MONTREAL—BCE, Canada’s largest telecom company, is expanding into the U.S. with a deal by its Bell Canada subsidiary to acquire Ziply Fiber, a fiber internet provider in the Pacific Northwest, for about $5.05 billion.

Ziply Fiber has steadily expanded its footprint since 2020, with over 1.3 million fiber locations (i.e. its fiber network passes about 1.3 million places that could become customers) across Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It plans to reach more than 3 million locations in the next four years.

Once the transaction has closed, Ziply Fiber will operate as a separate business unit and will continue to be headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.

BCE paid C$5.0 billion in cash ($3.65 billion) and assumed about C$2.0 billion ($1.4 billion) in outstanding net debt, for a total price of C$7.0 billion ($5.05 billion).

"This acquisition marks a bold milestone in Bell's history as we lean into our fiber expertise and expand our reach beyond our Canadian borders,” BCE and Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic said. “Fiber is at the heart of what we do, and we're proud to connect people and businesses and enable them to do more through our fiber networks. By bringing together Bell and Ziply Fiber's exceptional talent, we'll accelerate our growth while continuing to deliver significant value for our customers and shareholders.”

Upon closing of this acquisition, Bell will be poised to expand its fiber footprint to more than 12 million locations by the end of 2028, reinforcing its position as the third-largest fiber Internet provider in North America, the company said.

“Bell’s leadership and vision aligns perfectly with our commitment to improve the connected experiences of our communities through fast, reliable fiber Internet and a refreshingly great experience,” Ziply Fiber CEO Harold Zeitz said. “This acquisition enhances our growth strategy with the scale and experience of one of North America's leading fiber operators. I'm also grateful for the support of our original partners at both Searchlight Capital and WaveDivision Capital.”

This transaction values Ziply Fiber on an enterprise value basis, net of the present value of acquired tax attributes, at approximately 14.3 times 2025 estimated adjusted EBITDA, including run-rate synergies, the companies said.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to certain customary closing conditions and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.

BCE said the purchase price is anticipated to be funded from the net proceeds of the divestiture of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). BCE sold its stake in the owner of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and NBA’s Toronto Raptors, among other assets, to rival Rogers Communications.

MONTRÉAL—In a development that could have important implications for tech collaboration and even TV news, Bell Canada, Verizon, Vodafone and Matsuko announced that they successfully conducted the first live transatlantic holographic collaborative meeting. The meeting connected multiple holographic people in Canada, the US and the UK using 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology.

The participants said that interacting with holograms of humans rather than avatars can provide a more personal experience for many applications such as remote healthcare, collaborative working, and education but the technology could also be applied to television news, tech collaborations or even live events streamed to users of virtual technologies. 

The call was enabled by the speed of 5G combined with the quick response times of MEC, which moves the necessary computing closer to the edge of the network. This ensures a more reliable and consistent hologram by removing delays resulting from multiple hops between different locations and across the internet.

Holograms of employees located in three different countries were connected from Toronto, Canada, using Bell's 5G network; New York in the US using Verizon's 5G network; and from London, UK, using Vodafone's 5G network. They were created using Matsuko's real-time software and just a single camera and were then streamed thanks to spatial computing, an immersive technology which combines virtual and augmented reality. Matsuko's patented technology uses its presence app on a smartphone coupled with a XR (Extended Reality) headset to stream holograms instantly, creating the feeling that people are in the same room as you.

"Through its active participation in the 5GFF, Bell continues to support the developer community to access 5G MEC technologies and to ensure their solutions take full advantage of Bell's 5G network in Canada, and to interoperate globally," said Bell's Costa Pantazopoulos, vice president of product. "This holographic video meeting demo illustrates how Bell - with partners Verizon and Vodafone - is making it easier for developers to leverage 5G capabilities to innovate and achieve their application goals."

"This demonstration shows how Verizon via the 5GFF continues to drive Open API industry momentum with real-life use cases while also accelerating ease of use for developers," added John Nitti, senior vice president of strategy, new business and partner development for Verizon.

The smooth and natural movement of these holograms will become more prevalent with the growing availability of 5G and edge computing technology,” predicted Giorgio Migliarina, Vodafone group director of business products and services. 

Bell Canada, Verizon and Vodafone came together under the auspices of industry body, the 5G Future Forum (5GFF) for this first-of-its-kind demonstration. They are showing the transatlantic conference meeting and the technology behind it at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Las Vegas (Booth #1533, located in GSMAs Open Gateway Zone).

Matsuko was able to connect to the fast 5G networks of Bell Canada, Verizon, and Vodafone by using 5GFF's Application Programmable Interface (API) – called 5GFF's Edge Discovery API – which allows developers and ISVs like Matsuko to discover the nearest edge to their end users, so their applications perform optimally with a consistent service across mobile networks. Network APIs are a set of interfaces based on industry-wide open standards that allow developers to plug into and use the low-latency benefits, speed, and scale of 5G and MEC.

5GFF also said that it is inviting independent software vendors (ISVs) globally, who either currently use 5G MEC or have it on their development roadmap, to apply to join the organization's acceleration program and work closely with some of the world's leading telecommunications companies to shape the API development process. The program is designed to expand and interconnect the global MEC ecosystem by partnering and engaging with developers.

In addition, the 5GFF works closely with GSMA's Open Gateway initiative, which launched earlier this year and now has over 30 signatories. Open Gateway is a framework of common network APIs designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers and works closely with Linux Foundation's CAMARA which develops API specifications.

For more information, visit https://www.5gff.org/5g-mec-acceleration-program/.  

FRISCO, Texas—MediaKind’s Mediaroom Play platform now delivers more services, including VOD streaming television and movies from over 1,000 content owners and 7,000-plus apps from the Google Play Store, to TV viewers in Canada, the company reports. 

Using Mediaroom Play, service providers can deliver live TV, on-demand shows and movies, Cloud PVR via MediaKind’s Video Storage and Processing Platform (VSPP), apps, voice remote and search in the same platform. Offering access to the Google Play Store enables Mediaroom Play users to access Android TV steaming content and other apps. MediaKind and Bell Canada collaborated on the latest evolution of the Fibe TV service—debuted in July—that leverages Mediaroom Play, the company said.

“As one of our longest-standing Mediaroom customers, we’re delighted to see Bell integrate Mediaroom Play with its pioneering Fibe TV service and position itself as Canada’s leading content aggregator,” said Steve Payne, MediaKind president and chief revenue officer.

“With Mediaroom Play, Fibe TV’s customers can experience the next evolution of TV and entertainment, whereby live TV and on-demand movies and shows are accessible through apps, voice control, and powerful search functions," he continued. 

Mediaroom, MediaKind’s IPTV platform, increases the value of services providers offer customers. Developed on the Android TV operating system, the pre-integrated product provides a tested, robust and market-ready solution enabling quick launches of new Android TV-powered set top boxes, it said. 

Integration of Google Play Store access also opens up new revenue-sharing opportunities for operators, as do earnings from Google Ads. Revenue from content and app curation is also possible, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

STOCKHOLM—Bell Canada has selected Ericsson Media Solutions’ MediaFirst TV end-to-end media management and delivery platform to provide more than 1.5 million Fibe TV and Alt TV subscribers with personalized TV across multiple screens, the company announced today. Ericsson and Bell Canada’s relationship began in 2010 with the launch of the Fibe TV service and Mediaroom deployment.

By integrating MediaFirst with Mediaroom, Bell Canada will be able to deliver a next-gen TV platform that is agile and flexible enough to integrate third-party apps, Ericsson said in a press release announcing the deal.

“We look forward to taking the game-changing Fibe TV and Alt TV even further, enabling next generation services across a wider range of devices by leveraging the innovative IPTV technologies of Ericsson MediaFirst,” said Rizwan Jamal, Bell Canada’s president of Residential and Small Business in the release.