BCE Outlines 2001 Financial Guidance.

Business Editors

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2001

BCE Inc. (Bell Canada Enterprises)(NYSE:BCE)(TSE:BCE.) is presenting today its financial guidance for 2001 at a conference with financial analysts and media in Toronto.

BCE expects 2001 consolidated revenue will be in the range of $23 to $25 billion with a 2001-2003 compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of between 11% and 13%. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are expected to be in the range of $7.5 to $8.0 billion in 2001 with a 2001-2003 CAGR of between 13% and 15%. Consolidated cash baseline earnings are expected to end the year between $1.57 and $1.62 per share with a 2001-2003 CAGR of between 16% and 18%.

"Our focus in 2001 will clearly be the execution of the strategy we put in place last year," said Jean C. Monty, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BCE. "Our priorities for 2001 are to continue to drive growth at Bell Canada through continued investment in key areas; to build greater connections between Bell and Bell Globemedia to provide innovative, integrated services to our customers; to complete the turnaround at Teleglobe by increasing data revenue and to continue to expand BCE Emergis in the US."

For the first quarter of 2001, BCE expects consolidated revenue will be in the range of $5.4 to $5.8 billion; consolidated EBITDA in the range of $1.7 to $1.9 billion and consolidated cash baseline earnings in the range of $0.36 to $0.39 per share.

"In 2001 we will continue to build on the momentum we created last year," said Mr. Monty. "We have grown the number of our customer connections to more than 20 million in Canada with dramatic advances in satellite T.V. and high-speed Internet subscribers, we have enriched those connections by adding leading brands such as CTV and The Globe and Mail, and we have moved BCE Emergis further into the US marketplace to pursue its niche expertise. Through excellence in execution, we will deliver on our promise of powering our connectivity with content and commerce."

BCE also outlined 2001 targets for Bell's key growth drivers: total revenue is expected to grow between 8% and 10%; data revenue is expected to grow between 25% and 30%; Internet High Speed subscribers are expected to double; wireless subscribers are expected to grow between 20% and 22% and Bell ExpressVu subscribers are expected to grow between 35% and 40%.

All the information presented at the 2001 BCE Financial Guidance Session is available on BCE's Web site at www.bce.ca. You can listen to the audio webcast of the conference with the financial analysts, view and download the full presentation. A copy of the presentation can also be obtained from BCE by contacting the Investor Relations Department by phone at 1 800 339-6353 or by e-mail at [e-mail].

BCE is Canada's largest communications company. It has more than 20 million customer connections through the wireline, wireless, data/Internet and satellite services it provides, largely under the Bell brand. BCE leverages those connections with extensive content creation capabilities through Bell Globemedia which features some of the strongest brands in the industry -- CTV, Canada's leading private broadcaster, The Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, and Sympatico-Lycos and Globe Interactive, which jointly have the largest Canadian presence on the web. As well, BCE has extensive e-commerce capabilities provided under the BCE Emergis brand and serves international customers through Teleglobe, a global connectivity, content distribution and Internet hosting company. BCE shares are listed in Canada, the United States and Europe.

BCE's 2001 Financial Guidance Session with analysts is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. eastern time today. You may participate by phone, dial [phone] or via an audio webcast from our Internet site at www.bce.ca.

A replay of the Session can be heard between 7:00 p.m. eastern time Monday, February 5 and 7:00 p.m. eastern time Monday, February 12. To access the replay facility, dial [phone] - access code: 679857. The audio webcast will also be archived on BCE's Web site until February 12.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release, which describe BCE's expectations, including, but not limited to, financial guidance and growth targets, are forward-looking and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. These statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or divestitures that may be completed after the date of this press release. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty as to whether BCE's strategies (including its convergence, bundling, billing and branding strategies) and acquisitions will yield the expected benefits, revenue projections, synergies and growth prospects; general industry, market and economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations, which impact the demand for, and costs of, products and services, and in particular current negative trends in global economic conditions; the intensity of competitive activity and its resulting impact on the BCE subsidiaries' ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers, and the consequent impact on pricing strategies, revenues, new product offerings and network capacity; the inability to further identify, develop, introduce and achieve commercial success for new products, services and technologies; the ability to reduce operating costs; the level of expenditures necessary to expand operations, increase the number of subscribers, provide new services, update networks and maintain or improve quality of service, and the availability and cost of capital required to fund such expenditures; Teleglobe's GlobeSystem initiative requiring more capital than anticipated to complete, or not being completed in time, or GlobeSystem not providing the anticipated benefits, or insufficient financing being available to complete GlobeSystem; the ability to alternatively implement Teleglobe's strategy through acquisitions, partnerships and alliances; the ability, particularly in the case of Teleglobe and Bell Canada, to increase revenues from business segments other than voice services (such as data and Internet services) in order to offset declining revenues in the voice business segment; uncertainties related to the transformation of Teleglobe from a voice-driven global carrier to a global data and Internet provider; the uncertainties of the Internet including its impact on network capacity and the Internet economy growing at a slower pace than is currently anticipated; the extent of demand for traditional and emerging services; the level of acceptance and adoption of e-commerce and BCE Emergis' ability to expand its operations in the United States; the ability of BCE's content strategy to expand through Bell Globemedia the Bell brand and deepen customer relationship; the impact of rapid technological and market change and the resulting potential technological obsolescence of current networks and equipment and the ability of BCE and its subsidiaries to deploy new technologies such as the Combo Box and the single billing invoice; uncertainty as to whether the new PCS spectrum provisionally awarded to Bell Mobility following Industry Canada's recent spectrum auction will result in the successful deployment of new technology, the expected western geographical expansion of Bell Mobility's operations and an improvement in Bell Mobility's results of operations; the ability of BCE and its subsidiaries to make acquisitions and/or integrate the operations of acquired businesses in an effective manner; the impact of consolidations in the telecommunications industry; the ability to enhance the value of and dispose of non-core investments which adversely impact financial results; stock market volatility; the availability of, and ability to retain, key personnel; potential health risks related to radio frequency emissions; adverse changes in laws or regulations, and the impact of adverse regulatory initiatives or proceedings; and the final outcome of pending or future litigation or regulatory initiatives or proceedings.

For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the reports on Forms 6-K and 40-F filed by BCE with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and BCE's filings with the Canadian securities commissions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent BCE's expectations as of February 5, 2001 and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, BCE disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.