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Monday, February 07, 2005
Aliant launches Atlantic Canada’s fastest broadband connection

- 10 Megabit Internet service for apartment building units
- Atlantic Canada’s first Fibre-to-the-Home trial

Halifax, Nova Scotia, February 7, 2005 – Aliant, Atlantic Canada’s largest information and communications technology company, is launching two innovative, fibre optic-based broadband services to consumers: 10 Megabit Internet service and Atlantic Canada’s first Fibre-to-the-Home trial.

"At Aliant, we take pride in our track record of innovation and providing customers with world-leading communications, information and entertainment solutions," said Heather Tulk, Vice President Broadband and Marketing, Aliant. "Our latest advancements in the use of fibre optic technology allow us to deliver Atlantic Canada’s fastest broadband connection and the region’s first Fibre-to-the-Home trial."

Using fibre optic technology, Aliant can now deliver a 10 Megabit Internet service – one of the fastest broadband connection speeds in Canada, to apartment building residents. By July, approximately 30 apartment buildings in the Halifax Regional Municipality will be equipped for fibre delivered Internet. Aliant High Speed Ultra customers living in these buildings will enjoy the 10 Megabit download speed, giving them an even better online experience, whether they are playing online video games, downloading music, surfing the Web, emailing, or sharing files and pictures with friends and family.

To further test the capabilities of fibre technology, Aliant is also conducting Atlantic Canada’s first Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) trial. Thirty-two participants in the Royale Hemlocks community in Bedford, Nova Scotia will take part in the 12-month trial.

For the trial, Aliant is installing a fibre optic network that will provide more than 30 Megabits of bandwidth to individual residences. Through a combination of wired and wireless applications, trial participants will be provided with the newest and fastest Aliant service offerings – via fibre optic cable connected directly to their homes. Trial services will initially include 10 Megabit Internet, TV on my PC, Music on my PC and Aliant Security Services (anti-virus, parental control, and personal firewall).

To receive fibre delivered Internet, apartment buildings will be wired via a central switch that allows every data jack in the building to be pre-wired for high-speed Internet while delivering dedicated bandwidth to each individual unit. This network design removes the need for a modem, giving tenants the convenience to move their computer around their apartment and to log-on to the Internet in any room with a data jack using an Ethernet cord.

As development on new Internet Protocol (IP) based applications such as video and Voice over IP (VoIP) progress, Aliant will add these to its suite of products and services available over fibre.

“As we enhance our fibre network and deliver more IP-based applications, they too will live up to the high levels of service excellence, value, simplicity and reliability that our customers have come to expect,” said Tulk.

About Aliant
From its home base in Atlantic Canada, Aliant delivers a wide variety of innovative and traditional communications services, including local and long distance telephony, wireless, Internet, e-commerce, interactive multimedia, data and managed network services, to more than two million consumers and over 80,000 enterprises. Aliant complements its industry-leading telecommunications business with strengths in information technology solutions and knowledge-services applications. The company's approximately 8,400 employees build on Aliant's 100-plus year history by collaborating to deliver the highest quality of customer service, choice and convenience. Aliant is a TSX 100 company with a market capitalization of approximately $3.8 billion.

For more information, please contact:
Kelly Gallant
Aliant Communications & Public Affairs
1-866-762-6540
kelly.gallant@aliant.ca

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