- Product Access
Product Access
We are committed to making Bell services accessible to all members of society and provide a number of ways for special needs and remote area customers to benefit from communications technology.
REMOTE AREAS
Service Improvement Plan
In September 2002, Bell launched a Service Improvement Plan (SIP) to provide basic local telephone service to customers in remote areas of Ontario and Québec. Through SIP, potential customers who live and work in unserved localities are offered phone service at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.
Since 2003, Bell has invested $96.8 million in total cost and expects to continue to make additional investments. At year-end 2005, all but 3,800 households in Bell's territory qualified for the SIP. When the program is completed at the end of 2006, we estimate that Bell will have offered basic phone service, or fixed wireless services to almost 20,000 customers in approximately 2,500 rural and remote areas and communities across Ontario and Québec.
| Service Improvement Plan (million $) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
| Capital and expenditure costs | 32.7 | 38.9 | 25.2 |
Proposal to extend broadband services to rural and remote areas
The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently issued a decision directing telecommunications companies such as Bell to allocate up to ninety-five percent of the accumulated balance in its deferral account for initiatives to expand broadband services to rural and remote communities. Bell is currently working to file its proposal to meet the conditions set out by the CRTC by June 30, 2006.
Bridging the digital divide
Launched in November 2005, Project Chapleau is a collaboration between Bell Canada, Nortel and the northern Ontario town of Chapleau to evaluate how technology stimulates economic, healthcare, education and social activity in rural and dispersed communities. Over the course of 2006 and part of 2007, Bell and Nortel will contribute technology and other resources to bring high-speed wireless broadband access service to Chapleau, enabling it to connect and compete with other communities across the globe. Broadband access will also bring the benefits of telemedicine, e-learning and a community portal to the community. Research results from Project Chapleau are expected to be of considerable value to private industry and government as Canada continues to work towards overcoming the digital divide.
More info on Our Broadband Accessibility
Satellite Service
In 2004, a subsidiary of Telesat launched AnikT F2, the world's largest commercial communications satellite and the first to fully commercialize the Ka frequency band. This is a breakthrough in satellite communications technology as it enables the delivery of cost-effective, two-way broadband services.
In 2005, Telesat Canada placed the AnikT F1R satellite into service, providing broadcasting and telecommunications services and direct-to-home television programming to customers throughout North America for the next fifteen years.
SPECIAL NEEDS CUSTOMERS
We currently offer telecommunications services for customers with hearing, speech, visual and other physical disabilities. Bell Canada undertakes a variety of activities to ensure we are informed about the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in telecommunications, their needs and the solutions that can be used to accommodate them. These include bi-annual advisory committee meetings with associations representing the deaf and hearing impaired, conducting monthly surveys to measure customer satisfaction and monitoring special needs telecommunications services in the industry. In 2005, we had 4,814 registered customers who used a Teletypewriter/Text Telephone (TTY).
On February 16, 2006, the CRTC issued decision D2006-9 directing telecos such as Bell to allocate a minimum of five percent of the accumulated balance in its deferral account to improve accessibility to telecommunications services for Canadians with disabilities. Bell will be focusing the approximately $24 million on programs to improve accessibility to phone, wireless, and digital voice services for residential and small business customers with various disabilities as well as programs to improve access to terminal equipment and Internet and television services. The programs will be developed by Bell in consultation with selected advocacy organizations over the coming months. The CRTC's full decision may be viewed at: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-9.htm
Bell Canada's various services to meet the requirements of our special needs customers include:
- Special Needs Centre
- Bell Relay Service
- Alternate Formats
- Operator Assistance
- Bell Canada's Payphones
- Free Directory Assistance and Automatic Call Completion
- Barrier-free access
- Language barriers
- Equipment
SERVICE ACCESS
Bell Relay Service (BRS)
| Bell Relay Services Call Volumes* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
| Voice | 278,140 | 303,558 | 310,913 |
| Data | 1,106,373 | 1,150,682 | 1,158,662 |
| Total BRS | 1,384,513 | 1,454,240 | 1,469,575 |
*Data applies to Bell wireline business
Our December 2005 customer satisfaction survey results for Bell Relay Service show that, on a corporate basis, 96.1% of the company's voice customers and 90.8% of data customers rate the overall quality of BRS in the range of 7-10, where 1 represents "not satisfied" and 10 represents "very satisfied".
Call Centres
The CRTC requires that 80% of calls to Bell Canada's Consumer Contact Centres be answered within 20 seconds. In 2005, 81.8% of calls to 310-BELL in Ontario and 80.0% of those to 310-BELL in Québec were answered within 20 seconds.
