TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 15, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said it raised its long-term corporate credit ratings on Montreal-based telecommunications provider BCE Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Bell Canada and Bell Mobility Cellular Inc., two notches to 'BB+' from 'BB-', as an interim step. These ratings remain on CreditWatch, but we have revised the CreditWatch implications to positive from developing. At the same time, we have revised the CreditWatch implications on the issue-level ratings on BCE and Bell Canada. We have also raised or lowered some of these ratings. The rating action on these debt issues reflects our understanding of the expected cancellation of the tender offer as well as the application of various notching methodologies.
