VoIP top priority for Bell Canada in 2004

By Marguerite Reardon Staff Writer, CNET News.com Bell Canada is moving more aggressively toward Internet Protocol technology. Top on its "to do" list: voice over IP service for residential customers. At its annual shareholder meeting in Toronto on Wednesday, Michael Sabia, chief executive officer of the Canadian phone company, outlined his company's strategy for moving all of its communications services onto an IP-based communications network. "It's clear the future for the industry is IP," Sabia said in a statement. "The company is solidly engaged, and we have the plans and the proven ability to execute to support our determination to compete and win in an IP world." Bell Canada's overall objective is to migrate 100 percent of its traffic, including all of its voice traffic, onto a national IP backbone network within three years. The carrier said that IP-based communications will provide its customers with several benefits including simpler provisioning, greater self-service and multimedia Internet. The company said the move also will significantly reduce operating costs. Full Story