BCE Inc.,(TSX:BCE) parent company of telecommunications provider Bell, is expanding its 5G wireless network.
The telecom company announced that it will spend $1 billion to $1.2 billion over the next two years to double the size of its next generation 5G wireless network and add up to 900,000 fibre and rural wireless home internet connections.
That investment will be in addition to BCE’s usual $4 billion in annual capital spending and will be partly funded by proceeds from its sale of data centres to Equinix Inc. in October 2020.
BCE said its capital spending will help support the economic recovery from the pandemic, which has seen millions of Canadians shift to remote work and driven up demand for reliable internet connections. The company estimates that the infrastructure buildout will contribute $2 billion to the Canadian economy and could create as many as 5,300 jobs.
BCE’s focus on improving rural internet networks could also relieve concerns in Ottawa. Canada’s federal government has long promised to increase internet coverage in rural, remote and northern regions of the country with mixed results.
