S. specialty channels, more local programming as well as "Super Definition TV" and High Definition TV. It also allows subscribers to receive the signal on Bell ExpressVu's 45-cm (18") dish antenna, the smallest dish size available in Canada. .
Bell ExpressVu broadcasts Vu, currently the largest and first Pay-per-View (PPV) service of its kind in Canada with over 50 PPV services, bringing the company's total number of channels to more than 200. Complementing Vu, are. .
NHL Centre Ice, The Racing Network Canada and WWF Powerslam. Vu offers English and French programming including children's, foreign and adult entertainment in addition to commercial-free uncut movies and special events.
Programming signals are transmitted to NIMIQ from Bell ExpressVu's digital broadcast or "uplink" centre located in North York, Ontario. The satellite then transmits the signal to the subscriber's 45 cm (18") dish antenna. The signal is customized based on the programming or information services chosen by the consumer. .
In June 2000 Bell ExpressVu launched DirecPC Satellite Edition (SE) nationwide. DirecPC SE is a high speed Internet service that can download data via satellite to home computers at speeds of up to 400 kilobits per second - seven times faster than a 56k modem. It can also broadcast selected Web sites and other content at speeds of up to 1 Mbit/sec. Bell ExpressVu is the first to offer high speed Internet service to virtually anyone in Canada. .
In 1999, the CRTC also approved Bell ExpressVu's application for a broadcasting license to operate a national satellite relay distribution undertaking (SRDU), allowing the company to provide satellite services to smaller cable companies in Canada. .
Bell ExpressVu was established in December 1994 as a Canadian corporation. The company is now a limited partnership, wholly owned by BCE Inc., Canada's largest telecommunications company. Through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, including wholly owned Bell Canada, BCE provides telecommunications services to 70 per cent of Canada's population.
