Here are the highlights from Bell's press release:
Bell Gigabit Fibe bringing the fastest Internet to Toronto residents with a billion-dollar+ network investment, creation of 2,400 direct jobs
Bell Canada today announced it will deliver gigabit-per-second Internet speeds to homes and businesses across the City of Toronto with the new Gigabit Fibe service. Coupled with Bell's single largest infrastructure expansion project, creating approximately 2,400 direct jobs and significant economic and innovation benefits, Gigabit Fibe will bring North America's fastest Internet speeds to more than a million Toronto premises – starting with approximately 50,000 homes and businesses that will have first access this summer.
Part of Bell's plan to invest $20 billion in its broadband fibre and wireless networks across Canada by the end of 2020, Gigabit Fibe will ultimately be available to 1.1 million homes and businesses across the city. Bell will launch Gigabit Fibe in other cities in Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic provinces as soon as this summer in some locations.
As with all other gigabit services, like the Google Fiber project in some US cities, service will initially be available at a maximum 940 Megabits per second and rise to a full 1000 Megabits per second or faster in 2016 as modem equipment suppliers catch up to gigabit speeds. To learn more about Gigabit Fibe, please visit Bell.ca/Fibe.
A public partnership without public funding
Fully funded by Bell, Gigabit Fibe in Toronto is supported by the company's single largest infrastructure buildout. Bell's long-term agreements with Toronto Hydro to share utility poles across the city are accelerating the Gigabit Fibe project's efficiency and speeding up deployment. When the project is complete, Bell teams will have upgraded 27 Bell Central Office facilities across the city and installed over 9,000 kilometres of new fibre, both underground via more than 10,000 manholes and on approximately 80,000 Bell and Toronto Hydro poles around the city. Approximately 70% of the network will be aerial and 30% underground.
Bell is building Gigabit Fibe on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis and will advise residents in advance if Bell crews may need to access their property. Torontonians can visit Bell.ca/Toronto for updates and Gigabit Fibe availability. Bell will have a dedicated customer service process for Gigabit Fibe and work with Toronto's 3-1-1 information service to answer any questions about the infrastructure project.
Gigabit support for the United Way
As part of its ongoing support for the United Way Toronto Community Hub initiative, Bell will contribute Gigabit Fibe service to each the charity's city-wide Community Hubs initiative, including Access Point on the Danforth, Bathurst-Finch, Dorset Park, Jane Street, Mid-Scarborough, Rexdale Community Hub, Victoria Park Hub, and the planned Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre serving the Steeles L'Amoreaux community.
Bell remains Canada's broadband leader
Canada's largest Internet service provider, Bell serves approximately 3.3 million total high-speed Internet customers. Bell will make Gigabit Fibe available in other cities across Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic provinces over the next year, some also as early as this summer. Cities primed for Gigabit Fibe include Québec City, locations in Montréal, Laval, Blainville, Gatineau, Joliette, Saint-Jérôme, Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Vaudreuil/Valleyfield, St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, Sudbury, North Bay, Peterborough and Kingston. Gigabit Fibe infrastructure rollouts are under way in even more cities and service availability will be announced over the next year.
Note: Please use the Bell Aliant thread to discuss Gigabit Fibe in Atlantic Canada.
EDIT March 27, 2017: Bell announced FTTH rollout for Montreal - see post 58
Bell Gigabit Fibe bringing the fastest Internet to Toronto residents with a billion-dollar+ network investment, creation of 2,400 direct jobs
Bell Canada today announced it will deliver gigabit-per-second Internet speeds to homes and businesses across the City of Toronto with the new Gigabit Fibe service. Coupled with Bell's single largest infrastructure expansion project, creating approximately 2,400 direct jobs and significant economic and innovation benefits, Gigabit Fibe will bring North America's fastest Internet speeds to more than a million Toronto premises – starting with approximately 50,000 homes and businesses that will have first access this summer.
Part of Bell's plan to invest $20 billion in its broadband fibre and wireless networks across Canada by the end of 2020, Gigabit Fibe will ultimately be available to 1.1 million homes and businesses across the city. Bell will launch Gigabit Fibe in other cities in Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic provinces as soon as this summer in some locations.
As with all other gigabit services, like the Google Fiber project in some US cities, service will initially be available at a maximum 940 Megabits per second and rise to a full 1000 Megabits per second or faster in 2016 as modem equipment suppliers catch up to gigabit speeds. To learn more about Gigabit Fibe, please visit Bell.ca/Fibe.
A public partnership without public funding
Fully funded by Bell, Gigabit Fibe in Toronto is supported by the company's single largest infrastructure buildout. Bell's long-term agreements with Toronto Hydro to share utility poles across the city are accelerating the Gigabit Fibe project's efficiency and speeding up deployment. When the project is complete, Bell teams will have upgraded 27 Bell Central Office facilities across the city and installed over 9,000 kilometres of new fibre, both underground via more than 10,000 manholes and on approximately 80,000 Bell and Toronto Hydro poles around the city. Approximately 70% of the network will be aerial and 30% underground.
Bell is building Gigabit Fibe on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis and will advise residents in advance if Bell crews may need to access their property. Torontonians can visit Bell.ca/Toronto for updates and Gigabit Fibe availability. Bell will have a dedicated customer service process for Gigabit Fibe and work with Toronto's 3-1-1 information service to answer any questions about the infrastructure project.
Gigabit support for the United Way
As part of its ongoing support for the United Way Toronto Community Hub initiative, Bell will contribute Gigabit Fibe service to each the charity's city-wide Community Hubs initiative, including Access Point on the Danforth, Bathurst-Finch, Dorset Park, Jane Street, Mid-Scarborough, Rexdale Community Hub, Victoria Park Hub, and the planned Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre serving the Steeles L'Amoreaux community.
Bell remains Canada's broadband leader
Canada's largest Internet service provider, Bell serves approximately 3.3 million total high-speed Internet customers. Bell will make Gigabit Fibe available in other cities across Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic provinces over the next year, some also as early as this summer. Cities primed for Gigabit Fibe include Québec City, locations in Montréal, Laval, Blainville, Gatineau, Joliette, Saint-Jérôme, Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Vaudreuil/Valleyfield, St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, Sudbury, North Bay, Peterborough and Kingston. Gigabit Fibe infrastructure rollouts are under way in even more cities and service availability will be announced over the next year.
Note: Please use the Bell Aliant thread to discuss Gigabit Fibe in Atlantic Canada.
EDIT March 27, 2017: Bell announced FTTH rollout for Montreal - see post 58