Bell Canada Will Deploy Microsoft Connected Services Framework to Streamline Creation and Delivery of Services to Small and Midsize Businesses [February 14, 2005]

REDMOND, Wash., and TORONTO — Feb. 14, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. and Bell Canada today announced that Bell Canada has selected the Microsoft® Connected Services Framework to deliver a range of services to its small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers. The Connected Services Framework, launched this week at 3GSM World Congress 2005 in Cannes, France, provides Bell with a unified platform for aggregating, creating and managing converged service offerings for SMBs.

“We are building on our previously announced strategic initiative through which Bell Canada is combining telecommunications services and Microsoft-software-based solutions to provide cost-effective productivity services to Canadian businesses,” said Karen Sheriff, president of the Small and Medium Business Group at Bell Canada. “By deploying the Connected Services Framework, Bell Canada can more easily and efficiently bring together not only Microsoft services, but also Bell-developed services and a broad array of third-party services and content to create new combinations of services targeting its SMB customers. The Connected Services Framework provides end users with unprecedented levels of flexibility, because they can more securely access their services across any type of network, using virtually any type of device.”

The Microsoft Connected Services Framework also will enable Bell Canada to simplify network management and operations. The Connected Services Framework utilizes industry standards to seamlessly integrate with a variety of operations support systems (OSS), business support systems (BSS) and network service products, and offers Bell Canada a solution for ordering, provisioning, billing and self-administration services.

“Increasingly, the industry is turning to a ‘software as a service’ model, which enables cost-effective delivery of the latest applications and services to organizations that might not otherwise have access to these resources,” said Maria Martinez, corporate vice president for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. “The Connected Services Framework plays a critical role in this model, enabling service providers such as Bell Canada to reduce the cost and time of service deployment, more efficiently use existing infrastructure, and generate additional revenue through the delivery of new services. One of the first North American telecommunications providers to deploy the Connected Services Framework, Bell Canada is taking a leading-edge approach to service delivery. We are very excited to collaborate with Bell on these key initiatives.”

About Bell Canada
Bell Canada, Canada’s national leader in communications, provides connectivity to residential and business customers through wired and wireless voice and data communications, local and long-distance phone services, high-speed and wireless Internet access, IP-broadband services, e-business solutions and satellite television services. Bell Canada is wholly owned by BCE Inc. For more information please visit http://www.bell.ca.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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