FibreOP Boosts Bell Aliant Results

HALIFAX - Bell Aliant added 11,600 net new high-speed Internet customers for the third quarter of 2013, up 55 percent from the same quarter in 2012. Other results include:

• Net wireline customer activations show strong year-over-year growth


• IPTV adds 14,500 net new customers, up 19 percent from Q3 2012
  Strong FibreOPTM growth continues


• FibreOP Internet adds 19,300 net new customers, up 17 percent from Q3 2012


• FibreOP TV adds 16,300 net new customers, up 14 percent from Q3 2012


• Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint expands to 770,000 premises

"I am very pleased with our third quarter results," said Karen Sheriff, president and chief executive officer, Bell Aliant. "We achieved very strong net wireline customer activations, which is especially rewarding considering the competitive environment in which we are operating.

"We added 11,600 net new high-speed Internet customers, up 55 percent from the same quarter in 2012. At the end of the third quarter of 2013, we have already added more high-speed Internet customers than we did for the full year 2012. We also added 14,500 net new IPTV customers, increasing our IPTV customer base by 52 percent from the same time a year ago. Our third quarter net NAS results declined only slightly from the third quarter of 2012, significantly improving upon the year-over-year trend experienced in the second quarter.

"The progress we are continuing to make with our fiber-to-the-home strategy is a significant contributor to our improved customer activation results. We continue to gain confidence that our FTTH strategy is the right one to return us to growth."

"While the competitive environment is fierce, I remain confident that FibreOP offers the best value to customers in our FTTH markets. With our FTTH penetration rates now at 22 percent, and further FTTH footprint expansion to 800,000 premises expected by the end of this year, we believe we have great opportunity for future growth. By continuing to build our customer base, our goal is to expand our opportunities for returning to revenue growth, and our performance this quarter solidly supported that objective."