Bell Canada has announced it is launching 1Gbps fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services under the Gigabit Fibe banner, initially for 50,000 homes and businesses in Toronto during summer 2015, with a target of eventually delivering 1Gbps services to 1.1 million premises across the city. Bell will also launch Gigabit Fibe in selected locations in other cities in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces before the end of 2015. Services will initially offer a maximum 940Mbps speed but will rise to the promised 1Gbps or higher in 2016 as modem equipment is upgraded. The operator’s press release adds that in Toronto, around 70% of the network will be aerial (strung on utility poles via a partnership with Toronto Hydro) and the remainder underground.

Other cities lined up for Gigabit Fibe include: Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, Blainville, Gatineau, Joliette, Saint-Jerome, Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Vaudreuil/Valleyfield, St. John’s, Charlottetown, Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, Sudbury, North Bay, Peterborough and Kingston.