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CONNECTIVITY CONTENT COMMERCE > BELL CANADA ENTERPRISES > ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM > For the year ended December 31, 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2000 March 9, 2001 Documents incorporated by reference . 2 BCE Emergis . 23 Trade-marks . 2 General . 23 Item 1 • Corporate Structure of BCE . 3 Recent Developments . 24 Item 2 • General Development of BCE . 3 Competition . 24 Overview . 3 BCE Ventures . 24 Recent Developments . 3 BCI . 24 Item 3 • Businesses of BCE . 5 Telesat . 25 Bell Canada . 5 CGI . 26 General . 5 Excel . 26 Subsidiaries and Associated Companies . 7 Others . 26 Regulation . 8 Employees . 26 Competition . 12 Litigation . 26 Capital Expenditures . 15 Certain Contracts . 27 Environment . 15 Forward-Looking Statements . 27 Bell Globemedia . 16 Risk Factors . 28 General . 16 Item 4 • Selected Financial Information (Consolidated) . 36 CTV . 16 Item 5 • Management’s Discussion and Analysis . 36 Bell Globemedia Publishing . 16 Item 6 • Market for the Securities of BCE Inc. 36 Sympatico-Lycos . 16 Item 7 • Directors and Officers of BCE Inc. 36 Regulation . 17 Item 8 • Additional Information . 37 Competition . 17 Schedule . 38 Teleglobe . 18 General . 18 Global Network – GlobeSystem . 18 Regulation . 20 Competition . 22 Capital Expenditures . 23 2000 BCE Annual Information Form 1 Documents incorporated by reference Part of Annual Information Form Documents incorporated by reference 1. Portions of the BCE Inc. 2000 Annual Report Items 2, 5 and 6 2. Portions of the BCE Inc. Management Proxy Circular Item 7 Trade-marks Company Trade-mark BCE Inc. BCE Bell ActiMedia Inc. Sympatico Sympatico High Speed Edition Yellow Pages Yellowpages.ca Bell Canada Rings & Head Design (Bell Canada corporate logo) Bell Bell World BellZinc.ca Espace Bell Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership Vu! Bell Mobility Cellular Inc. Mobile Browser Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. First Rate Stentor Resource Centre Inc. Advantage, Advantage Optimum, Datapac, Dataroute, Megalink, Megaroute, Megastream, SmartTouch Teleglobe Inc. GlobeSystem Telesat Canada Anik, Nimiq TMI Communications and Company, Limited Partnership MSAT AT&T Corp. AT&T Hughes Electronics Corporation DirecPC Inktomi Corporation Inktomi International Telecommunications Satellite Organization INTELSAT MCI Communications Corporation Hyperstream National Hockey League NHL PanAmSat Corporation PanAmSat The Toronto Stock Exchange Inc. TSE Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Any other trade-marks, corporate, trade or domain names used in this Annual Information Form are properties of their respective owners. 2 2000 BCE Annual Information Form ITEM 1 • CORPORATE STRUCTURE Globemedia; Teleglobe and BCE Emergis. All other non-core TELEGLOBE OF BCE businesses are combined in a new group called BCE Ventures. The Global Connectivity segment provides, on a world-wide basis, a broad portfolio of voice, data and Internet services BCE Inc. was incorporated in 1970, continued under the BELL CANADA including connectivity services to Internet service providers Canada Business Corporations Act in 1979 and exists under a The Canadian Connectivity segment provides an integrated (“ISPs”), Internet content providers, application service Restated Certificate of Incorporation dated December 1, 2000. platform of substantially domestic telecommunications ser- providers, carriers and global enterprises. This segment repre- BCE Inc. has its principal and registered offices at 1000, rue de vices including voice, data, wireline, wireless and directory sents the Teleglobe Communications group (“Teleglobe”), La Gauchetière Ouest, Bureau 3700, Montréal, Québec H3B communications as well as satellite entertainment to Cana- 23 per cent held by Bell Canada and 77 per cent held by BCE 4Y7. Unless the context indicates otherwise, “BCE” refers to BCE dian customers. This segment represents the consolidation of Inc. Teleglobe’s results are consolidated as of November 2000. Inc. and its subsidiaries. Unless otherwise indicated, the informa- Bell Canada Holdings Inc. (“BCH”) with Bell Canada and its tion in this Annual Information Form is disclosed as at December consolidated subsidiaries (including Bell Mobility Inc. (“Bell BCE EMERGIS 31, 2000. Mobility”), BCE Nexxia Inc. (carrying on business in Canada The Commerce segment represents BCE Emergis Inc. (“BCE The Schedule hereto presents certain subsidiaries and under the name Bell Nexxia), Bell ActiMedia Inc. (“Bell Acti- Emergis”), a business to business (“B2B”) e-commerce associates of BCE Inc., their respective jurisdictions of incor- Media”), Northern Telephone Limited (“Northern provider, strategically focusing on market leadership in the poration or continuance and the percentage of voting and Telephone”), Northwestel Inc. (“Northwestel”) and Télébec transaction-intensive eHealth and financial services sectors non-voting securities or partnership interests beneficially ltée (“Télébec”)), and its significantly influenced investments, through its three strategic business units (eHealth, Canadian owned or over which control or direction is exercised directly Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (“MTS”) and Bell Intrigna Inc. and U.S.). BCE Inc. owns approximately 66 per cent of BCE or indirectly by BCE Inc. Certain subsidiaries, each of which (“Bell Intrigna”). BCE Inc. owns 80 per cent of BCH. The Emergis, with the remaining common shares being publicly represents not more than 10 per cent of consolidated assets remaining 20 per cent of BCH is held by SBC Communica- held. and not more than 10 per cent of consolidated sales and tions Inc. In addition, this segment includes the consolidation BCE VENTURES operating revenues of BCE Inc., and all of which, in the aggre- of Aliant Inc. (“Aliant”) (approximately 39 per cent held by The BCE Ventures group combines all the non-core businesses gate, represent not more than 20 per cent of total consolidated Bell Canada and approximately 14 per cent held by BCE Inc.) of BCE and reflects BCE’s interest in Bell Canada International assets and total consolidated sales and operating revenues of as well as BCE’s 100 per cent interest in Bell ExpressVu Limited Inc. (“BCI”), Telesat, CGI Group Inc. (“CGI”), Excel Commu- BCE Inc. at December 31, 2000, have been omitted. Partnership (“Bell ExpressVu”). Bell Canada provides a full nications, Inc. (“Excel”) and other BCE investments. range of communications services to customers, including ITEM 2 • GENERAL DEVELOPMENT wireline and wireless local and long distance telephone ser- Recent Developments OF BCE vices, Internet access, high speed data services and directories. On January 9, 2001, Bell Globemedia, a Canadian multi- Bell ExpressVu, a licenced direct-to-home (“DTH”) satellite Overview media company in the fields of broadcasting, print and the broadcaster, has been delivering, since 1997, television and Internet, was created as a result of the closing of the transac- BCE Inc. is Canada’s largest communications company. BCE radio channels of digital video and CD quality sound to Cana- tion originally announced on September 15, 2000, when BCE Inc. had, on a consolidated basis, revenues of $18.1 billion, net dian homes via Telesat Canada’s (“Telesat”) direct broadcast Inc., The Thomson Corporation (“Thomson”) and The Wood- earnings of $4.8 billion and cash flows from operating satellite (“DBS”). bridge Company Limited (“Woodbridge”) proposed the activities of $2.3 billion in 2000, and had total assets of BELL GLOBEMEDIA creation of a Canadian multi-media company. BCE Inc. owns $51.4 billion. BCE had approximately 75,000 employees at The Content segment provides integrated information, com- 70.1 per cent of Bell Globemedia and its principal contribu- December 31, 2000. munications and entertainment services to Canadian tions were its wholly-owned interest in CTV and its indirect BCE Inc. has among the largest number of registered share- customers and access to distinctive Canadian content that 71 per cent interest in Sympatico-Lycos. Thomson owns 20 holders of any Canadian corporation. At December 31, 2000, allows the creation of unique destinations for Internet users per cent of Bell Globemedia and contributed all of the assets there were more than 184,000 registered holders of common through various portal properties. This segment is comprised and undertakings of The Globe and Mail (division of Thom- shares, of whom about 95 per cent were registered as resident of BCE Inc.’s interest, through Bell Globemedia Inc. (“Bell son Canada Limited) and of Globe Interactive (division of in Canada and held approximately 86 per cent of the common Globemedia”), in CTV Inc. (“CTV”), The Globe and Mail, Thomson Canada Limited). Woodbridge owns 9.9 per cent of shares outstanding. Sympatico-Lycos Inc. (“Sympatico-Lycos”) and other media Bell Globemedia and contributed $385 million. Bell Globe- Effective December 1, 2000, BCE Inc. implemented a new interests. media’s initial capitalization was approximately $4 billion. operating structure following strategic acquisitions made On November 16, 2000, BCI, América Móvil S.A. de C.V. during the year. As a result, BCE Inc. centers its activities (“América Móvil”) and SBC International Inc. (“SBC Interna- around four operating business segments: Bell Canada; Bell tional”) announced the closing of the September 25, 2000 2000 BCE Annual Information Form 3 joint venture agreement and the formation of Telecom ever, Teleglobe Inc. stock option holders will receive, upon BCE Inc. 2000 Annual Report, which is filed concurrently with Américas Ltd. (“Telecom Américas”), a new facilities-based exercise of the options, 0.91 of a BCE Inc. common share for this document and.