BCE to modernize three federal call centres

BCE Inc. announced a new partnership with the federal government to modernize the call centres for three major departments: Employment and Social Development Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Bell Canada parent company BCE will work with Torontobased Genesys Canada, an artificial- intelligence experience firm, to improve the government’s client services by implementing AI and digital tools.

The company did not disclose the financial details of the contract. Speaking at the Scotiabank Telecom, Media & Technology Conference on Tuesday, BCE CFO Curtis Millen said he does not expect the contract to affect the company’s capital expenditure plans.

“The federal government clearly has a mandate, and if we can help them pursue their mandate, then it’s good,” Mr. Millen said.

Michael Wiesblatt, Genesis Canada vice- president and country leader, said in a statement the upgrade will allow the government to access real- time insights and will drive a “more responsive, resilient service experiences for Canadians.”

The three federal departments could not be reached for comment.

The contract was obtained through a competitive procurement process. According to documents, BCE was one of five potential companies invited to submit a proposal. The other four were Avaya Canada Corp., Five9 Inc., OnX Canada Inc. and TTEC Canada Solutions Inc.

The proposed period for the contract with the IRCC was five years with three additional optional periods of three years each. The CRA contract was proposed to last five years, with one additional optional five- year period, according to government documents. The government did not disclose the proposed ESCD contract length.

BCE has been doubling down on its AI offerings as a new and growing source of income, and is planning to build six sovereign data centres across the country.

Mr. Millen also said Tuesday that BCE has “a couple files on the go” relating to the potential sale of a non- core asset. Previously, BCE indicated it had identified $ 7- billion of potential assets to divest, of which about $ 1- billion have not yet been publicly disclosed.

Even if BCE is a good owner of an asset, Mr. Millen said, the company will consider whether it would be better served owning another asset, or instead investing money in new fibre infrastructure or its AI business.