Mr. Costa Pantazopoulos reports

BELL EXPANDS ITS COLLABORATION WITH MICROSOFT TO LAUNCH SERVICES FOR MICROSOFT TEAMS PHONE MOBILE FOR CANADIAN BUSINESSES

BCE Inc.'s Bell is launching services for Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile, building on its collaboration with Microsoft to offer Canadian businesses a flexible, secure, high-performance communication solution. This innovative mobile-first solution integrates mobile numbers with Teams, enabling seamless calling and collaboration. Teams Phone Mobile provides a consistent user experience, simplifying business communication and boosting productivity and efficiency.

• Innovative solution that integrates the mobile number directly into Microsoft Teams with advanced features is making mobile and hybrid work easier by streamlining transitions between home, office and remote locations;
• Leveraging Canada's fastest and most reliable 5G network and one of Canada's largest SIP Trunking networks to empower the future of work in Canada;
• Bell's expanded portfolio of Microsoft Modern Workplace offerings is designed to help businesses meet the evolving needs of their employees and customers.

With Bell calling for Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile, users can expect:

• Reliable mobile calling: make and receive business calls using a mobile device's native dialer or the Teams app, all with one mobile number;
• Unified communication: make and receive business calls from any device, including mobile, laptop, desktop or tablet, and access all the features of Teams, like status updates, call transfer, voicemail, unified call logs and missed calls, and recording, from any device, no matter the work location;
• Enhanced management: IT administrators can now manage Teams Phone users, both mobile and fixed line, within the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal, simplifying moves, adds and changes;
• AI (artificial intelligence) integration: Advanced features like Microsoft 365 Copilot, available as add-ons, add powerful artificial intelligence capabilities, including summarization of live calls.

Bell expands its calling solutions for Teams with the addition of its Teams Phone Mobile services, joining operator connect, direct-routing-as-a-service and direct routing. These options cater to diverse workstyles, from remote and hybrid to mobile-only employees, allowing businesses to choose the best integration method for their specific communication needs.

Beyond calling, Bell offers a range of Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions, including Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot and security, providing full cloud solution provider (CSP) resale, professional services and complementary management solutions for Microsoft 365 subscriptions, including Teams Phone and Microsoft Defender. Through affiliates like Stratejm, Bell enhances communication, collaboration and security with its security-as-a-service (SECaaS) offering. This service ensures the secure deployment, installation and integration of Teams, while effectively managing Microsoft security licences to enable businesses to operate with confidence and maximize their investments in cybersecurity.

Bell also collaborates with customers to optimize their use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, enhancing both their calling experience and broader operations. This commitment to comprehensive solutions extends to cloud migration, where Bell assists businesses with Microsoft Cloud solutions, providing secure access to existing solutions while paving the way for future innovations.

"Our support of Teams Phone Mobile is a significant milestone in our ongoing collaboration with Microsoft. We deliver a comprehensive suite of Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions, including Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot, to empower Canadian businesses with the tools they need to thrive in today's dynamic environment. Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile from Bell is a perfect example of how we're leveraging our expertise and Microsoft's innovative technology to create seamless and secure communication and collaboration experiences for businesses."

-- Costa Pantazopoulos, vice-president of product, Bell

"In today's work force, connectivity is key to ensuring collaboration is flexible, secure and seamless. That's why we're proud to elevate our relationship with Bell as they launch support for Teams Phone Mobile, meeting the evolving needs of employees and customers. This innovation is just one of the many Microsoft solutions that are helping to redefine opportunities for businesses to connect, empowering the future of work in Canada."

-- Tom Kubik, multi-industry lead, Microsoft Canada

"Mobile communications have become table-stakes at many organizations. On average globally, 48 per cent of employees across organizations use mobile phones as their primary business communications devices today. Most businesses have also invested in robust telephony systems, as well as additional UC capabilities such as video meetings and group chat. Innovative solutions such as Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile combine the rich functionality of Microsoft's modern unified-communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) with the flexibility of leading operators' mobile services to power greater worker productivity while also addressing organizations' stringent security, compliance and privacy requirements."

-- Elka Popova, vice-president and senior fellow, connected work research, Frost and Sullivan

About BCE Inc.'s Bell

Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing advanced broadband Internet, wireless, TV, media and business communication services.

Through Bell for Better, the company is investing to create a better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic prosperity of its communities. This includes the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research, and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country.