Bell Canada - 45 more municipalities will have access to 9-1-1 emergency service


	Bell Canada - 45 more municipalities will have access to 9-1-1 emergency service MONTREAL, May 17 /CNW/ - As of May, 17 2000, residents of 45 additional Québec municipalities, will have access to 9-1-1 emergency services from a provincial network that Bell is implementing in close cooperation with municipal governments. The municipalities in question are spread throughout most administrative regions. Since the 9-1-1 emergency service was first deployed on June 1, 1994, Bell has connected more than 800 municipalities in its Québec territory to its network. This brings the proportion of Bell customers with access to 9-1-1 service to 97 %, for a total of more than 3.3 million telephone lines. 9-1-1 service offers the general public important advantages: - The three-digit service number is easy to remember, quick to dial and reserved for communication with such emergency services as the police, fire department and ambulance. - Digital switches are connected to an information system with a mapping program which determines the boundaries of the territory in which 9-1-1 is available and indicates the response centre to which calls must be routed. - Special and redundant telephone circuits are reserved exclusively for routing 9-1-1 calls. - The caller's address and telephone number are displayed so that aid can be dispatched to the site of the emergency, even if the caller is in distress and unable to speak. - An ultramodern centre provides constant monitoring of the 9-1-1 network 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The entirely computerized large display panel at the centre gives Bell specialists an overview of the 9-1-1 network. Bell bills residential and business customers with access to 9-1-1 a monthly charge of 32 cents per telephone line. This charge is used to cover the costs associated with the special telecommunications network set up to provide 9-1-1 service. Bell can also collect a municipal charge of 47 cents a month per telephone line on behalf of the municipalities, at their request. Bell then remits this charge to the municipal authorities responsible for ensuring 9-1-1 service, and they, in turn, use it to finance their response centres. The municipal charge collection service was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on January 13, 1995. The backbone of the dedicated provincial 9-1-1 network was completed on June 1, 1994. To date, Bell has invested a total of $69 million in setting up this network throughout its territory in Québec. Back in August 1993, the CRTC authorized Bell to implement a special telecommunications network so the Company could offer 9-1-1 service throughout its territory. Since then, the number of municipalities connected to the 9-1-1 provincial network has constantly grown. Bell Canada provides a full range of communications services to customers, including wired and wireless local and long distance telephone services, Internet access, high-speed data services and directories. Bell Canada, its telecom partners and subsidiaries provide services through 13.6 million access lines, including 11 million in Ontario and Québec. Bell Canada also serves more than 2.3 million wireless customers through Bell Mobility. Bell Canada is 80 per cent owned by BCE Inc. of Montréal and 20 per cent owned by SBC Communications Inc. (Texas). Bell Canada's Internet Web site is located at http://www.bell.ca. News releases, speeches and background information are in the Newsroom. Our e-mail address is forum@bell.ca DEPLOYMENT OF 9-1-1 EMERGENCY SERVICE MAY 17, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUNICIPALITIES RCM ADMINISTRATIVE REGION ------------------------------------------------------------------------- La Macaza Antoine-Labelle Laurentides L'Ascension Antoine-Labelle Laurentides Arundel (T) Les Laurentides Laurentides La Minerve Les Laurentides Laurentides Saint-Faustin Lac Carré Les Laurentides Laurentides Lac des Seize Iles Les Pays-d'en-Haut Laurentides Entrelacs Matawie Laurentides Kingsey Falls Arthabaska Centre du Québec Saint-Rosaire Arthabaska Centre du Québec Sainte-Anne du Sault Arthabaska Centre du Québec Saint-Félix de Kingsey (T) Drummond Centre du Québec Saint-Pie de Guire (P) Drummond Centre du Québec Sainte Brigitte des Saults (P) Drummond Centre du Québec Grand St Esprit Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec La Visitation de Yamaska Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Pierreville (VL) Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Saint-Elphège (P) Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Saint-Thomas de Pierreville (P) Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Saint-Zéphirin de Courval (P) Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Sainte-Monique Nicolet-Yamaska Centre du Québec Rivière Eternité Le Fjord-du Saguenay Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Albanel Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Chute des Passes (UT) Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Girardville Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Normandin Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Notre Dame de Lorette Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Péribonka Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Saint-Augustin Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Saint-Edmond Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Saint-Eugène d'Argentenay Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Saint-Stanislas Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Saint-Thomas Didyme Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Sainte Jeanne D'Arc (VL) Maria-Chapdeleine Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean Bury Le Haut-St-François Estrie Havelock Le Haut St-Laurent Montérégie Saint-Isidore Roussillon Montérégie Saint-Mathieu Roussillon Montérégie Saint-Philippe Roussillon Montérégie Saint-Michel d'Yamaska Le Bas-Richelieu Montérégie Yamaska (VL) Le Bas-Richelieu Montérégie Yamaska Est (VL) Le Bas-Richelieu Montérégie Sainte-Marie Salomé Montcalm Lanaudière Mulgrave et Derry (T) Papineau Outaouais Kipawa Témiscamingue Témiscamingue Témiscaming Témiscamingue Témiscamingue ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGEND ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T Township UT Unorganized Territory P Parish VL Village ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -30- For further information: Caroline Trépanier, Media Relations, Bell Canada, 1-877-391-2007, (514) 391-2007, caroline.trepanier@bell.ca

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