Standard&Poor's Ratings Services bases its ratings on Montreal-based telecommunications holding company BCE Inc. on the credit risk profile of the company and its consolidated subsidiaries, including 100%-owned primary operating subsidiary Bell Canada. The ratings on Bell Canada, Canada's largest integrated telecommunications provider with more than 18 million customer connections, reflect our opinion of the company's business risk profile, which we view as "satisfactory," given the company's large and expanding nationwide wireless operations; leading position as the incumbent local telephone service provider in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec; broad product portfolio including the ability to bundle voice, Internet, wireless, and video services within its incumbent markets; solid brand recognition; broad distribution; and healthy diversity of revenues among business
