Unless otherwise indicated by us, forward-looking statements in this Annual Information Form describe our expectations as at March 3, 2022 and, accordingly, are subject to change after that date. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements and that our business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities may not be achieved. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are presented in this Annual Information Form for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding our objectives, strategic priorities and business outlook, as well as our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned, however, that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Subject to various factors including, without limitation, the future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are difficult to predict, we believe that the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Information Form are based were reasonable at March 3, 2022. Refer in particular to the sub-sections of the BCE 2021 MD&A entitled Assumptions on pages 50, 57, 75, 81 and 86, of BCE’s annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021 (BCE 2021 Annual Report) for a discussion of certain key economic, market, operational and other assumptions including assumptions relating to our GHG emissions reduction targets we have made in preparing forward-looking statements. If our assumptions turn out to be inaccurate, actual results or events could be materially different from what we expect.

Important risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the previously mentioned forward-looking statements and other forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Information Form include, but are not limited to: the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic including from the restrictive measures implemented or to be implemented as a result thereof and supply chain disruptions; adverse economic and financial market conditions, a declining level of retail and commercial activity, and the resulting negative impact on the demand for, and prices of, our products and services; the intensity of competitive activity including from new and emerging competitors; the level of technological substitution and the presence of alternative service providers contributing to disruptions and disintermediation in each of our business segments; changing customer behaviour and the expansion of over-the-top (OTT) television (TV) and other alternative service providers, as well as the fragmentation of, and changes in, the advertising market; rising content costs and challenges in our ability to acquire or develop key content; the proliferation of content piracy; higher Canadian smartphone penetration and reduced or slower immigration flow; regulatory initiatives, proceedings and decisions, government consultations and government positions that affect us and influence our business including, without limitation, concerning the conditions and prices at which access to our networks may be mandated and spectrum may be acquired in auctions; the inability to protect our physical and non-physical assets from events such as information security attacks, unauthorized access or entry, fire and natural disasters; the failure to implement effective data governance; the failure to evolve and transform our networks, systems and operations using next-generation technologies while lowering our cost structure; the inability to drive a positive customer experience; the failure to attract, develop and retain a diverse and talented team capable of furthering our strategic imperatives; labour disruptions and shortages; the failure to maintain operational networks; the risk that we may need to incur significant unplanned capital expenditures to provide additional capacity

and reduce network congestion; the complexity of our operations; the failure to implement or maintain highly effective processes and information technology (IT) systems; events affecting the functionality of, and our ability to protect, test, maintain, replace and upgrade, our networks, IT systems, equipment and other facilities; in-orbit and other operational risks to which the satellites used to provide our satellite TV services are subject; our dependence on third-party suppliers, outsourcers, and consultants to provide an uninterrupted supply of the products and services we need; the failure of our vendor selection, governance and oversight processes, including our management of supplier risk in the areas of security, data governance and responsible procurement; the quality of our products and services and the extent to which they may be subject to defects or fail to comply with applicable government regulations and standards; the inability to access adequate sources of capital and generate sufficient cash flows from operating activities to meet our cash requirements, fund capital expenditures and provide for planned growth; uncertainty as to whether dividends will be declared by BCE’s board of directors or whether the dividend on common shares will be increased; the inability to manage various credit, liquidity and market risks; new or higher taxes due to new tax laws or changes thereto or in the interpretation thereof, and the inability to predict the outcome of government audits; the failure to reduce costs, as well as unexpected increases in costs, and the inability to generate anticipated benefits from acquisitions and corporate restructurings; the failure to evolve practices to effectively monitor and control fraudulent activities; pension obligation volatility and increased contributions to post-employment benefit plans; unfavourable resolution of legal proceedings and, in particular, class actions; the failure to develop and implement strong corporate governance practices and compliance frameworks and to comply with legal and regulatory obligations; the failure to recognize and adequately respond to climate change and other environmental concerns and expectations; pandemics, epidemics and other health risks, including health concerns about radio frequency emissions from wireless communications devices and equipment; the inability to adequately manage social issues; and internal factors, such as the failure to implement sufficient corporate and business initiatives, as well as various external factors which could challenge our ability to achieve our environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets including, without limitation, those related to GHG emissions reduction and diversity, equity and inclusion.

These and other risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, our forward-looking statements are discussed in this Annual Information Form and the BCE 2021 MD&A and, in particular, in section 9, Business risks of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 107 to 116 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Information Form for periods beyond 2022 involve longer-term assumptions and estimates than forward-looking statements for 2022 and are consequently subject to greater uncertainty. In particular, our GHG emissions reduction targets are based on a number of assumptions including, without limitation, the following principal assumptions: implementation of various corporate and business initiatives to reduce our electricity and fuel consumption, as well as reduce other direct and indirect GHG emissions enablers; no new corporate initiatives, business acquisitions or technologies that would materially increase our anticipated levels of GHG emissions; our ability to purchase sufficient credible carbon credits and renewable energy certificates to offset or further reduce our GHG emissions, if and when required; no negative impact on the calculation of our GHG emissions from refinements in or modifications to international standards or the methodology we use for the calculation of such GHG emissions; no required changes to our SBTs pursuant to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) methodology that would make the achievement of our updated SBTs more onerous; and sufficient supplier engagement and collaboration in setting their own SBTs and sufficient collaboration with partners in reducing their own GHG emissions.

Forward-looking statements for periods beyond 2022 further assume, unless otherwise indicated, that the competitive, regulatory, security, technological, operational, financial and other risks described above and in section 9, Business risks of the BCE 2021 MD&A will remain substantially unchanged during such periods, except for an assumed improvement in the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic and general economic conditions in future years.

We caution readers that the risks described above are not the only ones that could affect us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, financial results or reputation. From time to time, we consider potential acquisitions, dispositions, mergers, business combinations, investments, monetizations, joint ventures and other transactions, some of which may be significant. Except as otherwise indicated by us, forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any such transactions or of special items that may be announced or that may occur after March 3, 2022. The financial impact of these transactions and special items can be complex and depends on facts particular to each of them. We therefore cannot describe the expected impact in a meaningful way or in the same way we present known risks affecting our business.

BCE Inc. was incorporated in 1970 and was continued under the Canada Business Corporations Act in 1979. It is governed by a certificate and articles of amalgamation dated August 1, 2004, as amended by: (a) a certificate and articles of arrangement dated July 10, 2006 to implement a plan of arrangement providing for the distribution by BCE Inc. to its shareholders of units in the Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund and to consolidate outstanding BCE Inc. common shares; (b) a certificate and articles of amendment dated January 25, 2007 to implement a plan of arrangement providing for

the exchange of Bell Canada preferred shares for BCE Inc. preferred shares; (c) a certificate and articles of amendment dated June 29, 2011 to create two additional series of BCE Inc. Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares (first preferred shares or Preferred Shares); and (d) certificates and articles of amendment dated September 22, 2014 and November 11, 2014 to create six additional series of BCE Inc. first preferred shares. BCE Inc.’s head and registered offices are located at 1, Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell, Building A, Verdun, Québec H3E 3B3.

The table below shows BCE Inc.’s main subsidiaries at December 31, 2021, which are all incorporated in Canada, and the percentage of voting securities that BCE Inc. directly or indirectly held in such subsidiaries on that date. BCE Inc. has other subsidiaries that have not been included in the table since each represented 10% or less of our total consolidated

assets and 10% or less of our total consolidated operating revenues at December 31, 2021. These other subsidiaries together represented 20% or less of our total consolidated assets and 20% or less of our total consolidated operating revenues at December 31, 2021.

BCE’s purpose is to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Our strategy builds on our longstanding strengths in networks, service innovation and content creation, and positions the company for continued growth and innovation leadership. Through our Bell for Better initiative, we are investing to create a better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic prosperity of our communities. With our connectivity initiatives from the smallest rural communities to the largest cities, investments in mental health initiatives, environmental sustainability and an engaged workplace, we look to create a thriving, prosperous and more connected world for Canadians across the country, especially as we recover from the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through our capital expenditure acceleration program, we are delivering more connections to help Canada’s social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our financial and operating performance saw a steady improvement in 2021 despite the continued adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced throughout the year, due to our strong operational execution and the easing of government restrictions in the second half of the year. It has been almost two years since the pandemic began affecting our performance and we have since adapted many aspects of our business to better operate in this environment. Additionally, compared to 2020, the effects of the pandemic on our year-over-year performance were considerably reduced, with Q2 2020 being the quarter most significantly affected by the pandemic. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, although moderated, continued to unfavourably impact Bell Wireless product and roaming revenues, Bell Media advertising revenues, as well as Bell Wireline business market equipment revenues, due to reduced commercial activity as a result of the government restrictions put in place to combat the pandemic, particularly in the first

half of the year, and the global supply chain challenges experienced in the second half of the year.

Due to uncertainties relating to the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible resurgences in the number of COVID-19 cases, including as a result of the potential emergence of other variants, and various potential outcomes, it is difficult at this time to estimate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business or future financial results and related assumptions. Our business and financial results could continue to be unfavourably impacted, and could again become more significantly and negatively impacted, in future periods including, among others, as a result of global supply chain challenges adversely affecting our wireless and wireline product revenues.

In addition, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to adversely impact us will depend on future developments that are difficult to predict, including the prevalence of COVID-19 variants that are more contagious and may lead to increased health risks, the timely distribution of effective vaccines and treatments, the potential development and distribution of new vaccines and treatments, vaccination hesitancy and the number of individuals who choose to remain unvaccinated, the time required to achieve broad immunity, as well as new information which may emerge concerning the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the number and intensity of resurgences in COVID-19 cases, and the actions required to contain the coronavirus or remedy its impacts, among others. Any of the risks referred to in this Annual Information Form, including, in particular, in the section Caution regarding forward-looking statements at the beginning of this Annual Information Form, and others arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, financial results or reputation.

BCE is Canada’s largest communications company, providing residential, business and wholesale customers with a wide range of solutions for all their communications needs. Our results are reported in three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline and Bell Media.

Bell Wireless provides wireless voice and data communication products and services to our residential, small and medium-sized business and large enterprise customers as well as consumer electronics products across Canada.

Bell Wireline provides data, including Internet access and Internet protocol television (IPTV), local telephone, long distance, as well as other communication services and products to our residential, small and medium-sized business and large enterprise customers, primarily in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba, while satellite TV service and connectivity to business customers are available nationally across Canada. In addition, this segment includes our wholesale business, which buys and sells local telephone, long distance, data and other services from or to resellers and other carriers.

Bell Media provides conventional TV, specialty TV, pay TV, streaming services, digital media services, radio broadcasting services and out-of-home (OOH) advertising services to customers nationally across Canada.

Additional information regarding our business operations and the products and services we provide can be found in section 1.2, About BCE of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 35 to 38 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

In addition to our operating segments, we also hold investments in a number of other assets, including:

A discussion of the key transactions completed by BCE in the last three financial years can be found in section 4.1, Transactions of this Annual Information Form.

For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we generated consolidated operating revenues of $23,449 million and $22,883 million, respectively, and consolidated net earnings of $2,892 million and $2,699 million, respectively. Consolidated net earnings for the year ended December 31, 2020 included $226 million of net earnings from discontinued operations. For the year ended December 31, 2021, Bell Wireless’ operating revenues totalled $8,999 million ($8,948 million external revenues), Bell Wireline’s operating revenues totalled $12,178 million ($11,820 million external revenues) and Bell Media’s operating revenues totalled $3,036 million ($2,681 million external revenues). For the year ended December 31, 2020, Bell Wireless’ operating revenues totalled $8,683 million ($8,630 million external

revenues), Bell Wireline’s operating revenues totalled $12,206 million ($11,884 million external revenues) and Bell Media’s operating revenues totalled $2,750 million ($2,369 million external revenues). A table showing the operating revenues that each segment contributed to total operating revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 can be found in section 4.3, Operating revenues of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 64 and 65 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report. A table showing the operating revenues of our Bell Wireless and Bell Wireline segments by category of products and services can be found in section 5.1, Bell Wireless and section 5.2, Bell Wireline of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 72 and 77, respectively, of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

Some of our segments’ revenues vary slightly by season. For more information, refer to section 7.2, Quarterly financial information – Seasonality considerations of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on page 102 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

Additional information regarding the business outlook of our Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline and Bell Media segments can be found in the sections entitled Business outlook and assumptions of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 56, 57, 75, 80, 81 and 86 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

BCE’s purpose is to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Our strategy builds on our longstanding strengths in networks, service innovation and content creation, and positions the company for continued growth and innovation leadership. Our primary business objectives are to grow our subscriber base profitably and to maximize revenues, operating profit, free cash flow and return on invested capital by further enhancing our position as the foremost provider in Canada of comprehensive communications services to residential, business and wholesale customers, and as Canada’s leading content creation company. We seek to take advantage of opportunities to leverage our networks, infrastructure, sales channels, and brand and marketing resources across our various lines of business to create value for both our customers and other stakeholders.

Our strategy is centred on our disciplined focus and execution of six strategic imperatives that position us to deliver continued success in a fast-changing communications marketplace. In 2022, we embedded

our focus on creating a more sustainable future directly into our six strategic imperatives, reflecting our longstanding commitment to the highest ESG standards. The six strategic imperatives that underlie BCE’s business plan are:

1. Build the best networks

2. Drive growth with innovative services

3. Deliver the most compelling content

4. Champion customer experience

5. Operate with agility and cost efficiency

6. Engage and invest in our people and create a sustainable future

Additional information regarding our strategic imperatives can be found in section 2, Strategic imperatives of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 51 to 54 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

CANADA’S LARGEST COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

We are Canada’s largest communications company, offering a wide range of telecommunications products and services, as described below:

Our large customer base, our wireline and wireless network reach, and our ability to sell through a variety of distribution channels, as discussed in more detail in section 3.4, Marketing and distribution channels in this Annual Information Form, give us scale that supports the execution of our six strategic imperatives. With a wireless network service footprint that encompasses more than 99% of the Canadian population, a coast-to-coast national fibre transport network and a local exchange carrier footprint from Manitoba to the Atlantic provinces, BCE is well positioned to take advantage of integrated wireless and wireline solutions in the future.

On May 31, 2021, we announced that our capital expenditure acceleration program, initially announced on February 4, 2021, of $1 billion to $1.2 billion in additional network funding for 2021 and 2022, would increase to up to $1.7 billion in response to the support for infrastructure investment reflected in federal regulatory and policy decisions rendered earlier in the year. This $1.7 billion in accelerated capital expenditures to advance the rollout of our broadband fibre, 5G wireless and rural networks and help drive Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is in addition to the approximately $4 billion in capital expenditures that Bell has typically spent each year on network expansion and enhancement over the past decade.

TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED WIRELESS NETWORKS

AND SERVICES

Our Bell Wireless segment provides wireless services over technologically advanced wireless networks that are available to virtually all of the Canadian population. We offer a broad range of wireless voice and data communication products and services to residential and business customers through our Bell brand, as well as our Virgin Plus (formerly Virgin Mobile Canada) and Lucky Mobile brands which enhance our competitive market position by allowing us to compete more effectively with the Canadian industry’s other discount brands as well as regional facilities-based wireless service providers.

Wireless is a key growth segment for us, and we have established strategic priorities seeking to further enhance our offerings. We are focused on growing our market share of national operators’ postpaid mobile phone net customer activations, growing our prepaid mobile phone subscriber base, improving sales execution and customer retention, and introducing new devices and data services. We also believe our priorities for improved customer experience at all touch points, enhanced network quality and performance driven by effective spectrum deployment and carrier aggregation that support bandwidth and speeds, as well as a broad device offering, should continue to improve our ability to attract and retain wireless customers. With our national high-speed packet access plus (HSPA+) network, our fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network, our Dual-band, Tri-band and Quad band LTE Advanced (LTE-A) network, and our 5G wireless network, we are able to offer one of the broadest ranges of choice in wireless smartphones in Canada, along with extensive North American and international coverage. In addition, Bell’s enhanced Gigabit LTE-A network, initially rolled out in 2018 to core locations in Toronto and Kingston, has since expanded to more areas as smartphones that support these advanced speeds have come to market, and is available in select cities across Canada. Bell also launched in 2018 a new LTE, Category M1 (LTE-M) network, which is a subset of our LTE network supporting low-power Internet of Things (IoT) applications with enhanced coverage, longer device battery life and lower costs for IoT devices connecting to Bell’s national network.

In June 2020, Bell launched its 5G wireless network, offering enhanced mobile data speeds and the latest 5G-capable smartphones. As with previous wireless and wireline network deployments, Bell is working with multiple equipment suppliers for its 5G rollout, including Nokia Corporation (Nokia) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson). In 2021, Bell acquired significant additional mid-band, flexible-use 3500 megahertz (MHz) wireless spectrum in the auction by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). Essential to Canada’s ongoing transition to 5G communications, these high-capacity airwaves extend Bell’s leadership in delivering enhanced 5G digital experiences to Canadian consumers and businesses in urban, rural and remote communities. Refer to section 4.1, Transactions – Acquisition of 3500 MHz wireless spectrum in this Annual Information Form for more details.

Bell’s 5G network covered over 70% of Canada’s population at December 31, 2021, a significant increase from the 26% of the Canadian population covered at the end of 2020, attributable to our capital expenditure acceleration program described above. Refer to section 3.6, Networks – Wireless in this Annual Information Form for more details concerning our wireless networks.

Bell’s wireless networks received several awards in 2021. Bell’s 5G mobile network ranked as Canada’s fastest 5G network twice in a row in Ookla’s 2021 Speedtest Awards based on Speedtest results independently collected and analyzed by Ookla for Q1-Q2 and Q3-Q4 and calculated using median 5G download and upload speeds. In October 2021, Bell’s wireless networks (4G and 5G) were further ranked Canada’s fastest in PCMag’s Fastest Mobile Networks Canada 2021, its annual study of mobile network performance across the country. PCMag’s testers drove around more than 40 Canadian cities and towns, as well as rural areas in eight provinces. Testing both 5G and 4G networks, PCMag’s analysis took place in September and October 2021 and ranked providers based on a weighted average of download speeds, upload speeds and latency. In November 2021, Bell’s 5G network was ranked as Canada’s best 5G network by analyst company Global Wireless Solutions (GWS), which determined that Bell’s 5G network offers the fastest data speeds of any mobile network in the country, and is also the top national network for gaming and video applications. The GWS 5G performance rankings are based on data independently analyzed by GWS in Q2-Q3 2021.

5G INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP

Bell is working with a range of leading global and domestic 5G partners, including Ericsson and Nokia, to accelerate Canada’s 5G innovation ecosystem. This includes continued investment in research and development at Canadian institutions, such as a partnership between Western University and Bell to create a new academic centre for research into 5G applications across health (including mental health), transportation, manufacturing and other sectors, and a partnership with Université de Sherbrooke through the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT) to drive broadband technology research in a broad range of sectors including IoT, Smart Campus / Smart City, innovative manufacturing and smart energy management. The latter partnership enabled the installation in 2021 of new remote cell sites to improve cellular coverage in Québec’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue region as part of a research project to maximize the use of solar energy to minimize generator use in remote locations without access to electricity. On the international stage, Bell is involved in the setting of global 5G standards with our participation in the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) consortium and Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP).

The high capacity and near instant connections offered by mobile 5G will support a virtually unlimited range of new consumer and business applications in coming years, including virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, immersive entertainment services, connected vehicles, smart cities and enhanced rural access, and unprecedented IoT opportunities for business and government enterprises. In 2021, our 5G network enabled the following innovative applications:

In 2021, we further announced a number of strategic cloud and technology partnerships. We entered into an agreement with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to modernize the digital experience for Bell customers and support 5G innovation across Canada. Bell will use the breadth and depth of AWS technologies to create and scale new consumer and business applications faster, as well as enhance how its voice, wireless, television and Internet subscribers engage with Bell services and content such as streaming video. In addition, AWS and Bell are teaming up to bring AWS Wavelength to Canada, deploying it at the edge of Bell’s 5G network to allow developers to build ultra-low-latency applications for mobile devices and users. With this rollout, Bell will become the first Canadian communications company to offer AWS-powered multi-access edge computing (MEC) to business and government users. In addition, we announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to help power Bell’s company-wide digital transformation, enhance its network and IT infrastructure, and enable a more sustainable future. This new, multi-year partnership will combine Bell’s 5G network leadership with Google’s expertise in multicloud, data analytics and AI, to deliver next-generation experiences for Bell customers across Canada. As demands on mobile networks evolve and increase, Bell and Google Cloud will collaborate throughout the next decade on new innovations, including cloud solutions for enterprise customers and consumers powered by Google edge solutions, and enhanced customer service through automation and AI.

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS IN GROWING INTERNET

OF THINGS SECTOR

Bell provides a number of solutions in the fast-growing IoT sector, which enables the interconnection of a range of devices and applications that send and receive data. Bell further offers global connectivity solutions for our IoT platforms and applications, which offer customers worldwide network access and the ability to manage all of their international devices remotely from a single web platform. Bell’s lineup of innovative IoT applications includes connected telematics services, including security, safety, diagnostics and infotainment, for vehicles; fuel tank monitoring and water management solutions; fleet management solutions connecting commercial vehicles to the Internet to provide web-based analytics to manage the fleet; connected laptop solutions, enabling LTE connectivity directly from select LTE enabled laptops;

managed IoT security services that offer businesses, smart cities and other organizations employing IoT solutions a fully managed solution to detect and protect organizations from evolving cyber threats; and new solutions made available in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as real-time occupancy monitoring, digital signage and sanitizer kiosks.

A number of announcements related to IoT applications or transactions were announced in 2021:

NEXT-GENERATION HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AND

TV SERVICES

Our strategic imperative to build the best networks is focused on the expansion of our all-fibre network to more homes and business locations. At December 31, 2021, our fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) broadband fibre network covered approximately 6.2 million premises (homes and business locations), and our combined FTTP and fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) broadband fibre network covered approximately 10 million premises in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba. It enables the delivery of Bell’s next-generation fibre-optic high-speed Internet service marketed as Fibe Internet, offering total download access speeds of up to 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps) with FTTP through our Gigabit Fibe 1.5 service, or download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) with FTTN. It also enables the delivery of our Internet service marketed as Virgin Plus Internet, offering download speeds of up to 100 Mbps. Refer to section 3.6, Networks – Wireline – High-speed fibre deployment in this Annual Information Form for more details concerning the deployment of our fibre-optic high-speed Internet services.

As Bell quickly extends its direct fibre links in urban and suburban centres, we are also delivering broadband speeds to smaller towns and rural locations with our innovative Wireless Home Internet fixed wireless service, which is based on 5G-capable WTTP technology. With the expansion of wireless cell site coverage, deep fibre backhaul and advancements in technology, the cost to provide a fixed wireless solution has become viable in rural areas where it is uneconomical to deploy FTTP. In 2021, we completed the buildout of our Wireless Home Internet service in smaller towns and rural communities across Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba, reaching our target of 1 million locations one year ahead of schedule. Already delivering download speeds of up to 25 Mbps, Bell increased its Wireless Home Internet service’s Internet download speeds to up to 50 Mbps and uploads to 10 Mbps (50/10) in the fall of 2020, which enhanced speeds are now available to a majority of customers. In August 2021, an agreement with Casa Systems, Inc. was announced for the upgrade of Bell’s WTTP network to 5G to further boost speed and capacity for Wireless Home Internet customers.

Our FTTP and FTTN broadband fibre network also enables the delivery of Bell’s next-generation IPTV services, namely Fibe TV, the Fibe TV app and Virgin Plus TV. Bell’s IPTV services target areas where cable providers had long been dominant, providing us with the opportunity to gain significant market share through offering a comprehensive multi-product bundle of communications services to customers.

Bell’s Fibe TV service, built on a next-generation IPTV platform, offers a wide range of flexible programming options and innovative features to customers in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba, such as: the Fibe TV wireless receiver, which enables customers to enjoy the Fibe experience on up to five additional TVs anywhere in the home without the hassle of running cable through the house; the Restart and Look Back features, enabling customers to rewind and watch TV shows already in progress from the beginning and up to 30 hours after they started; and the Trending feature, which lists the five most-watched shows in both English and French among Fibe TV customers at any given time and allows customers to switch to watch live or Restart from the beginning. Fibe TV further allows access to Crave, Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube directly from customer TV receivers, providing a seamless experience. The Fibe TV app brings the rich Fibe TV viewing experience to laptops, smartphones, tablets, Bell Streamer, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and a variety of Android TV devices, with access to more than 500 live and on-demand channels at home or on the go, which allows customers to seamlessly transfer a channel being viewed from a mobile device to a TV, or resume what is being watched on TV on a mobile device, and allows customers to control their TVs with their mobile devices. In addition, Fibe customers can download their personal video recordings with the Fibe TV app to watch on iOS and Android mobile devices without Wi-Fi network access, and customers can pause and rewind live TV on any device with the Fibe TV app. In 2021, the availability of the Fibe TV app was extended to customers in the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba.

In addition, we offer the Fibe TV app service in Ontario and Québec as a standalone app-based live TV streaming service that offers live and on-demand programming. With no traditional TV set-top box required, the Fibe TV app offers up to 500 live and on-demand channels on laptops, smartphones, tablets, Bell Streamer, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and a variety of Android TV devices. The standalone Fibe TV app offers access to two TV streams at a time and customers can

add individual channels to build their own packages. Like Bell’s Fibe TV service, the standalone Fibe TV app operates as a licensed broadcast service on the privately managed Bell Fibe broadband network for in-home viewing, and on mobile or Wi-Fi networks outside the home.

In 2020, we launched Virgin TV (now Virgin Plus TV), a completely new way for Virgin Plus Internet members in Ontario and Québec to watch live and on-demand TV shows and live sports on any screen they want. Virgin Plus TV is an app-based service that does not require a traditional TV set-top box or installation, and it works on virtually all devices – iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, laptops, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Google Chromecast. The Virgin Plus TV app lets members watch two streams at once, pause and rewind live TV, resume on-demand programs where they left off, and track all the top trending shows.

In 2020, Bell launched the Bell Streamer, an all-in-one 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) streaming device powered by Android TV that offers customers in Ontario and Québec all-in-one access to the Fibe TV app, support for all major streaming services and access to thousands of apps on Google Play.

NATIONAL WIRELINE SERVICE PROVIDER WITH MARKET

LEADERSHIP POSITION

Our leadership position in broadband Internet and TV and our broad suite of product offerings serve as a foundation for the other products and services we offer. This provides us with a significant number of established customer connections to drive uptake of new products and services, either through bundled offerings or on a standalone basis, and allows us to improve customer retention.

Our business markets team maintains a leadership position, having established relationships with a majority of Canada’s largest 100 corporations. Our team continues to deliver network-centric business service solutions to large business and public sector clients, and we introduced the following new services in 2021:

OUR SIGNIFICANT MEDIA ASSETS

Bell Media’s range of video content enhances the execution of our strategic imperatives by leveraging our significant network investments, delivering compelling content across all screens and platforms, and enabling us to maximize strategic and operating synergies, including the efficiency of our content and advertising spend.

Bell Media’s assets in TV, radio, OOH and digital platforms are a key competitive advantage, as described below:

Our competitive strengths also include our broad reach across Canada, our ability to deliver top programming for conventional, specialty and pay TV and streaming services, our constant drive to provide the most engaging and interactive experience for viewers, and our ability to serve the needs of advertisers across multiple platforms.

Refer to section 2.3, Deliver the most compelling content of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 52 and 53 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report, for a description of certain agreements entered into and initiatives launched in 2021 by Bell Media.

BELL WIRELESS AND BELL WIRELINE

The guiding principle driving our marketing strategy is to offer our clients the ultimate in reliable, simple and accessible telecommunications services. In doing so, our objective is to increase customer acquisition, retention and loyalty through multiple service offerings.

Through the bundling of services, which combines wireline local voice and long distance, high-speed Internet, TV and smart home, as well as wireless services, our goal is to use a multi-product offering to achieve competitive differentiation by offering a premium, integrated set of services that provides customers with more freedom, flexibility and choice. We also make use of limited-time promotional offers featuring discounted rate plans, special rates on wireless handsets and TV receivers, as well as other incentives, to stimulate new customer acquisition and retain existing customers or to respond to competitive actions in our markets.

We focus our marketing efforts on a coordinated program of TV, print, radio, Internet, outdoor signage, direct mail and point-of-sale media promotions. We engage in mass market advertising in order to maintain our brand and support direct and indirect distribution channels. Coordinated marketing efforts throughout our service area ensure that our marketing message is presented consistently across all our markets. Promoting the Bell brand is complemented by our other brand marketing efforts, reinforcing awareness of all our services and capitalizing on the size and breadth of our customer base across all product lines.

The Bell brands play a key role in product positioning. Our branding is straightforward and directly supports our strategy of delivering a better customer experience at every level. In July 2021, Virgin Mobile Canada officially rebranded to Virgin Plus, a new name and a new identity that reflects the company’s evolving service offerings beyond mobility.

Specifically for Bell Wireless, acquiring and retaining subscribers is a key marketing objective that we seek to achieve through our networks and suite of leading-edge devices and services to drive higher usage and increased adoption of data services. Since June 2019, we offer unlimited plans featuring unlimited data access with no overage charges. In July 2019, we also introduced SmartPay device financing plans that let Bell Mobility customers buy their new smartphones with 24 interest-free installments separate from their service plan. In May 2020, we similarly introduced Sweet Pay device financing plans for Virgin Plus customers. In addition, we offer Connect Everything plans that provide a way to link all of a customer’s Bell devices with a pool of data to share across smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and other devices, such as wireless trackers, security cameras and vehicles with Bell Connected Car. In January 2022, we introduced new mobile unlimited Ultimate plans to make the most of 5G with more data at max speeds, international messaging, HD video quality and hotspot capability. We also continue to offer discounts on the price of wireless handsets in exchange for a contractual commitment from a subscriber, a practice also used by other Canadian wireless operators. Research has shown that a key driver of customer acquisition is handset selection and style. Our current wireless device portfolio includes many leading-edge devices, some launched as exclusive to Bell in the Canadian market. As the Canadian wireless market further matures and competition intensifies, customer retention is increasingly important. Accordingly, we employ customer retention initiatives aimed at increasing our customers’ level of satisfaction and loyalty.

We deliver our products and services to residential wireless and wireline customers through:

We also offer customers the convenience of One Bill for Internet, TV, home phone, wireless and smart home services.

For small business customers, our residential and small business team offers a wide range of wireline services, including Business Fibe Internet, Bell Total Connect, Business Phone and TV, along with many other communications solutions, all designed for companies that typically have fewer than 20 employees. Small business solutions are sold through dedicated call centre representatives and our bell.ca website, as well as our retail network and door-to-door sales representatives. Our wireless products and services are delivered to small business customers through the same channels as those previously described for services to residential customers.

Communications solutions for medium-sized business and large enterprise customers, including since 2021 our wireless services, are delivered by our business markets team, and our products and services are sold through dedicated sales representatives, call centres, certified resellers and competitive bids. Prior to 2021, our wireless products and services were delivered to these business customers through the same channels as those previously described for services to residential customers and were also served by our nationwide sales team responsible for the sale of wireless products and services to business customers, as well as the execution of sales contracts. By

combining products and services, including professional services, into fully managed, end-to-end information and technology solutions, we have been successful in providing both medium-sized business and large enterprise customers with complex communications products and services. We continue to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace by enhancing our customer service levels and offering solutions designed to provide superior service, performance, availability and security. We deliver expertise in key solution areas, including Internet, private networks and broadcasts, voice and unified communications, customer contact centre and security solutions.

Our wholesale business communications products and services are delivered by our wholesale team. They are sold through our dedicated sales representatives, web portals and call centres.

Restrictive measures taken by Canadian governments starting in March 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have included the temporary closure of non-essential businesses, including most locations in our retail distribution channels. While the subsequent easing of certain of these measures allowed the reopening of our retail distribution channels, resurgences in new COVID-19 cases have caused governments to strengthen or reintroduce restrictive measures, which were eventually eased again. However, traffic to our retail locations did not reach pre-pandemic levels. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we enhanced online and phone sales and support, equipped 12,000 call centre agents to work from home, retrained thousands of team members as service agents and introduced innovative remote installation practices. We also encouraged customers to take advantage of MyBell online and mobile self-serve options and launched enhanced online and appointment-based sales options. The sales team further moved to virtual meetings for business customers and handled sales remotely to minimize or eliminate, as applicable, contact with customers in accordance with government guidelines.

BELL MEDIA

Bell Media’s TV and OOH advertising customer base is comprised primarily of large advertising agencies, which place advertisements with Bell Media on behalf of their customers. Bell Media also has contracts with a variety of broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs), under which monthly subscription fees for specialty TV, pay TV and streaming services are earned. Bell Media’s radio broadcast customer base is comprised of both advertising agencies and businesses in local markets.

Bell Media’s conventional TV networks are delivered to Canadians through over-the-air broadcast transmission and through distribution by BDUs. Bell Media’s specialty TV, pay TV channels and streaming services are delivered through distribution arrangements with BDUs, and its radio programming is distributed through over-the-air transmission. In addition to these primary distribution channels, Bell Media also distributes its video and radio programming through a variety of non-traditional means, such as mobile and Internet streaming (iHeartRadio). Crave is available through participating TV providers across Canada, which provide the added opportunity to access the Crave linear channels on traditional set-top boxes, as well as via on demand channels, through the Crave app and online at Crave.ca. Crave is also available directly via the Internet at Crave.ca and via the Crave app. Crave can be streamed on the web and partner platforms such as iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Bell Streamer, Chromecast, Roku, Smart TVs, Sony PlayStation and Xbox One. Finally, Bell Media’s OOH business delivers its services through an inventory of OOH faces and street furniture equipment in key urban cities across the country.

We are transforming our networks, systems and processes with three main objectives: (a) to become more agile in our service delivery and operations, including self-serve and instant-on capabilities for our customers; (b) to ensure best quality and best customer experience; and (c) to develop a new network infrastructure that enables a competitive cost structure with rapidly growing capacity needs, and enabling new revenue opportunities. We are leveraging new technologies, such as software-defined networks, big data and artificial intelligence/machine learning, and cloud technologies, focusing primarily on automating our processes. These technologies offer unprecedented levels of flexibility,

automation and elastic capacity, enabling 5G, IoT, enhanced Internet, communication and video services, as well as the next generation of enterprise cloud applications, which all depend heavily on these capabilities. In 2021, we announced partnership agreements with AWS and Google Cloud with the objective of accelerating our transformation to a hybrid cloud environment. These various transformation initiatives have produced tangible business benefits in multiple technology domains, resulting in increased agility in development and operations while reducing costs.

The telecommunications industry is evolving rapidly as it continues to move from multiple service-specific networks to Internet protocol (IP)-based integrated communications networks that can carry voice, data and video traffic. We continue to work with key vendor partners to expand our national multi-service IP-enabled networks.

Our communications networks provide wireless and wireline voice, data and video services to customers across Canada. Our infrastructure includes:

WIRELESS

To provide wireless connectivity, we have deployed and operate a number of nationwide wireless broadband networks compatible with global standards that deliver high-quality and reliable voice and high-speed data services. With our high-speed data network, we are able to offer Canadian consumers a broad range of choice in wireless smartphones, as well as touch screen tablets, IoT devices and other devices designed for data services such as video and audio streaming, IoT communications, e-mail, messaging, Internet access and social networking.

HSPA+ NETWORK

Our wireless HSPA+ network offered high-speed mobile access to 99% of the Canadian population at December 31, 2021, covering thousands of cities and towns in both urban and rural locations. The HSPA+ network supports global roaming, as well as a wide range of smartphones, data cards, universal serial bus (USB) sticks, tablets and other leading-edge mobile devices. Bell supports international roaming to over 230 outbound destinations (208 of them also supporting 4G LTE). The vast majority of the site connectivity for the HSPA+ network was built with high-speed fibre and an all-IP architecture for enhanced reliability.

4G LTE NETWORK

With Bell’s 4G LTE wireless network coverage, customers have data access speeds similar to those of broadband connections and significantly faster than our HSPA+ network, making it easier for users to download applications, stream high-definition videos and music, play online games or videoconference and chat with virtually no delays or buffering. The HSPA+ and LTE networks work together such that all Bell LTE devices support both networks.

Our LTE wireless network reached more than 99% of the Canadian population coast-to-coast at December 31, 2021 with theoretical peak download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, with expected average download speeds of 18 to 40 Mbps. LTE currently accounts for over 95% of our total wireless data traffic.

On April 30, 2019, Bell completed the previously announced shutdown of its legacy 3G code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and customers in CDMA coverage areas were transitioned to Bell’s 4G LTE network. The shutdown of Bell’s CDMA network enabled Bell to “re-farm” additional low-band spectrum for 5G services and to repurpose existing structures, fibre connections and power systems to further enhance its next-generation LTE networks.

LTE-A NETWORK

With Dual-band LTE-A technology, Bell generally delivers theoretical peak download speeds of up to 260 Mbps (expected average download speeds of 18 to 74 Mbps). By assigning three radio channels or carriers to one user, we generally deliver, with Tri-band LTE-A technology, theoretical mobile data peak download speeds of up to 335 Mbps (expected average download speeds of 25 to 100 Mbps). With the addition of MIMO technologies and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), we can deliver in certain areas theoretical peak download speeds of up to 800 Mbps with Dual-band LTE-A technology and 1.2 Gbps with Tri-band LTE-A technology.

Bell’s LTE network is also capable of delivering Quad-band LTE-A service. Quad-band technology leverages four bands of wireless spectrum to boost LTE-A speeds to the gigabit level. In addition to employing a combination of carrier aggregation, Bell also uses 256 QAM and 4X4 MIMO technologies to increase spectrum efficiency and multiply capacity. In 2018, Bell rolled out its enhanced Gigabit LTE-A network to core locations in Toronto and Kingston, and has since expanded to more areas as smartphones that support these advanced speeds have come to market. Gigabit LTE-A is available in select cities across Canada. Quad-band LTE-A now offers theoretical mobile data peak download speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps in markets across Canada (expected average download speeds of 25 to 325 Mbps).

At December 31, 2021, Bell’s LTE-A network provided service to approximately 96% of the population in Canada. In addition, our Quad-band LTE-A service had expanded to over 60% of Canadians at December 31, 2021.

LTE-M NETWORK

In 2018, Bell launched a new LTE-M network, which is a subset of our LTE network supporting low-power IoT applications with enhanced coverage, longer device battery life and lower costs for IoT devices connecting to Bell’s national network. In 2019, Bell announced an expanded reciprocal roaming partnership with AT&T Inc. (AT&T) to provide Canadian business customers with access to AT&T’s LTE-M network across the United States. The reciprocal agreement also enables AT&T’s customers to roam on Bell’s national LTE-M network in Canada. Our LTE-M network is available in most Canadian provinces.

5G NETWORK

In June 2020, Bell launched its 5G wireless network, offering enhanced mobile data speeds and the latest 5G-capable smartphones. The high capacity and near instant connections offered by mobile 5G will support a virtually unlimited range of new consumer and business applications in coming years, including virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, immersive entertainment services, connected vehicles, smart cities and enhanced rural access, and unprecedented IoT opportunities for business and government enterprises. In 2021, Bell acquired significant additional mid-band, flexible-use 3500 MHz wireless spectrum in the auction by ISED. Essential to Canada’s ongoing transition to 5G communications, these high-capacity airwaves extend Bell’s leadership in delivering enhanced 5G digital experiences to Canadian consumers and businesses in urban, rural and remote communities. In addition, Bell expanded its 5G network to new markets across Québec, Ontario, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba. Bell’s 5G network covered over 70% of Canada’s population at December 31, 2021, a significant increase from the 26% of the Canadian population covered at the end of 2020, attributable to our capital expenditure acceleration program announced on February 4, 2021 and further enhanced on May 31, 2021.

WIRELINE

VOICE AND DATA NETWORK

Our national voice and data network consists of an optical fibre network with the latest technologies to provide redundancy and fault protection. It reaches all major Canadian metropolitan centres, as well as New York, Chicago, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Minneapolis, Ashburn (Virginia) and Seattle in the United States.

Our network in major Canadian cities provides state-of-the-art high-speed access at gigabit speeds based on IP technology. We operate a national IP multi-protocol label switching network with international gateways to the rest of the world. This network delivers next-generation, business-grade IP virtual private network (IP VPN) services that connect our customers’ offices throughout Canada and around the world. The IP VPN service is the foundation platform required for the delivery of business service solutions that add value and efficiencies to customers’ businesses. These technology solutions include voice over IP/IP telephony, IP videoconferencing, IP call centre applications and other future IP-based applications. In addition, we maintain extensive copper and voice-switching networks that provide traditional local and interexchange voice and data services to all business and residential customers in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba.

To improve reliability and increase network capacity to support the rapidly growing volumes of wireless and Internet usage carried on our networks, for several years we had been upgrading all of our fibre-based national backbone network with the deployment of 100 gigabit technologies. To satisfy continued traffic growth, in 2018 Bell started the next phase of the national backbone network upgrade with the deployment of 200 gigabit dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies. In April 2021, Bell announced commercial 400 gigabit wavelength service deployed across major spans of Bell’s fibre infrastructure to deliver significantly increased connectivity speed and capacity while optimizing network performance and energy efficiency. 400 gigabit technology increases fibre capacity using less network hardware and more automation to deliver four times the data speed and 50% more capacity per wavelength.

Key traffic routes span more than 25,000 kilometres across Canada and into the United States.

On November 16, 2021, Bell and Nokia announced the first successful test of 25G PON fibre broadband technology in North America, which validates that current GPON and XGS-PON broadband technology and future 25G PON can work seamlessly together on the same fibre hardware, which is being deployed throughout the network. 25G PON delivers significant symmetrical bandwidth capacity that will support new use cases such as premium service and 5G transport.

HIGH-SPEED FIBRE DEPLOYMENT

Our strategic imperative to build the best networks is focused on the expansion of our all-fibre network to more homes and business locations. Over the past few years, we have upgraded our access infrastructure by deploying fibre closer to our customers using FTTN with pair bonding technology, and overlaying legacy copper and FTTN with FTTP. In addition, Bell continues to deploy FTTP to all new urban and suburban housing developments in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba, in addition to Bell’s ongoing deployment of FTTP to multi-dwelling units and business locations. In our view, FTTP, in which optical fibre cables are used to connect each and every location, is the best available network architecture to support future bandwidth-demanding IP services and applications. Our residential fibre-optic Internet service, marketed as Fibe Internet and Virgin Plus Internet, is enabled by our FTTP and FTTN networks, offering total download access speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps with FTTP through our Gigabit Fibe 1.5 service, or download speeds of up to 100 Mbps with FTTN.

In addition to the significant deployments of FTTP direct fibre connections announced in prior years which continued throughout the Greater Toronto Area/905 region surrounding Toronto and on the island of Montréal, we have announced a number of new direct fibre expansions in the past few years, in line with our strategic imperative to build the best networks. In January 2020, we announced an investment of approximately $400 million to expand broadband Internet access in urban and rural areas of Hamilton, including a plan to bring direct fibre network connections to more than 200,000 homes and business locations throughout the city. In March 2020, we announced an investment of approximately $400 million to bring FTTP technology to Winnipeg, with direct fibre connections to approximately 275,000 homes and businesses throughout the city.

In addition to several direct fibre deployment projects announced in a number of smaller communities over the past few years, on March 22, 2021, Bell announced that it will roll out high-speed Internet service to several unserved areas of Québec in partnership with the governments of Canada and Québec as part of their “Operation High Speed” initiative to connect all Québecers by September 2022. The Bell project will provide 100% fibre Internet connections to approximately 31,000 homes and businesses in nearly 100 Québec communities. In 2021, Bell subsidiary Northwestel Inc. also began offering all-fibre service to customers in Dawson City, Watson Lake and Upper Liard in Yukon as part of a three-year initiative to provide high-speed Internet to 10,000 homes and businesses across Yukon and the Northwest Territories. This follows the rollout of all-fibre connections to Hay River and Inuvik in the Northwest Territories in 2020 and 2021.

Bell further announced multiple projects in the summer and fall of 2021 to bring pure fibre Internet service to additional homes and businesses in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba. These projects form part of Bell’s accelerated capital expenditures in national next-generation network infrastructure announced on February 4, 2021 and further enhanced on May 31, 2021.

As at December 31, 2021, approximately 6.2 million homes and businesses across Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba had the capability of receiving up to 1.5 Gigabit Fibe service. In addition, our combined FTTP and FTTN broadband fibre network covered approximately 10 million premises in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba.

In addition to our Fibe Internet service, we offer Internet under the Virgin Plus brand for customers in Ontario and Québec. This high-speed Internet service offers existing Virgin Plus customers download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps.

Additionally, we continue to deploy our next-generation IPTV services in areas in Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba where cable providers had long been dominant. As of December 31, 2021, our IPTV services had the capacity to service approximately 9.1 million homes in major cities and municipalities across Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba.

WTTP

Following successful WTTP trials in the 3.5 GHz band using 8T8R and MIMO radio technologies, Bell began the buildout of WTTP to rural locations in Ontario and Québec in the second quarter of 2018. Bell’s WTTP footprint enables its Wireless Home Internet broadband service and complements its FTTP network.

In April 2020, as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis, Bell announced the acceleration of its Wireless Home Internet rollout in rural Canada to approximately 137,000 additional homes by the end of April 2020. In addition, Bell expanded its Wireless Home Internet rollout to rural communities throughout the Atlantic provinces starting in the fall of 2020. In June 2021, Bell launched its Wireless Home Internet service in Manitoba with rollouts to eligible locations in 12 communities.

In 2021, Bell completed the buildout of its Wireless Home Internet service in smaller towns and rural communities across Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba, reaching its target of 1 million locations one year ahead of schedule. The accelerated rollout of its Wireless Home Internet service forms part of Bell’s accelerated capital expenditures in national next-generation network infrastructure announced on February 4, 2021 and further enhanced on May 31, 2021.

WTTP is 5G-capable fixed wireless technology delivered over Bell’s wireless network using 3500 MHz spectrum to deliver high-speed Internet service to residents in smaller and underserved communities. Already delivering download speeds of up to 25 Mbps, Bell increased its Wireless Home Internet service’s Internet download speeds to up to 50 Mbps and uploads to 10 Mbps (50/10) in the fall of 2020, which enhanced speeds are now available to a majority of customers. Innovation in WTTP complements Bell’s extensive broadband fibre buildout in urban markets, and our deployment of WTTP in rural locations underscores our focus on the full utilization of Bell’s assigned wireless spectrum resources.

DSL

We also offer DSL-based Internet service in areas where Fibe Internet and Wireless Home Internet are not available, with download speeds of up to 5 Mbps.

SATELLITE TV SERVICE

We provide satellite TV service nationwide under the Bell TV brand using satellites operated by Telesat Canada (Telesat). Pursuant to a set of commercial arrangements between Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership (Bell ExpressVu) and Telesat, Bell ExpressVu currently has two satellites under contract with Telesat. Telesat operates or directs the operation of these satellites, which are used by Bell ExpressVu to provide its satellite TV service.

The table below shows the number of BCE employees at December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Approximately 39% of BCE employees were represented by unions and were covered by collective agreements at December 31, 2021.

The following collective agreements covering 250 or more employees were ratified in 2021 or early 2022:

The following collective agreements covering 250 or more employees will expire in 2022:

The following describes the status of collective agreements covering 250 or more employees that have already expired:

GENERAL

ESG practices form an integral part of BCE’s corporate responsibility approach. Since our founding in 1880, Bell has been enabling Canadians to connect with each other and the world around them. Our approach to corporate responsibility is to manage the company in ways that support the social and economic prosperity of our communities while safeguarding the environment, with a commitment to the highest ESG standards.

BCE has implemented a range of ESG policies that are supported by various programs and initiatives. These policies address issues of importance to our many stakeholders, including: preventing conflicts of interest; protecting company assets; safeguarding privacy and confidentiality; treating clients, business partners, team members and competitors with respect and honesty; fostering a diverse and safe workplace; and protecting the environment.

These BCE policies include, among others, the following:

We report annually on our corporate responsibility performance and our ESG practices in our Corporate Responsibility Report, available at BCE.ca. The report, together with the information and documents available in the Responsibility section of BCE’s website, presents Bell’s corporate responsibility performance. We report on the ESG topics that are of greatest importance to our stakeholders and which could have a relevant impact on our business. These include diversity, equity and inclusion, employees’ wellbeing and mental health in the workplace and the community through our Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative, climate change, circular economy, and data governance and information security. In our Corporate Responsibility Report, we describe how we manage these topics and we also report on our performance against targets we have set for ourselves. It has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards-Core option and adheres to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). It describes actions we have taken to implement these guidelines and principles, and serves as our Communication on Progress (COP), as required for all companies that endorse the UNGC. In addition, we report

on select Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) indicators, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and World Economic Forum (WEF) standard indicators. Furthermore, BCE supports and reports based on the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Additional information regarding our corporate governance and risk management practices, as well as our corporate responsibility strategy, including our contribution to community, society, economy, team members and the environment, can be found in section 1.5, Corporate governance and risk management and section 1.6, Environmental, social and governance practices of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 45 to 50 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

ENVIRONMENT

Environmental protection is core to our corporate responsibility approach. Our Environmental Policy, which is reviewed annually, contains principles that support our goals, ranging from exercising due diligence to meet or exceed the environmental legislation that applies to us, to preventing pollution and promoting cost-effective initiatives that minimize use of resources and waste. We have instructed subsidiaries subject to this policy to support these principles, and have established an executive-level committee to oversee the implementation of the policy.

We monitor our operations to seek to ensure that we comply with environmental requirements and standards, and take action seeking to prevent and correct problems when needed. We have an environmental management system in place that:

Since 2009, Bell Canada maintains an environmental management system certified to the ISO 14001 standard. This certification covers Bell Canada’s oversight of the environmental management system associated with the development of policies and procedures for the delivery of landline, wireless, TV and Internet services, broadband and connectivity services, data hosting, cloud computing, radio broadcasting and digital media services, along with related administrative functions. In addition, in 2020, our energy management system was certified to be ISO 50001-compliant, making us the first North American communications company to be so designated. This certification covers the corporate level administrative management activities related to Bell Canada’s energy management program associated with the activities of real estate management services, fleet services, radio broadcasting and digital media services, landline, wireless, TV, Internet services, connectivity, broadband services, data hosting and cloud computing, in addition to related general administrative functions.

One of our key tools is our Corporate Environmental Action Plan, which outlines the environmental activities of our various business units. The plan identifies funding requirements, accountabilities and deliverables, and monitors our progress in meeting our objectives.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, we spent $13.7 million as expenses and $14.9 million as capital expenditures for environmental activities. For 2022, we have budgeted $15.3 million of expenses and $17.5 million of capital expenditures to seek to ensure that our Environmental Policy is applied properly and that our environmental risks are minimized.

Additional information regarding our environmental protection activities can be found in section 1.6, Environmental, social and governance practices of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 45 to 50 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

SUMMARY OF TCFD DISCLOSURES ON CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS

AND OPPORTUNITIES

ALIGNMENT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TCFD

BCE recognizes that maintaining transparency regarding the climate-related risks and opportunities affecting its business and disclosing its performance and initiatives on climate-related matters is critical to our stakeholders, and enables our investors to better understand the impacts of climate change on our business. As a result, we report annually on our support for the recommendations from the TCFD in our TCFD Report on Climate-Related Risks and Opportunities, available at BCE.ca. This summary illustrates our alignment with the eleven TCFD recommendations.

GOVERNANCE

The BCE Board has established clear oversight of the assessment and management of climate-related risks and opportunities, with primary accountability at the committee level. In particular:

While the BCE Board is responsible for BCE’s risk oversight program, management has established a governance framework through the Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Compliance Oversight Committee (HSSEC), to which the Energy Board and the Corporate Responsibility (CR) Board report, supporting the BCE Board mandate to oversee health and safety, security, environmental and compliance risks, and to ensure they are addressed through efficient programs implemented within the various business units.

The following internal working groups have further been created to foster innovation, develop action plans and monitor progress: Carbon Reduction Task Force, Carbon Innovation Working Group and Climate Resiliency Task Force. Furthermore, all Executive Vice-Presidents (EVPs) have 30% of their variable pay tied to personal objectives that cover a variety of ESG topics, including for some EVPs key performance metrics related to GHG emissions reduction.

STRATEGY

We have identified the following main climate-related risks and opportunities that could impact BCE. Although the TCFD recommends disclosure on this matter only where such information is material, we voluntarily report without limiting our disclosure to what is material to BCE.

CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS

We categorize climate-related risks into transition and physical risks. Transition risks are risks associated with a transition to a lower-carbon economy, which may include extensive regulatory, technology and market changes to address mitigation and adaptation requirements related to climate change. Physical risks are associated with the physical impacts from a changing climate and can either be event-driven (acute) or longer-term shifts (chronic) in climate patterns.

CLIMATE SCENARIO ANALYSIS

In 2020, we initiated our first climate scenario analysis exercise in order to identify the potential financial impacts from relevant climate-related risks and opportunities to ultimately enhance our resilience to climate-related risks and influence our strategic planning. In 2021, we updated the climate-related scenario analysis to reflect the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conclusions. The qualitative and quantitative climate scenario analysis studied a number of future emissions pathways scenarios. The analysis took into consideration low and high temperature warming scenarios for both physical and transition risks over a short (5-year), medium (10-year), and long (20-year) term time horizon. A total of six distinct scenarios were selected and used in our analysis.

Our scenario analysis included the following climate-related risks, which we identified as having a potential financial impact on our business:

The results of the scenario analysis were provided to the HSSEC Committee, as well as the CGC and the RPFC, to review the potential financial impacts from climate change and enable them to incorporate climate-related risks and opportunities into future decision-making and strategic planning.

RISK MANAGEMENT

BCE’s processes for identifying, assessing and managing climate-related risks are integrated into our multidisciplinary company-wide risk identification, assessment and management processes.

Identification and assessment of climate-related risks: The Corporate Responsibility and Environment (CR&E) team monitors industry trends and publications, consults with subject matter experts and works collaboratively with BCE’s Risk Advisory Services (RAS) team to ensure that risks are appropriately documented and profiled within the organization. Identified risks are assessed based on the potential nature, scale and scope of impact if the risk were to occur, and the likelihood of occurrence, considering a combination of the level of threat posed to the organization by the risk and the organization’s vulnerability to a related risk event.

Reporting of climate-related risks: Risk exposures for climate-related risks are communicated by the CR&E team internally as part of standard management practices with regular oversight review at HSSEC Committee meetings and quarterly at the RPFC. Reporting on climate-related risk exposures is determined based on the magnitude of potential exposure to support the appropriate focus of effort and engagement at different levels of management up to the BCE Board level. The RPFC has primary oversight responsibility for BCE’s enterprise risk governance framework, including oversight of the risk management report presented annually to the BCE Board, which covers BCE’s most prominent risks.

Assessment of climate-related opportunities: We seek to prioritize initiatives with the highest potential for carbon reduction either for the company or for our customers. Opportunities are assessed based on a cost-benefit approach by the Energy Board and findings are reported to the HSSEC Committee, the RFPC and the Corporate Governance Committee, and evaluated for potential benefit to Bell.

METRICS AND TARGETS

BCE assesses climate-related risks and opportunities in line with its strategy and risk management processes. Although the TCFD recommends disclosure on key metrics and targets only where such information is material, we voluntarily report without limiting our disclosure to what is material to BCE. Our key metrics used to monitor our performance are:

While we continue developing and implementing action plans to achieve our ambitious GHG targets for 2025 and beyond, we set an interim GHG intensity target to reduce the ratio of our operational GHG emissions ⁽³⁾ (tonnes of CO₂ e) to our network usage (petabytes) ⁽⁴⁾ by 40% of our 2019 level by the end of 2021 ⁽⁵⁾. We surpassed this target by 15%, with our GHG emissions per network usage showing a 55% improvement since 2019 ⁽⁶⁾.

We target to be carbon neutral for our operational GHG emissions beginning in 2025. We have set the following SBTs that are consistent with limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C ⁽⁷⁾:

We report our performance against these targets in our Corporate Responsibility Report, available at BCE.ca.

A discussion of our competitive environment can be found in section 3.3, Principal business risks and the various subsections entitled Competitive landscape and industry trends and Principal business

risks of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 57 to 61, 74 and 75, 79 and 80, 82, 84 and 85, and 87 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

See also section 3.3, Competitive strengths in this Annual Information Form for more information concerning our competitive position.

A discussion of certain legislation that governs our businesses, as well as government consultations and recent regulatory initiatives and proceedings affecting us, can be found in section 8, Regulatory environment of the BCE 2021 MD&A, on pages 103 to 106 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

More information about the Canadian ownership restrictions on BCE’s common shares can be found in section 5.1, BCE securities in this Annual Information Form.

We use various works protected by intellectual property rights (IP Assets), which we own or for which we have been granted rights of use. These IP Assets include, without limitation: brand names; trademarks such as names, designs and logos; copyrights of content, programs and musical works; broadcast signals, software and applications; domain names; patents or patent applications for inventions owned or produced by us and our employees; and various other copyright materials, trademarks, patents and other intellectual property owned or licensed by us. We derive value through the use of these IP Assets in various business activities, and they are important to our operations and our success. To protect these IP Assets, we rely on a combination of legal protections afforded under copyright, trademark, patent and other intellectual property laws, as well as contractual provisions under licensing arrangements.

In particular, the Bell brand plays a key role in product positioning. Our branding is straightforward and directly supports our strategy of delivering a better customer experience at every level. Our trademark rights are perpetual, provided that their registrations are renewed on a timely basis when applicable and that the trademarks are used in commerce by us or our licensees. Other types of intangible proprietary information are also important to our operations, such as customer lists.

We believe that we take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect, renew and defend our IP Assets, including prosecuting infringers, and we take great care not to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. However, we cannot provide any assurance that the laws protecting intellectual property in various jurisdictions are, or will continue to be, adequate to protect our IP Assets or that we will be successful in preventing or defending claims by others asserting rights in or to our IP Assets.

KEY COMPLETED TRANSACTIONS

On February 24, 2022, Bell announced its acquisition of EBOX, an independent Internet, telephone and television service provider based in Longueuil, Québec. Bell will maintain the EBOX brand and operations, and EBOX will continue providing telecommunications options for consumers and businesses in Québec and parts of Ontario. As part of its commitment to provide Québec residents with fast and reliable telecommunications services now and in the future, Bell invests heavily in network infrastructure and expansion throughout urban and rural Québec. Under Bell, EBOX will benefit from the resources, scale and access to the technology needed to support the growth of the business and continue delivering improvements to the great services at competitive prices that have earned EBOX loyal customers over the past 25 years. The acquisition is expected to accelerate growth in Bell’s residential and small business customers. The results of the acquired business will be included in our Bell Wireline segment.

On June 1, 2020, BCE announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell 25 data centres at 13 sites, representing substantially all of its data centre operations, to global interconnection and data centre company Equinix, Inc. (Equinix) in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.04 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2020, we completed the sale for proceeds of $933 million, net of debt and other items. The transaction reinforces Bell’s strategy to focus investment on network infrastructure, content and service innovation. As part of the transaction, Bell Business Markets became the first Equinix Platinum Partner in Canada.

In addition, we have concluded a number of smaller transactions, including acquisitions, partnerships and investments, from 2019 to 2021 to support our strategic imperatives and our purpose to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world.

ACQUISITION OF 3500 MHZ WIRELESS SPECTRUM

In 2021, Bell acquired significant additional mid-band, flexible-use 3500 MHz wireless spectrum in the auction by ISED. Essential to Canada’s ongoing transition to 5G communications, these high-capacity airwaves extend Bell’s leadership in delivering enhanced 5G digital experiences to Canadian consumers and businesses in urban, rural and remote communities. Bell acquired 271 licences for 678 million MHz per Population (MHz-Pop) of 3500 MHz spectrum – critical to enabling the full potential of 5G – for $2.07 billion. This acquisition increased Bell’s total 3500 MHz spectrum holdings to 1,690 million MHz-Pop, or 37% of this high-value spectrum available to national wireless carriers, acquired at an average cost of $1.25 per MHz-Pop.

NORMAL COURSE ISSUER BID FOR BCE FIRST

PREFERRED SHARES

On November 5, 2020, BCE announced a normal course issuer bid (2020 NCIB) to purchase for cancellation up to 10% of the public float of each series of BCE’s outstanding First Preferred Shares (Preferred Shares) that are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The 2020 NCIB extended from November 9, 2020 to November 8, 2021, and BCE repurchased and cancelled an aggregate of 41,400 Preferred Shares under the 2020 NCIB. On November 4, 2021, BCE announced the renewal of its normal course issuer bid (2021 NCIB), which will extend from November 9, 2021 to November 8, 2022, or an earlier date should BCE complete its purchases under the 2021 NCIB. BCE initiated the 2021 NCIB because it believes that, from time to time, the Preferred Shares may trade in price ranges that do not fully reflect their value. BCE believes that, in such circumstances, the repurchase of its Preferred Shares represents an appropriate use of its available funds.

The actual number of Preferred Shares to be repurchased under the 2021 NCIB and the timing of such repurchases will be at BCE’s discretion and shall be subject to the limitations set out by the TSX. The 2021 NCIB may be conducted through the facilities of the TSX as well as alternative trading systems in Canada, if eligible, or by such other means as may be permitted by securities regulatory authorities. At December 31, 2021, BCE had repurchased no Preferred Shares under the 2021 NCIB.

Refer to the sections of the BCE 2019 MD&A and BCE 2020 MD&A, contained in the BCE 2019 Annual Report and BCE 2020 Annual Report, respectively, indicated in the adjacent table for a discussion of various business strategies and corporate initiatives implemented, and other actions taken, in the financial years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020 that have influenced the general development of our business in 2019 and 2020. Refer to the sections of the BCE 2021 MD&A, contained in the BCE 2021 Annual Report, indicated in the adjacent table for a discussion of various business strategies and corporate initiatives implemented, and other actions taken, in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 that have influenced the general development of our business in 2021, and the priorities we intend to focus on in 2022.

During the past three financial years, the general development of our business has been affected, and will continue to be affected, by decisions made by the Government of Canada and its relevant departments and agencies, including the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), ISED, Canadian Heritage and the Competition Bureau. Although most of our retail services are not price-regulated, government agencies and departments such as those mentioned above continue to play a significant role in regulatory matters such as mandatory access to networks, spectrum auctions, the imposition of consumer-related codes of conduct, approval of

acquisitions, broadcast and spectrum licensing, foreign ownership requirements and control of copyright piracy. Refer to section 8, Regulatory environment of the BCE 2019 MD&A, BCE 2020 MD&A and BCE 2021 MD&A contained in the BCE 2019 Annual Report, BCE 2020 Annual Report and BCE 2021 Annual Report, respectively, for a discussion of the regulatory initiatives and proceedings that influenced, in the financial years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, and may in the future influence, the general development of our business.

BCE’s articles of amalgamation, as amended, provide for an unlimited number of common shares, an unlimited number of first preferred shares issuable in series, an unlimited number of second preferred shares also issuable in series and an unlimited number of Class B shares. As at March 3, 2022, BCE had no Class B shares or second preferred shares outstanding.

Each common share entitles its holder to one vote at any meeting of shareholders. Additional information about the terms and conditions of the BCE preferred shares, common shares and Class B shares can be found in Note 30, Share capital of the BCE 2021 consolidated financial statements, on pages 170 and 171 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

Since 1993, the Telecommunications Act and associated regulations (Telecom Regulations) have governed Canadian ownership and control of Canadian telecommunications carriers. Bell Canada and other affiliates of BCE that are Canadian carriers are subject to this Act. In 2012, amendments to the Telecommunications Act largely eliminated the foreign ownership restrictions for any carrier that, with its affiliates, has annual revenues from the provision of telecommunications services in Canada that represent less than 10% of the total annual revenues from the provision of these services in Canada, as determined by the CRTC. However, given that Bell Canada and its affiliates exceed this 10% threshold, they remain subject to the pre-existing Canadian ownership and control restrictions, which are detailed below.

Under the Telecommunications Act, in order for a corporation to operate as a Canadian common carrier, the following conditions have to be met:

In addition, where a parent company (Carrier holding company) owns at least 66 ²⁄₃% of the voting shares of the carrier company, the Carrier holding company must have at least 66 ²⁄₃% of its voting shares owned by Canadians and must not be controlled by non-Canadians. BCE is a Carrier holding company. The Telecom Regulations give certain powers to the CRTC and to Canadian carriers and Carrier holding companies to monitor and control the level of non-Canadian ownership of voting shares to ensure compliance with the Telecommunications Act. Accordingly, BCE, which controls Bell Canada and other Canadian carriers, must satisfy the following conditions:

The powers under the Telecom Regulations include the right to:

However, in our case, there is an additional control restriction under the Bell Canada Act. Prior approval by the CRTC is necessary for any sale or other disposal of Bell Canada’s voting shares unless BCE retains at least 80% of all Bell Canada voting shares.

Similarly, the Canadian ownership rules under the Broadcasting Act for broadcasting licensees, such as Bell Media and Bell Canada, generally mirror the rules for Canadian-owned and -controlled common carriers under the Telecommunications Act by restricting allowable foreign investments in voting shares at the licensee operating company level to a maximum of 20% and at the holding company level to a maximum of 33 ¹⁄₃%. An additional requirement under these Canadian broadcasting ownership rules is that the chief executive officer of a company that is a licensed broadcasting undertaking must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The CRTC is precluded under a direction issued under the Broadcasting Act from issuing, amending or renewing a broadcasting licence of an applicant that does not satisfy these Canadian ownership and control criteria.

Cultural concerns over increased foreign control of broadcasting activities also require broadcasting licensees to establish programming committees when foreign investment in their holding company, while within permissible limits, exceeds 20%. In line with CRTC practice, programming committees have been established within the relevant subsidiary licensees, thereby allowing foreign investment in voting shares of BCE to reach the maximum of 33 ¹⁄₃%.

We monitor the level of non-Canadian ownership of BCE’s common shares by obtaining data on: (i) registered shareholders from our transfer agent and registrar, TSX Trust Company, and (ii) beneficial shareholders from the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) and the Depository Trust Company (DTC) in the United States. We also provide periodic reports to the CRTC.

As of March 3, 2022, BCE had no debt securities outstanding.

Subsequent to year end, on February 24, 2022, BCE announced its intention to redeem all of its outstanding Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series AO (Series AO Preferred Shares) on March 31, 2022, at a redemption price of $25.00 per Series AO Preferred Share, for a total amount of $115 million.

The Bell Canada long-term debt securities are unsecured and have been guaranteed by BCE. Additional information about the terms and conditions of the Bell Canada long-term debt securities can be found in Note 25, Long-term debt of the BCE 2021 consolidated financial statements on pages 161 and 162 of the BCE 2021 Annual Report.

On April 19, 2021, Bell Canada redeemed, prior to maturity, all of its outstanding $1.7 billion principal amount of 3.00% Debentures, Series M-40, due October 3, 2022, at a price equal to $1,030.544 per $1,000 of principal amount of debentures plus $1.315 for accrued and unpaid interest (the M-40 Redemption).

Under its shelf prospectus dated November 16, 2020 (2020 Shelf Prospectus), Bell Canada could issue, over a 25-month period, up to $6 billion of unsecured debt securities. In addition, under its prospectus supplement dated March 12, 2021 (2021 Prospectus Supplement), Bell Canada could issue, over the same period, up to $6 billion of unsecured Medium Term Notes (MTN) Debentures.

As at March 3, 2022, Bell Canada had issued almost $6 billion principal amount of debt securities under its 2020 Shelf Prospectus.

Bell Canada is required, under certain conditions, to make an offer to repurchase all or, at the option of the holder thereof, any part of certain series of its debt securities upon the occurrence of both a “Change of Control” of BCE or Bell Canada and a “Rating Event” relating to the relevant series of debt securities, as defined in the terms and conditions of the relevant series of debt securities or in the relevant trust indenture, as applicable (the Repurchase upon Change of Control Triggering Event). In addition, MTS’ 2011 trust indenture assumed by Bell Canada imposes covenants that place limitations on the issuance of additional debt with a maturity date exceeding one year based on certain tests related to interest and asset coverage. Bell Canada is in compliance with all conditions and restrictions of its debt securities.

On November 12, 2021, Bell Canada successfully completed the proxy solicitation announced on October 7, 2021 with respect to proposed amendments to its 1976 trust indenture (1976 Indenture) under which five series of debentures are currently outstanding. The amendments were implemented shortly thereafter and were designed to: (a) align the 1976 Indenture more closely with current and generally accepted market practice in Canada for investment-grade senior unsecured debt, including the deletion of certain of the covenants of the 1976 Indenture that required Bell Canada to meet certain financial ratio tests when issuing long-term debt; (b) conform certain terms of the 1976 Indenture more closely to Bell Canada’s more recent Canadian 1997 trust indenture and 2016 U.S. trust indenture; (c) include a requirement

for Bell Canada to make an offer to repurchase all or, at the option of the holder thereof, any part of the debentures outstanding under the 1976 Indenture pursuant to a Repurchase upon Change of Control Triggering Event; (d) reduce administrative and governance processes; and (e) provide Bell Canada with more flexibility with respect to raising capital to finance its business and operations, including enabling us to maintain Bell Canada as the sole public debt issuer in BCE’s corporate structure.

BELL CANADA COMMERCIAL PAPER

Bell Canada may issue short-term notes (CP Notes) under its Canadian and U.S. commercial paper programs up to the maximum aggregate principal amount of $3.0 billion in either Canadian or U.S. currency provided that at no time shall such aggregate principal amount of CP Notes exceed $3.5 billion in Canadian currency, which equals the aggregate amount available under Bell Canada’s committed supporting revolving and expansion credit facilities as of March 3, 2022. The sale of CP Notes pursuant to Bell Canada’s separate Canadian or U.S. program decreases the Canadian or U.S. $3.0 billion maximum principal amount of CP Notes authorized to be outstanding at any time under both programs, with one Canadian dollar being treated as equal to one U.S. dollar for purposes of this limitation. At March 3, 2022, Bell Canada had CP Notes outstanding under its U.S. program in the principal amount of US$994 million (C$1,266 million when taking into account hedges with forward currency contracts against foreign currency fluctuations). As at the same date, no CP Notes were outstanding under Bell Canada’s Canadian program.

Ratings generally address the ability of a company to repay principal and pay interest or dividends on issued and outstanding securities.

Our ability to raise financing depends on our ability to access the public equity and debt capital markets as well as the bank credit market. Our ability to access such markets and the cost and amount of funding available depend partly on our assigned credit ratings at the time capital is raised. Investment grade ratings usually mean that when we borrow money, we qualify for lower interest rates than companies that have ratings below investment grade. Credit ratings are subject to change based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, our financial strength, competitive position, liquidity and other factors that are not completely within our control. A ratings downgrade could result in adverse consequences for our funding capacity or our ability to access the capital markets.

As of March 3, 2022, BCE’s preferred shares are rated by DBRS Limited (DBRS) and S&P Global Ratings Canada, a business unit of S&P Global Canada Corp. (S&P), and Bell Canada’s debt securities are rated by DBRS, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) and S&P.

This section describes the credit ratings, as of March 3, 2022, for certain of the issued and outstanding securities of BCE and Bell Canada. These ratings provide investors with an independent measure of the credit quality of an issue of securities. However, they are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold any of the securities referred to below, and they may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the assigning rating agency. Ratings are determined by the rating agencies based on criteria established from time to time by them, and they do not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor. Each credit rating should be evaluated independently of any other credit rating.

In the past two years, we have paid rating agencies to assign ratings to BCE’s preferred shares, as well as to Bell Canada’s short-term and long-term debt securities. The fees paid to DBRS and S&P include access to their websites. In addition, we paid DBRS and Moody’s for services provided relating to ratings assigned in connection with Bell Canada’s securitized trade receivable programs.

As of March 3, 2022, BCE and Bell Canada’s credit ratings have stable outlooks from DBRS, Moody’s and S&P.

The DBRS short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that a borrower will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims.

Moody’s short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of 13 months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment.

An S&P Canadian commercial paper rating is a forward-looking opinion about the capacity of an obligor to meet financial commitments associated with a specific commercial paper program or other short-term financial instrument, relative to the debt servicing and repayment capacity of other obligors active in the Canadian domestic financial markets with respect to their own financial obligations.

An S&P Global rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations or a specific financial program, and about the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments.

The DBRS long-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default; that is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims.

Moody’s long-term debt ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of eleven months or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment.

S&P’s long-term debt credit rating scale provides a forward-looking opinion of the creditworthiness of a company in meeting a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations or a specific financial program. It takes into consideration the likelihood of payment; that is, the capacity and willingness of the company to meet its financial commitment on an obligation according to the terms of the obligation, among other factors.

The DBRS preferred share rating scale reflects an opinion of the risk that an issuer will not fulfill its obligations with respect to both dividends and principal commitments. Every DBRS rating is based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuing entity.

S&P’s Canadian preferred share rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor in meeting a specific preferred share obligation issued in the Canadian market, compared to preferred shares issued by other issuers in the Canadian market.

An S&P Global rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations or a specific financial program, and about the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments.