TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) March 7, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said that its ratings on BCE Inc. and Bell Canada (A-/Negative/A-2) are unaffected by the pending reorganization of the company's holdings in Aliant Inc. (A/Negative/A-1) and Bell Nordiq Group Inc. Taking today's announcement with previous announcements concerning asset sales and debt reduction, we expect that consolidated pro forma leverage at BCE will decline to about 2x by the end of 2006. The reorganization of Aliant and Bell Nordiq is neutral for BCE's business profile; the Aliant fixed line and Bell rural assets are subject to less competition than higher density regions within Bell Canada's operating territories, with more stable revenues and cash flow. Nevertheless, Bell Canada will have
