Bell Canada targets Toronto for gigabit FTTH

Bell Canada says it will deliver 1-Gbps fiber to the home (FTTH) and premises to residents and business in Toronto. Part of a CAN$1.14 billion fiber-optic network infrastructure upgrade, the Gigabit Fibe roll out is expected to begin with access to 50,000 Toronto homes and businesses this summer, with a goal of passing 1.1 million possible customers in the city.

Bell Canada will leverage a pole access agreement with Toronto Hydro to speed deployment. The full roll out will see upgrades of 27 central office in the city and installation of more than 9,000 kim of new fiber. The fiber cable deployments will include both underground and aerial, with more than 70% of the fiber cable installed on poles.

The service provider says that Gigabit Fibe will operate at 940 Mbps initially, rising to 1 Gbps sometime in 2016 “as modem equipment suppliers catch up to gigabit speeds,” in the words of press statement.

Technology and services suppliers for the deployment include Aecon, AGIR, Alcatel-Lucent, Asplundh, Corning, Davey Tree, Distinct Tech, Effigis, Expertech, Huawei, Infrastructel, 3M, Somerville, Sentrex, Telecon Group, Teranet, and TRJ Telecom.

The operator says it expects to offer Gigabit Fibe in other parts of Ontario, as well as Quebec and Atlantic Canada in the future as well – as soon as this summer also in some areas. Bell Canada listed 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 as top of the list.

Bell Canada asserts the deployment will create 2,400 direct jobs created in Toronto and more than 8,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario and $2.5 billion in economic activity over the next 2 years.

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