.4%Revenues - Total 5,506 5,186 6.2%
EBITDA - Core 1,698 1,548 9.7%EBITDA - Total 1,750 1,683 4.0%
Cash baseline earnings per common share ($) - Core 0.37 0.28 32.1%Cash baseline earnings per common share ($) - Total 0.37 0.29 27.6%
Bell CanadaWirelineData revenues 810 617 31.3%High Speed Internet net activations (k) 130 27 381.5%
WirelessRevenues 409 334 22.5%PCS and cellular net activations (k) 114 49 132.7%
Bell ExpressVuRevenues 109 58 87.9%DTH net activations (k) 74 53 39.6%
Bell GlobemediaRevenues 306 276 10.9%
TeleglobeNet data and hosting revenues 148 107 38.3%Net voice revenues 98 103 (4.9%)
BCE EmergisRevenues 143 73 95.9%
Investor Briefing
* Proforma for 2000 reflects the acquisition and consolidation of CTV (including NetStar), the Globe and Mail, Globe Interactive and Teleglobe for improved comparability.
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 2
Bell Data revenues increased by 31% to $810M in the first quarter of 2001 compared to thesame period last year.
Growth
• Driving the 31% growth in datarevenues this quartercompared to last year weretwo factors: a 71% increasein IP & Broadband servicesand a 90% increase in Internetrevenues.
• The number of digitalequivalent access lines grewto 3.4M, reflecting a 9%increase over the fourthquarter and a 43% growthcompared to the first quarterof last year.
• Data revenues represented20% of Bell Canada’s totalrevenues, up from 17% a yearago.
Customer Wins
• Bell Nexxia’s 1st quarterbrought major contract winsworth over $200 million,including $8 million for wins inWestern Canada.
New Product Introductions
• Recently, Bell Canadalaunched the first InternetProtocol – Virtual PrivateNetwork (IP VPN) to offerbandwidth and level of serviceon demand, available onlinethrough a secure Internetportal. IP VPN Enterpriseservice enables customizedconnectivity allowingcustomers to order additionalbandwidth as required, choosefrom different service levelsand only pay for what theyuse.
• In January, Bell Nexxialaunched North America’s firstcross country digital videotransport service enabling thetransmission of video atspeeds of 270Mbps. Theservice is targeted atbroadcasters and the film postproduction industry.
• Also in January, Bell Nexxialaunched a new series ofInternet Data Center (IDC)services designed for businesscustomers with advanced WebHosting requirements. TheIDC services offer a full rangeof advanced co-location andFully Managed Web Hostingservices.
High Speed Internet subscriber base grows to 466,000.
• BCE’s Digital Subscriber Line(DSL) customer base grew to466,000 customers or 39%higher than the 336,000customers at year end 2000.Of this amount, 411,000 relateto consumer DSL services,33,000 relate to business DSLservices and 21,000 relate towholesale.
• Bell Canada’s Sympatico HighSpeed Edition (SHSE) grew to365,000 customers in Ontarioand Quebec by the end of thequarter. The record 101,000SHSE subscribers added in
the first quarter increasedmarket share to 38% from 34%at year end 2000.
• SHSE captured 59% of all newconsumer high speed Internetadditions in its market duringthe quarter.
• The quarter also saw the firstin a series of speed andservice enhancementsplanned by Bell Canada for2001 with the launch of a1.5Mbps business DSLservice.
.
Data / DSL Growth
92141
222
336
466
0
100
200
300
400
500
Q100 Q200 Q300 Q400 Q101
DSL High Speed Internet Subscribers(000’s)
502617
810
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Q199 Q100 Q101
Data Revenues($M)
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 3
PCS and Cellular net additions totaled 114,000. Postpaid churn continues to be industryleading at 1.3%. With 3.6 million PCS, Cellular and Paging customers, BCE is the largestwireless carrier in Canada.
Growth
• Total cellular and PCSsubscribers reached 2,884,000reflecting growth of 30% yearover year.
• Wireless revenues grew to$409 million this quarter, a22.5% increase over the firstquarter of 2000.
• The 114,000 net additionsrepresented 34% of netactivations in Canada thisquarter with approximately halfbeing on postpaid plans.
• At the end of the first quarter of2001, 73% of total PCS andcellular customers were highervalue postpaid subscribers.
Industry Leading Churn
• Wireless post-paid churn of1.3% is industry leading onceagain and well below the 2.0%experienced in the first quarterof 2000. These resultsdemonstrate the effectivenessof our strategy of focusing oncustomer service and productdifferentiation.
ARPU
• ARPU of $44 per monthremained flat on a year overyear basis, despite aggressivepricing and inducements fromour competitors. In the case ofBell Mobility, this is the firsttime since 1993 that Q1 ARPUhas not declined year overyear. Postpaid ARPUincreased slightly to $56 permonth on a year over yearbasis while prepaid ARPUremained flat at $13 permonth.
Wireless data
• Explosive growth of the MobileBrowser continued with datahits growing 21% over thefourth quarter. Almost 400,000customers have used theMobile Browser since itslaunch.
• Bell Mobility is the first to offera suite of corporateapplications offering e-mailthrough partnerships withLotus, Microsoft and Novellwhich cover 90% of thecorporate e-mail users inCanada.
• In February, Bell Mobilityannounced the creation of BellMobility Investment Inc., a newcorporate venturing companycreated to drive thedevelopment of leading-edgewireless Internet technologyopportunities, with an initialfund of $30M.
• Bell Mobility plans to launchPhase 1 of 3G (1xRTT) overour CDMA network in Q4,which means our PCScustomers will be able toexperience data speeds of upto 144kbps, ten times higherthan current speeds.
• Faster network speeds willenable advanced services,such as wireless multimedia.To prepare for this evolution,Bell Mobility launchedCanada’s first trial of wirelessmultimedia in partnership withPacketVideo in January.
National Expansion
• In the PCS spectrum auctionwhich concluded in February,we acquired 20 licenses at atotal cost of $720 million or$1.40/pop/ Mhz. Our networkin B.C. and Alberta is underconstruction and we plan a fullconsumer launch in the fourthquarter.
Wireless Growth
50
-1
51
134
22
119
76
144
58 56
-50
0
50
100
150
Q100 Q200 Q300 Q400 Q101
Wireless Net Subscriber Additions
Prepaid adds Postpaid adds
(000’s)
48
4445
46
49
44
40
42
44
46
48
50
Q499 Q100 Q200 Q300 Q400 Q101
Wireless ARPU$
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 4
Bell ExpressVu continues 2000 momentum with 74,000 net additions.
• Revenues grew by 88% to$109M compared to the firstquarter of 2000.
• This growth was driven by anincrease in Bell ExpressVu’ssubscriber base, whichreached 796,000 at the end ofthe quarter and passedthrough the 800,000 customermark in the first week of April.
• Bell ExpressVu maintained itsestimated market share at58%. Some 63% of BellExpressVu’s net additionscame from urban areas.
• Bell ExpressVu’s averagemonthly revenue persubscriber at $47 for thequarter remained flatcompared to the first quarter of2000, and remains higher thanits principal DTH competitorand the average of Canadiancable companies.
• Bell ExpressVu achievedquarterly churn of 2.3% whichcompares favourably to U.S.DTH providers, and is downfrom Q1 of last year.
• Bell ExpressVu continues torollout High Definition TVprogramming which recentlyincluded the Super Bowl andthe Masters golf coverage.
DTH Growth
469526
594722
796
0
200
400
600
800
Q100 Q200 Q300 Q400 Q101
Bell ExpressVu Subscribers
(000’s)
Q1 01
Rural37%
Urban63%
Q1 00
Urban53%
Rural47%
Mix of Net Additions
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 5
Bell Globemedia acquisitions, subject to regulatory approvals, further strengthen CTV’s presenceacross Canada.
• Bell Globemedia was createdon January 9, 2001, bringingtogether Canada’s mostrespected print, broadcast andInternet brands. BellGlobemedia unites, under oneroof, CTV, Canada’s leadingprivate broadcaster, The Globeand Mail, Canada’s NationalNewspaper, Globe Interactive,a leading Internet contentprovider and Sympatico-Lycos,Canada’s number one Internetportal.
• Bell Globemedia generatedrevenues of $306 million forthe first quarter of 2001. This11% increase, compared tothe first quarter of 2000 on aproforma basis, reflects stronggrowth in all areas of thecompany’s operationsincluding conventional andspecialty television, printadvertising and revenues frominteractive operations at GlobeInteractive as well as revenuesfrom Sympatico-Lycos whichonly began operations in Q2 oflast year.
• Television represented 74% ofthe total revenue, with printand new media representing22% and 4%, respectively.
• EBITDA grew by 7% thisquarter, primarily attributableto margin improvement in thetelevision operations driven by8% growth in conventionalairtime as well as highermargins on specialtyoperations.
• Recently, Bell Globemediaannounced transactions thatwill further strengthen itsoverall position in the marketplace:
− CTV announced thepurchase of CKY-TV inManitoba from MoffatCommunications Limitedfor $37 million and thepurchase of Global’s 70%interest in Montreal’s CFTelevision Inc. (CFCF) forapproximately $90 million.These transactions areimportant strategicexpansions that will ensureCTV’s presence in thesemarkets, as well asproviding future revenuegenerating opportunities.With the completion ofthese transactions, CTVwill own stations in allmarkets across Canada,except Newfoundland.Both transactions arepending CRTC approvaland in addition, the CFCFtransaction is subject tocertain rights in favor of anaffiliate of La Caisse deDepots et de Placementsdu Quebec (which ownsthe remaining 30% interestin CFCF) under an existingshareholder agreement.
− Thomson Canada Limited(TCL) recently announcedthe acquisition ofCanWest GlobalCommunications Corp.’s50% interest in ROBTv forapproximately $30 million.TCL will transfer 100%ownership of ROBTv toBell Globemedia, as perthe original transaction.
The addition of ROBTv willenable Bell Globemedia tofurther build on the Reporton Business (ROB) brandin both print and television.The transaction is subjectto customary regulatoryapprovals.
− Sympatico-Lycos recentlyannounced theintroduction of Sympatico-Amicus Financial, anelectronic banking servicethrough an alliance withAmicus, a division ofCIBC. Sympatico-AmicusFinancial offers a suite ofno fee daily bankingproducts including,chequing, savings,personal line of credit andaccess to more than 4,000bank machines acrossCanada.
− In February, Sympatico-Lycos announced theextensive expansion of itsbroadband content throughan agreement with VirtueBroadcasting Company.The agreement adds adynamic selection of VirtueBroadcasting programs,including Extreme Sportsevents, unique businessprograms and films, to theSympatico-Lycos portal.
• On April 19, 2001 CTV’s 40%interest in CTV Sportsnet wasplaced in trust pursuant toCRTC requirements, pendingthe eventual sale of thisinterest.
Bell Globemedia
BCE Inc. Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 6
Globesystem Capex requirement reduced from US$5 billion to US$3.4 billion.
• Given the change in globalmarket conditions, Teleglobehas revised its capital strategyin order to optimize networkdeployment costs. They willtake advantage of surplus fibercapacity and resultingimprovements in pricing toreduce capital requirementsfor Globesystem from US$5billion to US$3.4 billion overthe next three years. For2001, capex requirementshave also been reduced 30%from US$2 billion to US$1.4billion.
• In Q1, Teleglobe generatednet data and hosting revenueof $148 million, a 38%increase over the samequarter of 2000 and downslightly from Q4 2000, due toheightened price competitionand weaker market conditions.
• Voice services producedrevenues of $353 million, upslightly from Q4 2000.Significantly, net voicerevenues increased for thesecond consecutive quarter.
• EBITDA for the quarterreached $29 million, asignificant improvement overthe $10 million reported in Q12000.
• Teleglobe also recentlyannounced a global alliancewith Sun Microsystems toaccelerate Teleglobe’simplementation and marketingof next generation web andapplication hosting centers.
• In March, Teleglobe completedan agreement with TelecomItalia obtaining capacity inLatin America and theMediterranean region. Inreturn, Teleglobe will provideTelecom Italia with acomprehensive array ofbroadband, voice andcolocation hosting services.
• Internet Data Centers (IDCs) inWashington D.C. and Miamiare scheduled to open in Q2and Q3 respectively. IDC’s inLondon, Toronto, and Montrealare expected to open by yearend.
BCE Emergis achieved significant quarter over quarter revenue and EBITDA growth.
• First quarter 2001 revenues of$143 million were 96% higherthan the same period last yearreflecting yet another strongquarter for BCE Emergis. Thisgrowth stemmed primarily fromthe eHealth unit reflecting theacquisition of BCE EmergisCorp. (formerly UP&UP).
• EBITDA of $26 million thisquarter represents a significantincrease over the $5 millionreported in Q1 2000.
Creation of web-enabled healthclaims exchange with Clarica
• BCE Emergis and Clarica LifeInsurance Companyannounced the creation of aunique, integrated health and
dental claim exchange that willoffer complete claimsprocessing of benefits over theweb. This exchange will allowthe health industry to providegreater convenience and fasterservice to its customers whilereducing costs. The firstphase of the eHealth claimsexchange will go online by theend of May with the exchangebecoming fully functional bythe end of 2002 for all healthinsurance companies involved.
Agreement with Bank One
• In January, BCE Emergisannounced an agreement withBank One, the fifth largest U.S.bank holding company, thatenables Bank One to offer
electronic invoice presentmentand payment solutions to morethan 40,000 accounts in itsU.S. commercial customerbase.
Procuron launched
• After successful completion ofits four month market trial,Procuron opened for businessnationally in April 2001.Procuron’s national onlinepurchasing portal offerscustomers and suppliersaccess to better prices,reduced order processingcosts and strategic purchasingadvice. To date, 200businesses and organizationshave registered with Procuron
Teleglobe
BCE Emergis
9
Results by Operating Group (1) (2)
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
ProformaFor the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Revenues
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 3,998 3,628 10.2%
Bell ExpressVu 109 58 87.9%
Total Bell Canada 4,107 3,686 11.4%
Bell Globemedia 306 276 10.9%
Teleglobe 506 501 1.0%
BCE Emergis 143 73 95.9%
Corporate and other (including core intercompany eliminations) (163) (177) 7.9%
Total core revenues 4,899 4,359 12.4%
BCE Ventures (3) 658 901 (27.0%)
Non-core intercompany eliminations (51) (74) 31.1%
Revenues 5,506 5,186 6.2%
EBITDA
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 1,678 1,556 7.8%
Bell ExpressVu (43) (27) (59.3%)
Total Bell Canada 1,635 1,529 6.9%
Bell Globemedia 30 28 7.1%
Teleglobe 29 10 190.0%
BCE Emergis 26 5 420.0%
Corporate and other (22) (24) 8.3%
Total core EBITDA 1,698 1,548 9.7%
BCE Ventures (3) 64 135 (52.6%)
Non-core intercompany eliminations (12) - N.M.
EBITDA 1,750 1,683 4.0%
Cash baseline earnings
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings (4) 316 271 16.6%
Bell ExpressVu (44) (27) (63.0%)
Total Bell Canada 272 244 11.5%
Bell Globemedia 3 (3) N.M.
Teleglobe (4) (3) (23) (87.0%)
BCE Emergis 6 (3) N.M.
Corporate and other (including core intercompany eliminations) 21 8 162.5%
Total core cash baseline earnings 299 223 34.1%
BCE Ventures - 15 N.M.
Non-core intercompany eliminations 3 (4) N.M.
Cash baseline earnings applicable to common shares 302 234 29.1%
Core cash baseline earnings per common share - $/sh 0.37$ 0.28$ 32.1%
Cash baseline earnings per common share - $/sh 0.37$ 0.29$ 27.6%
Average number of common shares outstanding (millions) 808.1 810.0
N.M. : not meaningful
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 7
9 3.1 11 40.28 8 8 8
Selected Historical Information
Total(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Revenues
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 3,998 4,078 3,982 3,807 3,628 15,495
Bell ExpressVu 109 98 81 68 58 305
Total Bell Canada 4,107 4,176 4,063 3,875 3,686 15,800
Bell Globemedia 306 348 251 296 276 1,171
Teleglobe 506 506 518 488 501 2,013
BCE Emergis 143 141 134 120 73 468
Corporate and other (including core intercompany eliminations) (163) (183) (171) (163) (177) (694)
Total core revenues 4,899 4,988 4,795 4,616 4,359 18,758
BCE Ventures (3) 658 556 762 812 901 3,031
Non-core intercompany eliminations (51) (59) (61) (72) (74) (266)
Revenues 5,506 5,485 5,496 5,356 5,186 21,523
EBITDA
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 1,678 1,702 1,768 1,632 1,556 6,658
Bell ExpressVu (43) (61) (22) (28) (27) (138)
Total Bell Canada 1,635 1,641 1,746 1,604 1,529 6,520
Bell Globemedia 30 69 (4) 54 28 147
Teleglobe 29 28 19 (9) 10 48
BCE Emergis 26 24 26 20 5 75
Corporate and other (22) (20) (16) (9) (24) (69)
Total core EBITDA 1,698 1,742 1,771 1,660 1,548 6,721
BCE Ventures (3) 64 (101) 84 43 135 161
Non-core intercompany eliminations (12) - - - - -
EBITDA 1,750 1,641 1,855 1,703 1,683 6,882
Cash baseline earnings
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings (4) 316 297 354 296 271 1,218
Bell ExpressVu (44) (54) (36) (29) (27) (146)
Total Bell Canada 272 243 318 267 244 1,072
Bell Globemedia 3 14 (13) 10 (3) 8
Teleglobe (4) (3) (34) (34) (76) (23) (167)
BCE Emergis 6 10 3 6 (3) 16
Corporate and other (including core intercompany eliminations) 21 36 11 10 8 65
Total core cash baseline earnings 299 269 285 217 223 994
BCE Ventures - 19 13 5 15 52
Non-core intercompany eliminations 3 - - (2) (4) (6)
Cash baseline earnings applicable to common shares 302 288 298 220 234 1,040
Core cash baseline earnings per common share - $/sh 0.37$ 0.33$ 0.35$ 0.27$ 0.28$ 1.23$
Cash baseline earnings per common share - $/sh 0.37$ 0.36$ 0.37$ 0.27$ 0.29$ 1.28$
Average number of common shares outstanding (millions) 808.1 810.0 810.0 810.0 810.0 810.0
Non-core intercompany eliminations
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 8
Selected Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
For the three months ended March 31
Proportionate EBITDA (5)
Number of common * BCE*
shares owned by BCE Ownership % Q2 00 Q3 00 Q4 00 Q1 01 12 Mth Trailing(M) ($M) ($M) ($M) ($M) ($M)
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 80% 1,122 1,234 1,191 1,173 4,720
Aliant (6) 71.3 45% 104 102 95 96 397
Bell ExpressVu 100% (28) (22) (61) (43) (154)
Total Bell Canada 1,198 1,314 1,225 1,226 4,963
Bell Globemedia 70% 32 (7) 43 18 86
Teleglobe 95% (9) 18 27 28 64
BCE Emergis 62.0 66% 13 17 16 17 63
BCE Ventures
BCI 58.1 74% 10 (4) (4) 2 4
CGI 120.0 41% 13 13 15 22 63
Excel 95% (17) 32 (154) (2) (141)
Telesat 100% 37 39 43 37 156
Other 100% (3) 3 5 4 9
Total BCE Ventures 40 83 (95) 63 91
Corporate and other 100% (9) (16) (20) (34) (79)
Total 1,265 1,409 1,196 1,318 5,189
Proportionate Net Debt and Preferreds (5)
Number of common * BCE*
shares owned by BCE Ownership % March 31(M) 2001
Bell Canada
Bell Canada Holdings 80% 12,258
Aliant (6) 71.3 45% 854
ExpressVu 100% 271
Total Bell Canada 13,383
Bell Globemedia 70% 305
Teleglobe 95% 2,157
BCE Emergis 62.0 66% (6)
BCE Ventures
BCI 58.1 74% 1,245
CGI 120.0 41% 2
Excel 95% 1,227
Telesat 100% 488
Other 100% 86
Total BCE Ventures 3,048
Corporate 100% (4,493)
Total 14,394
Corporate liquidity and debt investments net of debt and preferred shares outstanding
31-Mar2001
Cash and cash equivalents 1,763
Nortel common shares at market (7) 276
Bell Canada Holdings debt due to BCE (8) 4,154
Preferred shares outstanding (9) (1,700)
Total 4,493
Other Information
Three months ended March 31 2001 2000
Shares outstanding (M) 807.3 644.2
Shares issued (M) 1.6 0.4
Shares purchased for cancellation (M) 4.2 -
Book value ($/sh) 21.24 30.10
*At March 31, 2000
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 9
Bell Canada9 3 11 42.14 10 10 10
Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
Proforma
For the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Cash Baseline Income Statement
Revenues
Local and access 1,481 1,463 1.2%
Long distance 696 715 (2.7%)
Wireless 409 334 22.5%
Data 810 617 31.3%
Other 602 499 20.6%
Total Bell Canada operating revenues 3,998 3,628 10.2%
Bell ExpressVu operating revenues 109 58 87.9%
Total operating revenues 4,107 3,686 11.4%
Cash operating expenses
Bell Canada 2,320 2,072 12.0%
Bell ExpressVu 152 85 78.8%
Total cash operating expenses 2,472 2,157 14.6%
EBITDA
Bell Canada 1,678 1,556 7.8%
Bell ExpressVu (43) (27) (59.3%)
Total EBITDA 1,635 1,529 6.9%
Depreciation and amortization (excluding goodwill amortization) (695) (669) (3.9%)
Pension credit 35 29 20.7%
Interest payments to third parties (233) (201) (15.9%)
Interest payments to BCE (44) (50) 12.0%
Equity income and other (including non-controlling interest) (35) (16) (118.8%)
Cash baseline earnings before income taxes 663 622 6.6%
Income taxes (286) (291) 1.7%
Cash baseline earnings 377 331 13.9%
Interest on equity settled notes (14) (15) 6.7%
Preferred dividends (12) (9) (33.3%)
Cash baseline earnings applicable to common shares 351 307 14.3%
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 272 244 11.5%
Net Debt Mar. 31
2001
Cash and cash equivalents 140
Debt, equity notes and preferred shares outstanding (10) 13,482
Debt and equity notes due from Bell (11) (2,768)
Debt and equity notes due to BCE 4,154
Equity notes due to SBC 314
Total Bell Canada Holding debt 15,322
Net Debt - Aliant 1,898
Net Debt - Bell ExpressVu 271
Total 17,491
Other Balance Sheet Information Mar, 31
2001
Consolidated equity 6,207
Other Information
Three months ended March 31 2001
Free cash flow (12) (876)
Net capital expenditures 1,696
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 10
Bell Canada
Selected Historical InformationTotal
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Cash Baseline Income Statement
Revenues
Local and access 1,481 1,543 1,521 1,492 1,463 6,019
Long distance 696 698 738 694 715 2,845
Wireless 409 420 406 355 334 1,515
Data 810 854 756 692 617 2,919
Other 602 563 561 574 499 2,197
Total Bell Canada operating revenues 3,998 4,078 3,982 3,807 3,628 15,495
Bell ExpressVu operating revenues 109 98 81 68 58 305
Total operating revenues 4,107 4,176 4,063 3,875 3,686 15,800
Cash operating expenses
Bell Canada 2,320 2,376 2,214 2,175 2,072 8,837
Bell ExpressVu 152 159 103 96 85 443
Total cash operating expenses 2,472 2,535 2,317 2,271 2,157 9,280
EBITDA
Bell Canada 1,678 1,702 1,768 1,632 1,556 6,658
Bell ExpressVu (43) (61) (22) (28) (27) (138)
Total EBITDA 1,635 1,641 1,746 1,604 1,529 6,520
Depreciation and amortization (excluding goodwill amortization) (695) (715) (699) (689) (669) (2,772)
Pension credit 35 19 29 35 29 112
Interest payments to third parties (233) (217) (194) (197) (201) (809)
Interest payments to BCE (44) (51) (59) (59) (50) (219)
Equity income and other (including non-controlling interest) (35) (37) (56) (54) (16) (163)
Cash baseline earnings before income taxes 663 640 767 640 622 2,669
Income taxes (286) (302) (334) (280) (291) (1,207)
Cash baseline earnings 377 338 433 360 331 1,462
Interest on equity settled notes (14) (15) (15) (14) (15) (59)
Preferred dividends (12) (10) (11) (10) (9) (40)
Cash baseline earnings applicable to common shares 351 313 407 336 307 1,363
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 272 243 318 267 244 1,072
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 11
Bell Canada9 3 11 42.14 10 2 10 10 10
Operating Statistics*
Three months ended March 31
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) 2001 2000 % change
Wireline
Network access service (k)
Residential 8,652 8,581 0.8%
Business 4,723 4,609 2.5%
13,375 13,190 1.4%
Estimated Local market share (%) - Bell Canada only
Residential 99.6% 99.6% 0.0%
Business 91.9% 95.5% (3.8%)
96.8% 98.2% (1.4%)
LD conversation minutes (M) 4,498 4,428 1.6%
Estimated Long Distance market share (% based on revenues) - Bell Canada only 61.5% 61.2% (0.1%)
SmartTouch feature revenues 208 188 10.6%
Data
Data revenues
Legacy (13) 534 458 16.6%
Non-Legacy (14) 276 159 73.6%
810 617 31.3%
Digital equivalent access lines (15) (k) - Bell Canada only 3,445 2,408 43.1%
Internet subscribers (16) (k)
DSL High Speed Internet subscribers (k) 466 92 406.5%
Dial-up Internet subscribers (k) 1,052 722 45.7%
1,518 814 86.5%
Wireless
Cellular & PCS Net activations (k)
Pre-paid 58 50 16.0%
Post-paid 56 (1) N.M.
114 49 132.7%
Cellular & PCS subscribers (k)
Pre-paid 775 568 36.4%
Post-paid 2,109 1,656 27.4%
2,884 2,224 29.7%
Wireless ARPU ($/Month) 44 44 0.0%
Pre-paid 13 13 0.0%
Post-paid 56 55 1.8%
Post-paid churn (%) (average per month) 1.3% 2.0% (35.0%)
Usage per subscriber (min/month) 183 145 26.2%
Estimated cost of acquisition (17) ($/sub) 380 451 (15.7%)
Browser hits (M) - Bell Mobility only 23 3 N.M.
Paging
Subscribers (k) 759 709 7.1%
ARPU ($/month) 11 12 (8.3%)
DTH
Total DTH subscribers (k) 796 469 69.7%
Net subscriber activations (k) 74 53 39.6%
ARPS ($/month) 47 46 2.2%
Churn (%) (average per quarter) 2.3% 3.5% 1.2 pts
*Operating statistics are reported on a consolidated basis, except where otherwise noted.
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 12
Bell Canada
Selected Historical Information
Operating Statistics*Total
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Wireline
Network access service (k)Residential 8,652 8,642 8,602 8,530 8,581Business 4,723 4,719 4,726 4,656 4,609
13,375 13,361 13,328 13,186 13,190
Estimated Local market share (%) - Bell Canada onlyResidential 99.6% 99.6% 99.6% 99.6% 99.6%Business 91.9% 92.8% 93.6% 94.4% 95.5%
96.8% 97.1% 97.4% 97.7% 98.2%
LD conversation minutes (M) 4,498 4,634 4,372 4,464 4,428 17,898 Estimated Long Distance market share (% based on revenues) - Bell Canada only 61.5% 62.0% 63.5% 62.3% 61.2%
SmartTouch feature revenues 208 205 199 192 188 784
Data
Data revenuesLegacy (13) 534 563 505 481 458 2,007 Non-Legacy (14) 276 291 251 211 159 912
810 854 756 692 617 2,919
Digital equivalent access lines (15) (k) - Bell Canada only 3,445 3,158 2,840 2,571 2,408
Internet subscribers (16) (k)DSL High Speed Internet subscribers (k) 466 336 222 141 92 Dial-up Internet subscribers (k) 1,052 927 829 770 722
1,518 1,263 1,051 911 814
Wireless
Cellular & PCS Net activations (k) Pre-paid 58 76 22 51 50 199 Post-paid 56 144 119 134 (1) 396
114 220 141 185 49 595
Cellular & PCS subscribers (k) Pre-paid 775 717 641 619 568 Post-paid 2,109 2,053 1,909 1,790 1,656
2,884 2,770 2,550 2,409 2,224
Wireless ARPU ($/Month) 44 49 46 45 44 47Pre-paid 13 14 14 13 13 13Post-paid 56 60 58 57 55 58
Post-paid churn (%) (average per month) 1.3% 1.4% 1.3% 1.5% 2.0% 1.5%Usage per subscriber (min/month) 183 173 168 156 145 - Estimated cost of acquisition (17) ($/sub) 380 375 363 386 451 385
Browser hits (M) - Bell Mobility only 23 19 12 8 3 42
PagingSubscribers (k) 759 756 731 723 709 ARPU ($/month) 11 11 11 12 12 12
DTH
Total DTH subscribers (k) 796 722 594 526 469 Net subscriber activations (k) 74 128 67 57 53 305 ARPS ($/month) 47 48 46 47 46 47 Churn (%) (average per quarter) 2.3% 1.9% 2.7% 2.5% 3.5% 10.3%* Operating statistics are reported on a consolidated basis.**For 2000 reflects estimated costs of acquisition of Bell Mobility only
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 13
Bell Globemedia
Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)Proforma
For the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Income Statement Data
RevenuesAdvertising 221 198 11.6%
Subscriber 65 59 10.2%
Production and Sundry 20 19 5.3%
Total Revenues 306 276 10.9%
EBITDA 30 28 7.1%
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 3 (3) N.M.
Operating Statistics
Sympatico-Lycos *Page views (in millions) 518 - N.M.Unique visitors per month (in millions) 7.3 - N.M.
Globe InteractivePage views (in millions) 335 160 109.4%Unique visitors per month (in millions)** 1.0 N/A
Selected Historical InformationTotal
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Income Statement Data
RevenuesAdvertising 221 261 168 216 198 843 Subscriber 65 61 61 61 59 242 Production and Sundry 20 26 22 19 19 86
Total Revenues 306 348 251 296 276 1,171
EBITDA 30 69 (4) 54 28 147
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 3 14 (13) 10 (3) 8
Operating Statistics
Sympatico-Lycos *Page views (in millions) 518 427 341 197 - 965 Unique visitors per month (in millions) 7.3 6.8 6.4 3.5 -
Globe InteractivePage views (in millions) 335 304 246 266 160 976 Unique visitors per month (in millions)** 1.0 0.9 N/A N/A N/A
*Sympatico-Lycos commenced operations in May 2000** Source: Media Metrix
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 14
Teleglobe 9 3 11 42.14 10 10 10 10 10 10
Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
ProformaFor the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Income Statement Data
Gross voice revenues 353 394 (10.4%)
Net voice revenues 98 103 (4.9%)
Net data and hosting revenues 148 107 38.3%
Net operating revenues 246 210 17.1%
Network expenses (19) 101 89 13.5%
Selling, general and administration expenses 116 111 4.5%
EBITDA (19) 29 10 190.0%
Cash baseline contribution to BCE (3) (23) N.M.
Selected Historical InformationTotal
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Income Statement Data
Gross voice revenues 353 348 373 375 394 1,490
Net voice revenues 98 78 73 79 103 333
Net data and hosting revenues 148 158 145 113 107 523
Net operating revenues 246 236 218 192 210 856
Network expenses (19) 101 91 95 93 89 368
Selling, general and administration expenses 116 117 104 108 111 440
EBITDA (19) 29 28 19 (9) 10 48
Cash baseline contribution to BCE (3) (34) (34) (76) (23) (167)
Operating StatisticsTotal
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Voice
Minutes (millions) 1,669 1,759 1,785 1,728 1,584 6,856
GlobeSystem DeploymentMar.31 Dec.31
2001 2000
Fibre capacity (lambda route miles) 15,915 5,853
Full service POPs 30 29
TotalQ1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Net capital expenditures 164 400 228 92 76 796
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 15
BCE Emergis
Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
For the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Income Statement Data
Revenues:Canadian Business Unit 66 49 34.7%U.S. Business Unit 7 5 40.0%eHealth Business Unit 70 19 268.4%Total Revenues 143 73 95.9%Operating expenses 117 68 72.1%EBITDA 26 5 420.0%
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 6 (3) 300.0%
Other selected data
Revenues by geographic mix:Canada 88 66 33.3%United States 55 5 N.M.Other - 2 N.M.
143 73 95.9%
Selected Historical Information
Total(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Income Statement Data
Revenues:Canadian Business Unit 66 68 65 52 49 234 U.S. Business Unit 7 8 5 6 5 24 eHealth Business Unit 70 65 64 62 19 210 Total Revenues 143 141 134 120 73 468 Operating expenses 117 117 108 100 68 393 EBITDA 26 24 26 20 5 75
Cash baseline contribution to BCE 6 10 3 6 (3) 16
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 16
BCE Ventures
Financial Information
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)Proforma
For the three months ended March 31 2001 2000 % change
Revenues
BCI (3) 88 118 (25.4%)CGI 154 169 (8.9%)Excel 329 524 (37.2%)Telesat 71 72 (1.4%)Other 16 18 (11.1%)Total Revenues 658 901 (27.0%)
EBITDA
BCI (3) 3 26 (88.5%)
CGI 22 24 (8.3%)
Excel (2) 49 (104.1%)
Telesat 37 37 -
Other 4 (1) N.M.
EBITDA 64 135 (52.6%)
Cash Baseline Contribution to BCE
CGI 11 11 -
Excel (28) - N.M.
Telesat 16 9 77.8%
Other 1 (5) 120.0%
Cash Baseline Contribution to BCE - 15 N.M.
Selected Historical InformationTotal
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated) Q1 01 Q4 00 Q3 00 Q2 00 Q1 00 2000
Revenues
BCI (3) 88 112 104 118 118 452 CGI 154 147 140 145 169 601
Excel (18) 329 198 425 455 524 1,602 Telesat 71 79 74 73 72 298 Other 16 20 19 21 18 78 Total Revenues 658 556 762 812 901 3,031
EBITDA
BCI (3) 3 (5) (5) 14 26 30 CGI 22 15 13 13 24 65 Excel (18) (2) (159) 34 (18) 49 (94) Telesat 37 43 39 37 37 156 Other 4 5 3 (3) (1) 4 EBITDA 64 (101) 84 43 135 161
Cash Baseline Contribution to BCE
CGI 11 6 4 6 11 27 Excel (28) - - - - - Telesat 16 19 15 8 9 51 Other 1 (6) (6) (9) (5) (26) Cash Baseline Contribution to BCE - 19 13 5 15 52
Proforma
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 17
Reconciliation of reported earnings
(Millions of dollars, except otherwise indicated)
For the three months ended March 31 2001
Cash baseline earnings to common shares 302 Bell Canada:
Restructuring charge (114) Gain on sale of Sympatico-Lycos 34 Gain on sale of TDL Hong Kong 19 Goodwill expense (17) Aliant dilution gains and other 2 Other (1)
Bell Globemedia.:Goodwill expense (36)
Teleglobe:Goodwill expense (111)
BCE Emergis:Goodwill expense (76) Write-off of assets and IPR&D (21)
BCE Ventures:Bell Canada International 151 Dilution gain in CGI 30 Other Ventures - Gain on sale of Vistar 21 Goodwill expense (13) Goodwill impairment (2,049)
Corporate:Gain on sale of Nortel Networks shares & settlement of related fund contracts 2,901 Teleglobe one-time charge (60)
Net cash baseline adjustments 660 Reported earnings applicable to common shares 962 Reported earnings per common share - $/sh 1.19$ Average number of common shares outstanding (millions) 808.1
See accompanying notes on pages 19-21. BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing - First quarter 2001 Page 18
BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 19
BCE Inc.
Accompanying Notes
(1) Effective December 1, 2000, BCE implemented a new operating structure following strategic acquisitions made during the year.As a result, BCE centres its activities around four core operating businesses: Bell Canada (Canadian connectivity); BellGlobemedia (content), Teleglobe (global connectivity); and BCE Emergis (commerce). All other non-core investments arecombined in BCE Ventures whose main investments include Bell Canada International Inc. (BCI), CGI Group Inc. (CGI), TelesatCanada, BCE Capital Inc. (BCE Capital), Bimcor Inc. (Bimcor), Excel Communications group (Excel) and LookCommunications Inc. (Look). Results for the BCE segments are reflected as follows:
Bell Canada
• This segment provides an integrated platform of substantially domestic telecommunications services including voice, data,wireline, wireless and directory communications and satellite entertainment to Canadian customers.
• This segment reflects the consolidated results of Bell Canada Holdings Inc. (BCH) (including Bell Canada, Bell Mobility,BCE Nexxia Inc. and Bell ActiMedia Inc.). BCH owns 100% of Bell Canada. BCE owns 80% of BCH, the remaining 20%is owned by SBC Communications Inc.
• Effective January 2000, BCE increased its ownership interest in Aliant Inc. (Aliant) from 41% to 53% (approximately 39%held by Bell Canada and approximately 14% held by BCE Inc.); therefore, Aliant is consolidated and included in the BellCanada segment.
• Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership (Bell ExpressVu) is 100% owned by BCE and is consolidated in the Bell Canadasegment.
• Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is accounted for using the equity method.
• Prior to November 1, 2000, Bell Canada’s 23% interest in Teleglobe was accounted for using the equity method and includedin this segment. Bell Canada now accounts for its investment in Teleglobe on a cost basis and prior periods have beenrestated to reflect this treatment. Therefore, BCE’s indirect interest in Teleglobe for current and prior periods is nowreflected in the Teleglobe segment.
Bell Globemedia
• This segment provides integrated information, communications and entertainment services to Canadian customers and accessto distinctive Canadian content that will allow the creation of unique destinations for Internet users through the various portalproperties.
• Starting in 2001, this segment includes CTV Inc. (CTV) (100%), The Globe and Mail (100%), Sympatico-Lycos (70.9%),and Globe Interactive (100%). BCE holds an ownership interest of 70.1% in Bell Globemedia.
Teleglobe
• Represents Teleglobe Communications group (Teleglobe) which provides, on a worldwide basis, a broad portfolio of voice,data and Internet services including connectivity services, hosting services and content distribution to Internet serviceproviders, Internet content providers, application service providers, carriers and global enterprises. BCE holds an effective95.4% interest in Teleglobe, the remaining 4.6% is held by SBC Communications Inc.
BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 20
BCE Inc.
Accompanying Notes (continued)
• Effective November 1, 2000, BCE acquired the remaining common shares of Teleglobe Inc. that it or its affiliates did notalready own, bringing BCE’s effective ownership to 95.4% (approximately 23% held by Bell Canada of which BCEindirectly owns 80% and approximately 77% held by BCE Inc.) and began consolidating Teleglobe’s results.
• The acquisition of Teleglobe Inc. included mainly Teleglobe, Excel and Look. The Teleglobe segment reflects Teleglobe.Excel and Look are reported in BCE Ventures.
• For 2000, cash baseline earnings for Teleglobe Inc., which includes Teleglobe, Excel and Corporate, are presented in theTeleglobe segment.
• Beginning in 2001, cash baseline earnings for Teleglobe are reflected in the Teleglobe segment and cash baseline earnings forExcel are reflected in BCE Ventures. Corporate expenses are allocated between the Teleglobe and Excel business units.
BCE Emergis
• Represents BCE Emergis Inc. (BCE Emergis) which is 66% owned by BCE. BCE Emergis currently focuses its activities inthree business units (Canadian, US and eHealth), offering a full suite of products to companies in transaction-intensive,eHealth and financial services sectors.
BCE Ventures
• Represents investments in a diverse group of companies which provide services to customers worldwide.
• This segment consolidates BCE’s interests in Bell Canada International Inc. (73.6%), Telesat Canada (100%), TMICommunications and Company Limited Partnership (100%), Excel Communications Group (95.4%), Bimcor Inc. (100%),BCE Capital Inc. (100%) and TeleReal Inc. (100%) as well as CGI Group Inc. (41.4%) proportionate and LookCommunications Inc. (25.3%) at cost.
(2) Revenues, EBITDA and Cash baseline earnings for 2000 have been reported on a proforma basis to reflect full yearconsolidation of CTV (including Netstar), The Globe and Mail, Globe Interactive, Teleglobe and Excel.
(3) Revenues and EBITDA for 2000 have been restated to reflect BCI’s discontinued operations in its Asia Mobile segmentcomprised primarily of KG Telecommunications Co. Ltd. and its Latin America Competitive Local Exchange Carriers businesssegment, comprising primarily of Axtel S.A. de C.V., Vésper S.A., Vésper Sao, Paulo S.A. and Vento S.A. Ltda.
(4) Bell Canada prior period figures have been restated to reflect the reallocation of all equity income and related baselineadjustments (i.e.: prior to November 1, 2000) relating to Teleglobe Inc. to the Teleglobe segment. Consequently, cash baselineearnings for the Teleglobe segment, prior to November 1, 2000 reflect Bell Canada’s 23% proportionate share of TeleglobeInc.’s earnings (inclusive of the ORBCOMM discontinued operations).
(5) Calculated by applying BCE’s ownership interest at March 31, 2001 and reflects corporate liquidity and debt investments net ofdebt and preferred shares outstanding.
(6) Represents 80% of Bell Canada’s 39.3% (52.5M shares) interest and 100% of BCE’s 14.0% interest (18.8M shares).
(7) Represents approximately 12.4M Nortel Networks shares.
(8) Includes $1.3B equity settled notes.
BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 21
BCE Inc.
Accompanying Notes (continued)
(9) At March 31, 2001, includes Series P Retractable preferred shares of $400 million, which are reflected in other long-termliabilities on the financial statements.
(10) Represents the debt, equity settled notes and preferred shares at the Bell Canada operating level.
(11) Represents the debt, equity settled notes at the Bell Canada operating level due to BCH.
(12) Represents cash from operating activities plus or minus cash from investing activities less dividends paid.
(13) Legacy data revenues include digital transmission services such as MEGALINKTM, network access for Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) and Data, as well as, competitive network services and the sale of inter-networking equipment.
(14) Non-legacy data revenues include national and regional IP data and Internet services.
(15) Digital equivalent access lines are derived by converting high capacity data lines to the estimated capacity of one NAS line.The conversion multiples used are as follows: Basic ISDN = 2, Primary = 23, DEA = 24, DSO = 1, DS1 = 24, DS3 = 672.Prior period numbers have been restated to include MicroLink lines and switched DS1 lines.
(16) DSL High Speed Internet subscribers include consumer, business and wholesale. Dial-up Internet subscribers includeconsumer and business.
(17) Includes an allocation of selling costs from Bell Canada and excludes migration costs. Estimated costs of acquisition for 2000are those of Bell Mobility only.
(18) Amounts shown for Q4 2000 for Excel have been restated to reflect the impact on revenue and EBITDA relating to theoverstatement of accounts receivable of approximately US $118 million that was noted during the course of BCE’s 2000 year-end audit.
(19) Prior periods have been restated to deconsolidate two investments, and account for them under the equity method.
(20) In March 2001, after completion of an assessment of the carrying value of BCE’s investment in Excel, an impairment charge inthe amount of $2,049 million was recorded. The assets of Excel were written down to their estimated net recoverable amount,which was determined using the undiscounted net future cash flows to be generated by these assets. The primary factorcontributing to the impairment is a lower than expected operating profit due to a reduction in Excel’s forecasted minutevolumes and average revenue per minute, which is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. As a result of thisimpairment charge, goodwill was reduced by $1,621 million and capital and other assets were reduced by $428 million.
BCE Inc. | Investor Briefing – First Quarter 2001 Page 22
BCE Inc.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements made in this document which describe BCE’s intentions, expectations or predictions, are forward-lookingstatements and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements could differmaterially from actual results or events.
Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things:
− current negative trends in global market and economic conditions which impact the demand for, and costs of, products
and services;
− changes in customer purchase patterns and, more specifically, the fact that the purchase of certain services provided by
the BCE group of companies is more subject to be adversely affected by economic slowdowns;
− the financial condition of customers;
− uncertainty as to whether BCE’s strategies (including its convergence strategy) will yield the expected benefits, synergies
and growth prospects;
− the extent of demand for wireless services;
− the level of expenditures necessary to expand operations, increase the number of subscribers, provide new services, build
or update networks and maintain or improve quality of service, and the availability and cost of capital required to fund
such expenditures;
− the level of adoption of e-commerce;
− the uncertainties of the Internet including its impact on network capacity and the Internet economy growing at a slower
pace than is currently anticipated;
− unanticipated higher capital spending for, or delays in, the deployment of new technologies and networks;
− the intensity of competitive activity and its resulting impact on the ability to retain existing, and attract new, customers
and the consequent impact on pricing strategies, revenues, new product offerings and network capacity;
− the ability to reduce operating costs;
− higher than anticipated start-up costs or significant up-front investments associated with business initiatives;
− the impact of consolidations in the telecommunications and media industries;
− the failure by counterparties to renew contracts for the provision of network capacity;
− the final outcome of pending or future litigation;
− the impact of adverse changes in laws or regulations or of adverse regulatory initiatives or proceedings;
− the availability of, and ability to retain, key personnel; and
− the impact of rapid technological and market change and the resulting potential technological obsolescence of current
networks and equipment and the ability to deploy new technologies.
For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please refer to BCE’s reports on Forms 6-K and 40-F filedwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and BCE’s filings with the Canadian securities commissions. BCE disclaims anyintention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events orotherwise.