BCE funds broadband expansion with SkyTerra sale proceeds

When BCE closes its sale of its stake in satellite SkyTerra Communications for about $110.9 million, the Canadian incumbent service provider will have more cash on hand to fund its wired and wireless broadband ambitions.

BCE sold 22.1 million shares in SkyTerra after the satellite provider was acquired by Harbinger Capital Partners.

"The proceeds of such transactions support Bell's strategy to invest in broadband network and service expansion while achieving a competitive cost structure," Siim Vanaselja, BCE's Chief Financial Officer, said in a statement.

A major focus of BCE's investment strategy 2010 will be on expanding the reach of its wireless and wireline broadband service footprints. In its Q4 09 earnings report, BCE's wireline division revealed its three-year Fiber to the X deployment plan to bring Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) in Greenfield urban and suburban housing developments in Ontario and Quebec starting in the second half of this year along with its ongoing Fiber to the Business (FTTB) that it already has underway. Meanwhile, in existing Brownfield areas, Bell Canada will continue to deploy Fiber to the Node (FTTN)-based services in Toronto and Montreal this quarter, offering VDSL2 capabilities to 1.8 million homes.

For more:
- see the release here
- Reuters has this article

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