Bell Canada spends $147M to bring Fibe TV service to Ottawa

Bell Canada (NYSE: BCE) has spent $147 million to extend its growing Fibe TV service to Ottawa, bringing its coverage to 3.8 million households. Ottawa follows Montréal, Toronto, Québec City and multiple other locations in Ontario and Québec to be able to get the IPTV service.  

Already available in most Ottawa neighborhoods, the service provider said by the end of this year Fibe TV will be available to more than 4 million households throughout Ontario and Québec.

Eligible customers can purchase Fibe TV in a triple-play bundle beginning at $22 for the first six months, which includes a Whole Home PVR and wireless receiver included at no additional cost. Customers also have the option to view their IPTV content on various wireless devices, including Android, iOS and BlackBerry devices via Wi-Fi or mobile connections.

Like its fellow Canadian incumbent Telus (NYSE: TU), IPTV and broadband continue to be hot sellers for Bell Canada.

During the second quarter, the service provider added 50,555 new Fibe TV customers, up 31.4 percent over 2012. Bell said this was the "best quarterly growth since the launch of Fibe TV in late 2010."

As of the end of Q2 2013, the Canadian telco had a total of 346,316 Fibe TV subscribers, over double the amount it had last year.

The service provider reported in Q2 that IPTV growth is helping to boost its broadband subscriber base. In Q2, the telco added 3,901 new customers, a factor it said reflects "customer activations as well as improved business and wholesale customer activations." It had a total of over 2.1 million broadband subscribers, up 0.8 percent since the end of Q2 2012.

Overall, Canada's IPTV market continues to grow at the expense of cable's losses. According to a recent IHS report, the country's telcos had 97,630 net additions during the second quarter, while cable and satellite lost 108,160 customers.

For more:
- see the release

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Updated article on September 3 with correct headline to read $147 million and in article.