Another historic step in the history of the telephone was made in the early 1960s, when all-number calling (ANC) appeared as a new, uniform telephone numbering system in Canada and in United States. ANC numbers consist of seven figures and no letters. The first three digits correspond to the central office of a specific city or neighborhood (the central office code) and the last 4 digits represent the subscriber’s line identifier.

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We are thrilled to announce that our school is now a proud participant in the **Step Up Scholarship Fund** program. This initiative opens doors for students from diverse backgrounds to receive financial assistance for their educational journey with us.

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By 1897, calling by number became a standard policy at Bell. During the manual switching era, the most commonly used approach was to assign names to central offices rather than to expand the telephone numbers to 5 or 6 digits. A regional name followed by numbers was easier to remember than just numbers. The naming of the central offices was left up to local Bell administrators familiar with the areas to be designated, so that names would be of local significance or have lyrical phonetics.

Beginning in the 1980s, huge amounts of numbers were registered for new services such as pagers, cellular phones, fax machines and the Internet. New area codes were introduced and starting in September of 1994, it became mandatory to dial ‘1’ or ‘0’ followed by the area code and phone number for every long distance call, including those made within the same area code. During the 2000s, many urban areas adopted local 10‑digit dialing.

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Important risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the previously-mentioned forward-looking statements and other forward-looking statements contained in the following webpages, include, but are not limited to, the risks described in section 9, Business risks of the BCE 2023 Annual MD&A, which section is incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement.

When the first telephone service was introduced in Canada in 1878, no one had to remember telephone numbers. When a customer placed a telephone call, they simply asked an operator for the name of the person they wanted to reach. If there were two people under the same name, the operator would need to specify (for example - “Is it John the blacksmith or John the grocer?”) – a practice that became less practical as populations grew.

The number ‘1’ was only used to dial numbers such as 113 to reach Information or Repair. In the 1950s, when direct distance dialing was introduced, the number ‘1’ signalled to automated equipment that the telephone number dialled would be a long distance call.

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Additionally, in the 1950s, major urban areas were growing so fast that the six-digit system had to be replaced by seven-digits. All new numbers would include the exchange prefix, for example ‘Regent 3’, and four figures. A typical number would be Regent 3‑4491, which would be dialed RE3 4491.

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Toll-free numbers It took 30 years – from 1958 to 1998 – for North America to use up all its toll‑free numbers with the prefix 800 – and only two years to run out of 888 numbers. Toll‑free lines gained popularity because more and more companies recognized their value as a marketing tool and as a means to enhance customer service. With the demand of toll‑free numbers exploding, the North American telecommunications industry launched a new toll-free calling prefix, 877, in April 1998.

We caution readers that the risk factors described in the previously-mentioned section and in other sections of the BCE 2023 Annual MD&A are not the only ones that could affect us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, financial results or reputation. We regularly consider potential acquisitions, dispositions, mergers, business combinations, investments, monetizations, joint ventures and other transactions, some of which may be significant. Except as otherwise indicated by us, forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any such transactions or of special items that may be announced or that may occur after March 7, 2024. The financial impact of these transactions and special items can be complex and depends on facts particular to each of them. We therefore cannot describe the expected impact in a meaningful way, or in the same way we present known risks affecting our business.

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When automatic dialing was introduced in 1924, telephone numbers consisted of a combination of letters and numbers (six‑digits). In order to determine which letters would be clear to operators over the wires and which were the least likely to be confused with the digits of numbers or other letters. The entire alphabet was subjected to an elaborate series of vocal tests over the telephone by trained engineers.

We have made certain economic, market, operational and other assumptions in preparing the forward-looking statements contained in the following webpages, which include, without limitation, the assumptions described in the subsections of the BCE 2023 Annual MD&A entitled Assumptions, which subsections are incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement. Subject to various factors, we believe that our assumptions were reasonable at March 7, 2024. If our assumptions turn out to be inaccurate, actual results or events could be materially different from what we expect.

Through the **Step Up Scholarship Fund**, eligible students can access scholarships that support their tuition, helping to ease the financial burden and making education more accessible. Our commitment to educational excellence is further strengthened by providing opportunities for all students to achieve their dreams.

If you have any questions about Bell’s past, or any historical background or items you would like to contribute, please email Archives@Bell.ca.

Unless otherwise indicated by us, forward-looking statements in the following webpages describe our expectations as at March 7, 2024 and, accordingly, are subject to change after that date. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements and that our business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities may not be achieved. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are presented in the following webpages for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding our objectives, strategic priorities and business outlook as well as our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned, however, that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The following webpages contain forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements relating to BCE’s dividend growth objective, 2024 annualized common share dividend and dividend payout ratio level, and dividend payout policy target, BCE’s anticipated capital expenditures, network deployment plans and the benefits expected to result therefrom, our transformation initiatives and restructuring and the benefits expected to result therefrom, our ESG objectives and the benefits expected to result therefrom (which include, without limitation, our objectives concerning diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), customer experience, energy savings, circular economy and waste reduction, community investment, privacy and information security, network reliability, corporate governance and ethical business conduct leadership, reductions in the level of our GHG emissions including, without limitation, our carbon neutrality (scope 1 and 2 only) target and our science-based targets, and our carbon abatement objectives), the expected impacts on our company of various climate-related events, business opportunities that could result from climate change, BCE’s business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities, and other statements that do not refer to historical facts. A statement we make is forward-looking when it uses what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the words assumption, goal, guidance, objective, outlook, project, strategy, target, commitment and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as aim, anticipate, believe, could, expect, intend, may, plan, seek, should, strive and will. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States (U.S.) Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

An important change was made in September of 1884 when approximately 1,200 customers in Montréal and 1,000 from Toronto received notice that all future calls would be made by a phone number and not by a name.

Forward-looking statements contained in the following webpages for periods beyond 2024 involve longer-term assumptions and estimates than forward-looking statements for 2024 and are consequently subject to greater uncertainty. They assume, unless otherwise indicated, that the relevant assumptions and risks described in the BCE 2023 Annual MD&A will remain substantially unchanged during such periods.