Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of
BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
.
Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manitoba assets of
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, in Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in the province ...
, the corporation was privatized in 1996. On March 17, 2017, Bell regained control of MTS after the Bell Canada group's holding company BCE Inc. closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the provider and, for regulatory reasons, Bell divested approximately one third of MTS's wireless business (including subscribers and retail outlets) to
Telus, and a smaller portion to the new entrant
Xplornet. Under Bell ownership, Bell MTS will serve as the headquarters of Bell's telecom businesses in western Canada.
History
Beginning
One of the first two telephone subscribers in Manitoba was Winnipeg businessman
James Henry Ashdown
James Henry Ashdown (31 March 1844 – 5 April 1924), the "Merchant Prince of Winnipeg", arrived in Winnipeg in 1868 and began his business as a tinsmith. In 1870, he purchased two lots on the corner of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue, the loca ...
in 1881.
Early 20th century
MTS is the descendant company of Manitoba Government Telephones, which went into operation in January 1908 after the government of Manitoba bought Bell Canada's Manitoba operations. The
Crown corporation
Crown corporation ()
is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government.
Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...
became Manitoba Telephone System in 1921, and eventually took over all private telephone operations in the province.
1940s
MTS announced in late 1947 that it would modernize its long-distance equipment in both Winnipeg and Brandon, using
Siemens Brothers switching equipment,
to better handle routing of automatic dialing of long-distance calls by telephone operators using the currently known
Area Code system.
To accomplish this, MTS needed to expand its Corydon Ave. long-distance switching centre by adding four additional storeys to the building.
Initial communities to be set up with the new long-distance hardware included Boissevain, Deloraine, Dauphin, Kenton, Melita, Waskada, Lyleton, Tilston, Portage la Prairie, Pierson.
A trial of
Mobile radio-telephone service, a technology that was developed by AT&T, took place early in 1948. An earlier trial of wireless telephone service was conducted in northern Manitoba mining towns.
1950s
At midnight on June 21, 1959, Winnipeg was the first urban area in North America to implement the
9-9-9 emergency telephone number
An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...
.
Also in the late 1950s, MTS located one of its administrative offices on Empress St. near the newly opened
Polo Park Shopping Centre complex. In 2000 these employees were moved to 333 Main St., commonly known as ''MTS Place'', where 1,500 employees now work. This formed part of the Province's ''Downtown First'' strategy.
1970s
In the late 1970s, similar to policy changes implemented by
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
in the U.S., MTS allowed its customers to purchase their own telephone equipment and with this, provided free installation of
RJ11 telephone jacks.
In July 1979, MTS announced that it would be a pioneer in
Telidon
Telidon (from the Greek words τῆλε, ''tele'' "at a distance" and ἰδών, ''idon'' "seeing") was a videotex/teletext service developed by the Canada, Canadian Communications Research Centre Canada, Communications Research Centre (CRC) dur ...
-based two-way electronic information services. The trial was called "Project IDA" and ran from 1980 to 1981.
1980s
MTS was a pioneer in offering videotex at the commercial level. In 1981, it partnered with
Infomart (then owned by the Torstar and Southam newspaper chains) to create the
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
service, providing information relevant to farmers on the Canadian prairies. Customers paid $47.50 per month to subscribe to Grassroots, plus connection fees to
DATAPAC. Terminal equipment was manufactured by
Norpak.
They opened ''MTS Phone Centre'' stores in shopping malls to sell residential and business phones and services, and in 1984 opened two ''MTS Business Centre'' locations (Commodity Exchange Tower lobby and Empress St. office) to provide sales of business-level equipment.
In the mid-1980s, MTS started a subsidiary known as MTX, which had invested in telecommunications in Saudi Arabia. However MTX was forced to shut down after controversy about the company back in Manitoba after MTX lost $27 million on the venture.
In the late 1980s MTS launched MTS Mobility providing cellular and paging services in Manitoba after competitor
Cantel was allowed to set up the cellular radio infrastructure and market the service before MTS.
1990s
In 1996, the Provincial government of Premier
Gary Filmon
Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...
decided to sell the Manitoba Telephone System to private shareholders. The decision to privatize was seen as controversial, as it marked a significant departure from the
Progressive Conservatives' earlier position that MTS should remain provincially owned.
In January 1999, MTS partnered with ''Bell Canada'' to form ''Intrigna'', a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) which was created to expand telecommunications options for the business market in Alberta and British Columbia. As part of the deal, ''Bell Canada'' gained 20% ownership of MTS. They set up a jointly operated office in Calgary. By the summer of 1999, fibre optic cable had been laid in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
and
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, and later extended to
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia.
In August 1999, MTS completed work on a new trunked (digital) radio system known as ''FleetNet 800'', technology licensed from neighbouring
SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...
.
In the Fall of 1999, MTS began to offer
DSL
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...
high-speed Internet service in Winnipeg and Brandon, which later expanded to other areas of the province.
2000s
The CRTC met with the various telecommunications providers in Canada and required of them to implement a ''
Service Improvement Plan'' (SIP). This meant that MTS had to improve service to northern remote areas that even by the 21st century had poor quality phone service. Customers in northern Manitoba complained that the microwave system could not handle data communications (modem, fax) well. This, as well as the collapse of a microwave relay tower linking
Churchill in early January 2000, lead MTS to initiate upgrades to the Radisson-
Churchill corridor with fibre optics and the
Lynn Lake-
Thompson corridor with a digital microwave system to replace the outdated equipment.
Cellular telephone service is currently available to 98% of population in the province.
In 2003, MTS purchased the naming rights for the True North Centre in downtown Winnipeg, renaming it the
MTS Centre. The 10-year deal between
True North Sports & Entertainment
True North Sports and Entertainment Limited (TNSE or TNS&E) is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that owns and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. The company also o ...
and MTS, which was MTS's single largest advertising expenditure, was extended when the arena became a
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
venue in 2011.
In February 2004, MTS sold its 40% stake in Intrigna to Bell Canada for $230 million.

In April 2004, MTS acquired
Allstream, the successor to the transcontinental railways' telegraph businesses. It renamed the main subsidiary to MTS Allstream Inc. until 2012, when it was split as MTS Inc. and Allstream Inc.
On December 7, 2005, former BCE executive Pierre Blouin was named
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Manitoba Telecom Services and of
MTS Allstream, replacing longtime CEO Bill Fraser.
2010s

In March 2011, MTS unveiled a new, animated version of their mascot, Morty the Bison. On March 31, 2011 MTS officially launched a HSPA+ wireless network along with the availability Apple's iPhone series of smartphones starting with the
iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the iPhone 4s. Following a number of notable leaks, ...
. The wireless network had claims it would provide data speeds up to 21 Mbit/s. In September 2012, MTS launched LTE, with it initially rolling out in the cities of Winnipeg and Brandon.
MTS' older
CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
network continues to work with CDMA handsets. According to the MTS website, MTS plans on shutting down its CDMA service by the end of 2016.
In May 2013, Allstream was to be sold to Accelero Capital, with the deal expected to close by the end of the year.
However, on October 7, 2013, the Canadian government blocked the sale over national security concerns, declining to mention the specific concerns.
In November 2014, Jay A. Forbes was appointed as CEO effective January 1, 2015.
On November 23, 2015 it was announced that Allstream Inc would be sold to
Zayo Group
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., or Zayo Group, is a privately held company headquartered in Denver, CO, U.S. with European headquarters in London, England. The company provides communications infrastructure services, including fiber and bandwidth c ...
in a cash transaction deal worth $465 million.
Acquisition by Bell
On May 2, 2016,
BCE Inc. announced that it would acquire MTS in a
$3.9 billion all-stock deal, paying $40 per-share and assuming $800 million in debt. Following the closure of this purchase pending regulatory approval, the company will operate as Bell MTS, a subsidiary of Bell Canada; the acquisition was expected to be closed in late-2016 to early 2017. Bell committed to investing $1 billion over five years into expanding broadband service in Manitoba, and upgrading MTS's infrastructure to support new services, including
Bell Fibe and
LTE-Advanced. Bell will also base its Western Canadian operations out of Bell MTS in Winnipeg, increasing its staff to 6,900 employees. As a condition of the sale, Bell agreed to divest one-third of MTS Mobility's wireless subscribers and MTS retail locations to
Telus; the divestment aimed to give the three national carriers (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) a roughly equal market share in Manitoba.
The deal faced criticism for the possibility that it would result in a higher cost of services. Due to the market positioning of MTS as a fourth major wireless carrier in the region, the three major national carriers have historically offered lower prices in Manitoba to remain competitive. As such, with the removal of a competitor, there would no longer be an incentive to do so.
A similar business climate exists in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, where the three national carriers must compete against the dominant, government-owned regional carrier
SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...
.
A survey by the
Angus Reid Institute found that 61% of those surveyed moderately or strongly disapproved of the deal.
On December 20, 2016, the CRTC approved the sale of MTS's broadcast distribution undertakings to Bell.
On February 15, 2017, the deal was approved by the Competition Bureau and
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; ; )''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Industry (). is a Ministry (government ...
. To relieve concerns over the reduction of wireless competition in Manitoba post-merger, Bell additionally agreed to divest 24,700 customers, 6 retail locations, and wireless spectrum to
rural internet
Rural Internet describes the characteristics of Internet service in rural areas (also referred to as "the country" or "countryside"), which are settled places outside towns and cities. Inhabitants live in villages, Hamlet (place), hamlets, on far ...
provider
Xplornet so it may launch its own competing wireless business. Bell will provide Xplornet with "expedited access" to its towers for five years, as well as roaming and handset stock. This aspect of the deal will maintain the presence of four competing wireless providers in Manitoba, with the fourth being a new entrant to the market.
The acquisition closed on March 17, 2017; at this time, Dan McKeen (who led the integration of
Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for Telecommunications in Canada, telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada.
Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atl ...
into the company's national operations) was installed as the new head of the division, replacing the outgoing Jay Forbes. Along with the closure of the deal, Bell launched LTE service in
Churchill, Manitoba.
Bell stated that it intended to maintain MTS's existing wireless pricing structure for at least a year after the closure of the acquisition.
Rates for all other Bell MTS services were raised in September 2017. The MTS Centre was renamed to
Bell MTS Place on May 30, 2017, following
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, in Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in the province ...
’s acquisition of MTS.
In October 2018, Bell MTS began to integrate its wireless subscribers into the national
Bell Mobility business.
In late August 2019, BellMTS announced that it will no longer serve some rural communities with wireless Internet service via the "rural Internet program" because of a decrease in wholesale fees mandated by the CRTC.
On June 15, 2021, following the expiration of Bell MTS’ naming rights,
True North Sports & Entertainment
True North Sports and Entertainment Limited (TNSE or TNS&E) is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that owns and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. The company also o ...
, the operator of
Bell MTS Place, announced that the naming rights to the arena had been sold to
Canada Life
The Canada Life Assurance Company ( French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ...
under a 10-year agreement.
Facilities
The administration offices are located at 333 Main St. in Winnipeg, in the former Bank of Montreal Building. The complex is now known as ''MTS Place''.
The ''MTS Long Distance Gateway'' is located in the J.F. Mills Building on Corydon Avenue near what is locally known as
Confusion Corner. One of its functions is to transmit local television signals from Winnipeg to retransmitters throughout the province. However, since 2011 MTS no longer transmits CBC television and Radio-Canada television signals by satellite and since no longer performs this function for CTV as satellites and fibre-optic technologies have replaced. Bell MTS is the former
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
holder of a venue in Winnipeg, the
Bell MTS Iceplex.
Services
Fibe TV
Bell MTS operates an
IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...
service, Bell MTS
Fibe TV (formerly MTS Ultimate TV), which is available in Brandon, Carberry, Dauphin, Killarney, Minnedosa, Neepawa, Oakbank, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Steinbach, The Pas, Thompson, and Winnipeg. The service launched in 2009 and is based on
Ericsson Mediaroom middleware. MTS Classic TV was the company's legacy digital television service; it was discontinued in 2015 due to its incompatibility with
Alert Ready.
The service was updated and rebranded as Fibe TV in November 2017 (unifying it with the Fibe TV-branded services it offers in the Atlantic and Ontario), adding new features such as "Restart".
Cable TV
Bell MTS also offers
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
service in Carman, Holland, Manitou, Miami, Morris, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Plum Coulee, St. Claude, St. Jean Baptiste, Treherne, Altona, Morden, and Winkler.
See also
*
Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for Telecommunications in Canada, telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada.
Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atl ...
, a similar subsidiary in Atlantic Canada
*
Fibe (Bell Aliant)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Bell Canada
Communications in Manitoba
Telecommunications companies of Canada
Companies based in Winnipeg
Former Crown corporations of Manitoba
1905 establishments in Manitoba
BCE Inc. acquisitions
2017 mergers and acquisitions
Telecommunications companies established in 1905
Canadian companies established in 1905