Bell Emergis Launches Voice/Fax Over Internet Protocol (VFoIP) Enterprise Gateways Service.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1998--BCE (ME:BCE.) (TSE:BCE.) (VSE:BCE.) (NYSE:BCE)

Bell Canada today announced Voice/Fax over Internet Protocol (VFoIP) Enterprise Gateways, a service that enables medium and large business customers with three or more locations to use their IP Data network to transmit voice and fax.

Developed by Bell Emergis,T Bell Canada's business development unit, the VFoIP Enterprise Gateways service integrates voice, fax and data over a customer's private IP Data network (Intranet or WAN), rather than the traditional telephone network.

Through VFoIP, Bell Canada is able to provide customers added choice and flexibility to their long distance telephone service by optimizing long distance usage for calls among their business locations across Canada, the U.S. and internationally.

From the customer's perspective, VFoIP Enterprise Gateways service is easy to use, operating in the background, routing calls made from a company's existing phone system. The Gateways service can be installed directly into a customer's existing data network. Alternatively, Bell can design and implement a new IP data network based on a customer's specific needs. Customers can purchass service outright or have Bell manage the service for them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

VFoIP Enterprise Gateways service is powered by equipment and professional services from Nortel's recently announced IPConnect portfolio of Voice over IP/Internet Telephony products. Nortel's IPConnect portfolio includes a family of IP Gateways and a common IP gatekeeper. IPConnect Gateways have open, non-proprietary interfaces and scale to suit customer requirements, delivering configurations from 24 to 100,000 IP ports.

"With the introduction of VFoIP Enterprise Gateways, customers now have the best and most competitive choice of services available in the market," said Jim Tobin, Bell Canada Executive Vice President and President - Bell Emergis. "We provide flexible solutions for business, whether they are traditional telephone network services, Internet telecommunication services or the best of both worlds."

Bell and Bell Emergis are bringing to market the next generation of Internet telecommunications services - integrating the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet.

Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company, markets a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more than seven million business and residence customers in Ontario and Quebec. Bell Canada is a member of Stentor -- an alliance of Canada's major telecommunications companies. Bell's Web site is located at: http://www.bell.ca

Bell Emergis is the network-centric application development division of Bell Canada. Formed in July 1997, it represents a commitment by Bell Canada unique within the worldwide network services sector to harness next generation internetworking environments to deliver rich, software-intensive capabilities to businesses, consumers, and other carriers.

The Bell Emergis Web site is located at: http://www.emergis.com

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