Our products and services provide a platform for Canadians to take advantage of the emerging capabilities and appli-cations enabled by our world-class networks.
Driving growth with innovative services is a strategic imperative as we respond to customers’ demands to help them stay connected, informed, productive and entertained. The digital nature of our products and services contributes to the transition of our customers to a low-carbon economy and helps create a more sustainable and prosperous future.
How we monitor impact and progress:
Topic |
2022 performance |
YoY change |
2022 third-party verification |
Trend |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enabling transition to a low-carbon economy | Increase carbon savings enabled by the use of Bell’s technologyfootnote 1 | 5.2 times Bell’s operational GHG in 2020 | +2.7 (was 2.5 in 2017) |
Data not available | Achieved |
| Success indicators for our products and services | 2022 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Research and development (capex) | $587M | +$28M from 2021 |
| Research and development (opex) | $57M | –$2M from 2021 |
| Original French content produced (hours) | 1,300+ | +8% from 2021 |
| Original English content produced (hours) | 39,500+ | +9% from 2021 |
| Entertainment series commissioned, led by Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour or creatives from other equity seeking communities | 41% | - |
Innovative digital technologies
As a leading technology services and media company, Bell is driving innovation based on our extensive fibre and wireless networks. We work with multiple partners to develop and introduce new products and services that provide greater capabilities and better experiences for both residential and business customers. Helping shape the future of communications and media includes investing more than $587 million in capital expenditures and $57 million in operating expenses in hundreds of research and development projects in 2022, creating value for Canadians today and in the future.
Our activities and outcomes Developing innovative services for a digitally connected world
In 2022, we introduced multi-gigabit Internet speeds for many fibre customers in Ontario and Québec, starting with 3 gigabits-per-second in several locations in Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic. We introduced Bell Gigabit Fibe 8.0 in Toronto, offering symmetrical download and upload speeds of 8 Gbps, the fastest Internet speed available today among major ISPs in North America. We plan to expand availability of multi-gig speeds to additional locations, including future rollouts planned for Manitoba.
Further transforming the home Internet experience, our Giga Hub supports multi-gigabit speeds and is compatible with Wi-Fi 6E technology, the next evolution of Wi-Fi advancement. Giga Hub enables customers to better connect with family and friends, work, learn, stream and game online on any or all of their devices simultaneously.
Bell also unveiled the next evolution in TV and entertainment with the launch of the new Bell Fibe TV in 2022. Our new Fibe TV incorporates the latest Google Android TV technology. It lets viewers easily find the content they want and explore new and exciting entertainment options. Bell Fibe TV uses a voice remote powered by Google Assistant and intuitive universal search capabilities that will find content across Fibe TV. It supports subscribed streaming services, including Crave, Netflix and Prime Video. With added Cloud PVR capabilities, viewers can store content for up to a year to watch at their own convenience.
Our suite of Bell Smart Home services makes it easier for residential customers to manage their properties, multiple smart devices and appliances. We continue to offer convenient and energy-saving Smart Home tools – cameras, doorbells and thermostats – that customers can control through the Bell Smart Home app.
For media advertisers, our advanced Bell Marketing Platform brings together a suite of advanced, data-enabled products – including Bell Analytics, Bell DSP and SAM TV. These products simplify the media buying process and help advertisers identify, connect and measure the right audiences across every media format.
Strengthening 5G and its applications
Bell started rolling out 5G+ in 2022, the fastest mobile technology in Canada. With increased capacity and reduced latency, 5G+ improves the performance of demanding apps and services, and supports future innovations in IoT and mobile-edge computing. Bell’s 5G+ network is now available to 38% of the Canadian population.
We are also enhancing the 5G experience for consumers. After introducing the TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS for Montréal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Toronto Raptors home games in 2021, we expanded availability to Winnipeg Jets home games in early 2022.
Driving innovation forward with research and development and venture capital investments
Since 2001, Bell has invested more in R&D than any other communications company in Canada footnote 2. In 2022, Bell’s R&D spending was $587 million in capital expenditures and $57 million in operating expenses, supporting the evolution toward new and advanced communications technologies and services that will ultimately benefit all Canadians.
Bell R&D investments
(capex)
(opex)
in 2020
(capex)
(opex)
in 2021
(capex)
(opex)
in 2022
Bell R&D investments
(capex)
(opex)
in 2020
(capex)
(opex)
in 2021
(capex)
(opex)
in 2022
$4.3 billion
Bell has spent more than $4.3 billion in capital expenditures on research and development since 2013
We are investing in entrepreneurship and advanced technologies with our new venture capital initiative, Bell Ventures, to encourage development of early-stage and growth companies that harness the strengths of our fibre and 5G networks. These companies are expected to deliver new innovations in network security, the IoT, robotics, telematics, clean technology, augmented reality/virtual reality and the metaverse.
Bell has worked for many years with researchers, academics and others to accelerate a strong Canadian digital ecosystem. In 2022, this included ongoing work with Western University in London, Ontario, to help shape smarter cities and communities when using new 5G capabilities. We also engaged in initiatives with the Université de Sherbrooke that provide new solar energy solutions to power communications infrastructure in remote locations. The Bell MTS Innovations in Agriculture program also supports the development of new IoT technologies for Canada’s important agri-food sector.
Bell is a founding partner of The PIER (Port Innovation, Engagement and Research), an innovation hub in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2022, we launched our 5G-ready wireless private network (WPN) at The PIER to enable the development of IoT solutions that help support business-critical functions with real-time data monitoring. The WPN also supports the development of commercial opportunities to benefit Canadian and global companies and their customers.
Also in 2022, Bell initiated a new partnership with Numana and the Québec Government to launch an open quantum telecommunications network that serves as a test bed for industry and researchers. We launched a new five-year strategic partnership with the Toronto-based Vector Institute to accelerate the adoption of AI applications across Bell and encourage the development of next-generation technologies in Canada. These initiatives encourage the rapid adoption of AI and machine learning technology and complement our other initiatives, such as our partnership with Montréal-based Scale AI to reduce installation time for new fibre connections by using AI.
We also launched a three-year collaboration with Montréal-based innovation centre, Centech. As Centech’s exclusive telecommunications provider, Bell is leveraging our advanced network capabilities, 5G and AI management expertise to support entrepreneurs and propel technology innovations forward, including advanced solutions for the health, logistics and energy sectors.
Accelerating digital transformation for businesses
Bell has long championed the connectivity and technology prowess of small and large businesses, and we pride ourselves on bringing best-in-class communications solutions and expertise to Canadian businesses of every size.
In 2022, we began deployment of public multi-access edge computing (MEC) with AWS Wavelength at the edge of Bell’s 5G network, building on our strategic agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This significant development combines cloud computing with AWS Wavelength and Bell Public MEC to enable software developers and businesses to build innovative, low-latency solutions. These solutions leverage real-time visual data processing, augmented/virtual reality, AI and machine learning, and advanced robotics capabilities.
We also continue to support the development and use of innovative applications in immersive gaming, precision medicine, industrial automation and autonomous vehicles. We work with AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Modern Workplace and VMware Cloud to offer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to enterprise businesses and government organizations.
Bell’s ongoing strategic partnership with Google Cloud combines our 5G network leadership with Google’s expertise in multi-cloud services, data analytics and AI to deliver next-generation experiences for Bell customers across Canada.
We partner with many companies large and small to deliver Canada’s largest portfolio of IoT solutions, including Esri Canada for the Bell Integrated Smart City Ecosystem. This ecosystem makes real-time analytics available to help communities of all sizes realize the benefits of advanced connectivity and more efficient operations.
To learn more about how Bell’s industry-leading investments are delivering advanced and innovative communications services to Canadians, see the Building Canada’s best networks and Customers sections in this Strategic Overview.
Contributing to a better world through our products and services
Our products and services provide value to Canadians by helping them both mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts. Our solutions enable customers to reduce environmental impacts, improve health and safety and better safeguard protected data from growing risks.
Our activities and outcomesSolutions contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation
Our solutions include the following:
Solutions that contribute to carbon abatement
At Bell, we believe it is important to understand the net carbon abatement impact of our solutions on the planet’s carbon load. To achieve this, we have worked with Groupe AGECO, a third-party consultant with expertise in GHG quantification, to develop a methodology which quantifies the carbon reduction capacity of our products and services used by our customers. This analysis concluded that Bell’s technologies have enabled carbon abatement, both for our external customers and within our own operations, of nearly 1,379 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2020. This is equal to 5.2 times our operational carbon footprint.footnote 7
Study confirms that GHG emissions avoided by our customers through the use of Bell products and services represent 5.2 times Bell’s operational GHG emitted in providing such services.
Bell technologies enabling carbon abatement
CO2 equivalent
600 kilotonnes
This is the same as…
395,000 Flights
Between Halifax and Vancouver
CO2 equivalent
465 kilotonnes
This is the same as…
306,000 Car rides
Between Halifax and Vancouver
CO2 equivalent
185 kilotonnes
This is the same as…
467,000 Car rides Between Halifax and Vancouver
This analysis is the thirdfootnote 8 of its kind performed at Bell, and the measurement of carbon reduction capacity is likely understated. Our vision for the future is to continually increase Bell technologies’ carbon abatement ratiofootnote 9 by developing and providing carbon-reducing products and services.
Potential future benefits are also becoming clearer. By 2030 for example, widespread deployment of business service solutions could save up to 10 times the carbon emissions generated by the sector itself, according to the SMARTer2030 report of the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI).
To help support further advances, Bell has joined with other global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies in Digital with Purpose This is a GeSI project that aims to deliver on the Paris Agreement and the UNSDGs by 2030. Digital with Purpose provides a framework that enables ICT companies to identify digitally-enabled solutions that already create value as well as set new goals to increase value in the future.
The rapid expansion of Bell’s 5G network is accelerating positive impacts of wireless technology on the environment. According to a study published by the CWTA and Accenture footnote 10, 5G reduces GHG emissions by allowing network operators to be more efficient and by enabling improved carbon abatement from other industries. It is estimated that by 2025, 18% to 23% of the projected total wireless technology enabled abatement will be attributable to 5G. The CWTA also estimates that over the next decade, 5G technology will support 1,000× the traffic at half the current network’s energy consumption.
Contributing solutions to reduce other environmental impacts
Bell IoT solutions can help businesses, government and others manage their infrastructure and assets more efficiently. For example, we offer a water monitoring solution to help prevent water damage or loss caused by flooding or failed infrastructure through precise and continuous monitoring, helping to reduce high financial and environmental costs for municipalities caused by water damage.
Our fleet management solution helps organizations identify the shortest routes between stops and significantly reduce total travel distance and time.
Additionally, our Smart Supply Chain solutions offer other advantages for long-haul transportation, such as remote temperature monitoring and controls for food transport to maintain food safety and reduce food waste.
To learn more, watch our Smart Supply Chain Bell for Better video and visit Bell.ca/IoT.
Businesses can manage their communications needs and resources more efficiently through the use of online and paperless tools such as zero-touch ordering and online billing and invoicing, thus also reducing waste.
Benefits of enhanced connectivity for health and safety
We help our customers comply with government health and safety regulations, including Canada’s work-alone legislation, by monitoring the location and status of field workers at all times. Lone Worker Safety solutions from Bell can track the location of field workers 24/7 with GPS and real-time monitoring. They can then notify response teams automatically for immediate assistance in case of an emergency.
Bell also offers a cloud-based workforce management solution that uses situational awareness, allowing first responders to keep their eyes, ears and hands on the job at all times. It simultaneously allows commanders or dispatchers to better track and manage their entire operation, even when responders leave their vehicles.
IoT-enabled cameras on vehicles help to protect the health and safety of drivers and pedestrians. Bell’s integrated vehicle camera system consists of interior and exterior cameras, sensors and a remote driver coaching platform. Organizations are better able to mitigate aggressive driving and manage fatigue through the use of the tool.
To learn more about our health and safety solutions, visit Bell.ca/IoT.
Security solutions help maintain business continuity
Bell is a longstanding leader in providing security services to Canadian businesses and organizations. We continue to work with thousands of organizations across the country to alleviate the challenge of investigating, detecting, mitigating and resolving cyberattacks.
International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada evaluates security providers on their current capabilities and future strategies for delivery of security services. Bell’s security leadership has been consistently recognized by IDC since 2015, including in its most recent 2022 report.footnote 11
Our Bell Network DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) solution mitigates hundreds of thousands of attacks each year. It can detect these attacks within seconds, containing the impact before the threat sequence can be completed. In addition, our Managed IoT Security service provides an advanced layer of comprehensive security, keeping our customers’ IT infrastructure and systems safe and secure as they adopt new IoT technologies.
Delivering compelling, original and meaningful content
Bell Media is Canada’s leading content creation company, providing Canadians with access to the most compelling entertainment, news and information they want, when they want it. With premier assets across multiple platforms – including digital, television and radio – Bell Media produces and distributes high-impact content that entertains, informs and reflects the people and communities we serve.
Our activities and outcomesProducing and delivering meaningful and original Canadian media content
Bell Media owns CTV, Canada’s top national network footnote 12 for 21 consecutive years, and 35 local CTV and Noovo television stations in markets across the country. Bell Media also owns English-language specialty channels CTV Comedy, CTV Drama, CTV Life, CTV Sci-Fi, Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery Science, Discovery Velocity, E!, Investigation Discovery, MTV1, MTV2 and Much. Additional Bell Media English-language specialty channels – BNN Bloomberg, CP24, TSN, TSN 2 and ESPN Classics Canada – deliver news and sports. Bell Media also operates dedicated digital channels CTV Throwback and CTV Movies, delivering popular past and current content that Canadians can access anytime, anywhere, using CTV.ca and related apps.
Bell Media’s Québec-based Noovo network offers a rich catalogue of French-language content, including programming from specialty channels Canal Vie, Canal D, Z, VRAK, and Investigation. This programming is available on both Noovo.ca and on the Noovo app. In 2022, Noovo’s primetime audience increased by 6% year over year. In sports, Bell Media also operates French-language specialty channels RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info.
In 2022, Bell Media produced more than 1,300 hours of original French content, representing an increase of 8% compared to 2021. The increases are due to our focus on Québec original content to fuel Noovo growth. Additionally, we produced over 39,500 hours of English-language original content, a 9% increase over 2021.
More Canadians are now turning to Bell Media digital properties CTVNews.ca, CP24.com and BNN Bloomberg.ca and related apps for local, national and international news. French-language audiences are increasingly turning to the noovo.info digital news service launched in early 2022. The service produced three times more viewings in 2022 compared to the former Noovo ad-based,on-demand service. Bell Media used the noovo.info and CTVNews.ca platforms to provide coverage for the 2022 Québec provincial election. Bell Media further engaged with audiences on Noovo’s YouTube and Facebook pages, on TikTok, and via special radio broadcasts on Énergie and Rouge.
In sports, TSN, Canada’s sports leader footnote 13, and RDS, the top French-language sports network footnote 14, deliver leading coverage of many major championships and events. TSN provides world-class content across five national television feeds, including TSN.ca, TSN Direct, TSN Radio and the TSN app as well as the new TSN+ direct-to-consumer streaming service launched in January 2023. RDS delivers a broad portfolio of French-language sports programming across multiple platforms, including RDS, RDS2, RDS Info, RDS Direct, RDS.ca and the RDS app.
Bell Media’s Crave is the only Canadian privately-owned bilingual subscription-based streaming service. It is available to Canadians with high-speed Internet access and through participating service providers. Crave produces and delivers premium Canadian programs, movies and documentaries. It also has popular content from major international studios and thousands of hours of French-language content. Crave continued to grow in 2022, reaching more than 3.1 million subscribers by year-end.
Bell Media local content production
hours of original French content in 2022
+8% vs 2021
hours of original English content in 2022
+9% vs 2021
Delivering music, sports and news via 109 radio stations located in 58 markets across Canada, Bell Media also provides access to local radio programming and additional content live and on-demand via the iHeartRadio website and app. iHeartRadio Canada enables Canadians to find programming important to them anywhere digital connectivity allows.
With the launch of the new Bell Fibe TV service in 2022, audiences can access live TV and on-demand offerings and apps using the latest Google Android technology. Bell Fibe TV also integrates apps from a wide range of streaming services.
Compelling content for Canadian and international markets
In 2022, Bell Media reached a co-development agreement with international studio Lionsgate to produce comedy and drama series in Canada in both English and French for the global market. This builds on our strong relationships with international studios – including HBO, Starz and Showtime – and on the growing popularity of Canadian shows around the world. Bell Media also announced international sales for original Québec drama series, including Noovo-produced La Confrérie and Moi non plus! as well as the Crave original series Une affaire criminelle.
Bell Media continued in 2022 to deliver popular shows like Transplant, The Amazing Race Canada, Mary Makes it Easy, and Children Ruin Everything on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app. Canada’s number one footnote 15 lifestyle program The Social continued to address topical issues on CTV’s platforms and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and, more recently, TikTok. Original content from Crave that debuted in 2022 included Letterkenny spin-off Shorsey, the English and French docuseries Cocaine, Prison & Likes: Isabelle’s True Story and Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World. Crave supported the original documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On. Popular French-language programming produced by Noovo in 2022 included the dramas Chouchou, L’empereur and Virage: Double faute. Also featured were variety shows Le maître du jeu, L’amour est dans le pré and Big Brother Célébrités. Shining a light on trendsetting artists, MuchMusic produced interactive specials exclusively for TikTok and made additional programming available on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Bell Media also reached a new long-term agreement with the NFL in 2022, ensuring CTV, CTV2, TSN and RDS retain television rights in Canada. The agreement additionally includes features, analysis and breaking news to be shared on related websites and apps. Bell Media partnerships enabled TSN and RDS to provide exclusive coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Canada, featuring the Canadian team for the first time in 36 years. This was in addition to ongoing coverage of major sports, including the CFL, MLS, MLB, NBA, regional NHL teams, Seasons of Champions Curling, auto racing, professional golf, Grand Slam Tennis and UFC. TSN and RDS provided exclusive, cross-platform coverage of 2022’s successful return of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal. Sports radio coverage is also available over the air and on TSN.ca, RDS.ca and using the TSN, RDS and iHeartRadio Canada apps.
Promoting inclusive and diverse content
In 2022, Bell Media implemented a pilot, requiring diversity and inclusion plans for all original productions to help reduce barriers and promote diversity in front of and behind the camera. The company also began development of Festivale, a six-part anthology series that includes a collaboration between Crave’s English- and French-language production teams. This series serves as a development incubator administered by the Black Screen Office. In addition to ongoing work with HireBIPOC, the Bell Media Prime Time TV Program is working with the Canadian Film Centre to support development by creators from BIPOC communities. Bell Media also worked with the Institute of Canadian Agencies on the 2022 Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in Advertising Awards to highlight important works by the LGBTQ2S+ communities. In 2022, 41% of all entertainment programs commissioned were led by Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour or creatives from other equity seeking communities, with key talent behind and in front of the camera.
To learn more, see the Supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in this Strategic Overview.
Maintaining journalistic integrity and accuracy of information
Bell Media tells Canadian stories that reflect our world as it truly exists. We are committed to impartial and independent news reporting and journalistic integrity. Across our news and information platforms – local, national and international reporting – we provide accurate, fair and relevant stories in compelling ways. We have an obligation to ensure our audiences have access to the information they need, when and where they need it. CTV News is a member of the Trust Project, a global network of news organizations that affirms a strong commitment to transparency, accuracy, inclusion and fairness. Similarly, Noovo adheres to editorial standards and policies that support accurate, fair and complete journalism.
To learn more, please see our Media ethics information sheet. SASB SV-ME-260a.2 SASBSV-ME-270a.3 SASBSV-ME-520a.1 SASBSV-ME-000.B
