World class facility is Atlantic Canada's first with Tier III certification

SAINT JOHN, NB, June 8, 2015 /CNW/ - Bell Aliant announced today that its new data centre in Saint John, N.B. is now online and fully operational. Certified Tier III by Uptime Institute, it is the first data centre in Atlantic Canada, and one of only 11 in Canada, to achieve this designation. The gold standard for data centres, Tier III certification requires that all mission critical infrastructures be completely redundant to ensure a continuous power supply and protection for customer data.

"Applying innovation and vision to develop infrastructure that meets our customers' needs now and in the future is what we do best," said Dan McKeen, Vice Chair and Senior Vice President, Residential Services, Bell Aliant. "We are particularly proud of this facility. Not only does it make good business sense for us, it supports the region's robust ICT sector by providing a local solution for data hosting, a cluster of ICT expertise and a world-class network to support connectivity while creating the right conditions to attract new businesses to the province."

Announced in February 2014 in partnership with the Government of New Brunswick, Bell Aliant's $25 million, 24,000-square foot (2,230 square metre) Saint John data centre boasts one megawatt (1MW) of storage capacity with built in flexibility to expand up to four times to accommodate demand.

"Today's announcement is about building the foundation for more jobs and continued growth in our knowledge industries in this province," said Premier Brian Gallant. "Industry leaders made the case for a big data centre in New Brunswick clear, and our government is very proud to participate as a partner in this visionary project. With growth in demand on the horizon, this new state-of-the-art facility will be able to host the requirements of New Brunswick's lengthy roster of ICT companies and deliver economic benefits to our province."

Bell Aliant is the region's leading data centre provider with investments of more than $80 million in the past six years to expand and enhance data hosting services in the region. As part of Bell's national network of data centres, and backed by 30 years' experience, the Saint John facility delivers value-added enterprise and professional services, including capacity management, disaster recovery planning, security, monitoring, managing and networking services to customers across public and private sectors and regional, national and international markets.

"Our city has become known for its rich culture of innovation and deep pool of talented IT professionals," said Saint John Mayor Mel Norton. "The addition of Bell Aliant's new world class data centre ups our game significantly, reinforcing Saint John as a major ICT sector hub in the region."

With Bell Canada and Q9, Bell Aliant is part of a national network offering, customers access to 26 high capacity data centres, more than any other operator in Canada. As a result, customers enjoy unparalleled reach, reliability, capacity and scalability.

The Bell Aliant Saint John data centre is a state-of-the-art facility built to withstand the most severe weather and with complete redundancy safeguards on all vital infrastructure components:

• Security: Biometric retina scan authentication, internal and external video surveillance, controlled access, onsite staff 24/7, security station.
• Network: The data centre will run almost 70 kilometers of data fibre and cable– roughly the length of more than 600 football fields, and leverage Bell Aliant's nextgen fibre network, Atlantic Canada's most advanced fibre optic network.
• Capacity and durability: The data centre is built to support the most demanding capacity needs. Reinforced floors easily handle cabinets that hold 2,500 pounds (1,134 kg) of hardware and store approximately 1 billion emails.
• Reliability: During commissioning, independent testing of every system in the building was conducted by installing temporary "load banks" that simulate a full 1MW of energy including heat, electricity and other factors.
• Scalability: The centre was built with a view to the robust and growing demand for data hosting facilities and can quadruple its capacity for future needs.

About Bell Aliant

A part of BCE (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company, Halifax-based Bell Aliant provides residential, business and government customers in Atlantic Canada with advanced communications services including FibreOP TV and Internet, Bell Satellite TV, wireless, home phone, data, video and value-added business services. For more information, please visit BellAliant.net

Broadcast video to support this story is available to download here.

Additional Quotes:

• Steve Carson, CEO, Enterprise Saint John

"This critical infrastructure supports a burgeoning ICT sector within Saint John and the Province of New Brunswick, positioning us for future growth. This new asset will enable Saint John to become a major player in the field of big data and analytics, one of the world's fastest growing sectors for job growth, and we look forward to working with Bell Aliant to pursue these opportunities. The long history of innovation in network infrastructure is being continued and enhanced by investments such as this, supported by Saint John's highly skilled workforce."

• David Baxter, CEO, Fiddlehead Technology

"The development of a Tier III certified data centre in Saint John is a vote of confidence in Atlantic Canada's thriving startup community and the ICT sector overall. Innovative companies like Bell Aliant recognize that local companies, both big and small, need infrastructure to accommodate growing demand for data hosting services, and that means startups like Fiddlehead can access world class facilities and expertise to grow their business right here at home."

SOURCE Bell Aliant Inc.

Image with caption: "The Bell Aliant data centre is protected by the most advanced security protocols like biometric retina scan technology, video surveillance, 24/7 security and multiple check point entry. (CNW Group/Bell Aliant Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150608_C5625_PHOTO_EN_17522.jpg

Image with caption: "The 24,000-square foot (2,230 square metre) 1MW data centre can quadruple its capacity for future needs. (CNW Group/Bell Aliant Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150608_C5625_PHOTO_EN_17520.jpg

Image with caption: "Specially trained Bell Aliant ICT professionals monitor network connectivity. Almost 70 kilometers of data cable and fibre will run throughout the data centre leveraging Bell Aliant’s nextgen fibre network. (CNW Group/Bell Aliant Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150608_C5625_PHOTO_EN_17521.jpg