BCE (BCE) to Develop Six AI Data Centers in Canada

Bell Canada, which is owned by BCE (BCE), plans to open six artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the Canadian province of British Columbia on the country’s west coast.

The Montreal-based telecommunications firm says the AI data centers are part of its move to create the largest AI compute project in Canada, with each facility providing 500-megawatts of hydroelectric-power. AI compute enables artificial intelligence systems to perform tasks such as processing data and training machine-learning models.

The project, called “Bell AI Fabric,” will support Canadian businesses and governments’ AI needs, including infrastructure deployment, said the company in a news release. The first AI data center is scheduled to open in June in Kamloops, British Columbia, followed by a second facility in Merritt, British Columbia by year’s end.

Tech Services Business

Most of the company’s planned AI data centers should be operational by the end of 2027. Bell has not said how much it is investing in the data centers. However, the company has previously said that it has a goal to build a $1-billion technology services business.

The data centers are being developed in partnership with privately held American AI inference provider Groq, whose technology accelerates AI inference tasks, notably for large language models. BCE stock has declined 50% in the last five years, including a 37% drop over the past 12 months. The company recently cut its dividend by more than half.

Is BCE Stock a Buy?

The stock of BCE has a consensus Hold rating among nine Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on one Buy, five Hold, and three Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average BCE price target of $24.00 implies 12.57% upside from current levels.

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