## Dear Fellow Shareholders, 

Early in February, I sat down for a thirty-minute meeting with a group of Bell Canada employees. Two and a half hours later, we adjourned. But I could have stayed all day. 

These were exceptional people—the kind who are leading the charge in building a new Bell. 

Drawn from across the company. From across divisions and locations. From across job titles and responsibilities. A wide cross-section of our nearly 40,000 people. 

To know a company, to really know a company, you have to know its people. So I seized the opportunity. And asked these frontline people to tell me how they thought we were doing. 

I didn’t need to ask twice. They told me about the very real challenges they have faced as we change Bell, as we tighten our focus on a strategy that will take us into the future. They told me about their hard work. How their teams are striving to meet the call for simplicity and service. How it isn’t easy to be on the front lines in a time of great change. 

But they also told me how proud they are to work at Bell. To represent Bell in their communities. They spoke of the pride they feel as we embrace the technological promise of Internet Protocol, IP television and next generation wireless. They talked about the competition, and how we are ready to fight. To win. 

I wanted to know what the mood of the company was. To know where our people stand. How they think we are doing. 

The short answer they gave me: it’s tough, but we are on the right track. 

2004 was a watershed year in the 125-year history of Bell Canada. A challenging year, a year in which many of our achievements were internal, not external. And while we were generally satisfied with our performance, we recognize how much we have left to accomplish. 

For example, we added one million new subscribers for our products and services last year—but we need to add more, and we will. We negotiated an important labour agreement with our Bell technicians, but we did experience the disrup- tion of a work stoppage at Aliant. We reduced the number of product lines, offers and service codes. But this too is just one step in our ongoing effort to be simpler. 

Other achievements will have a lasting impact. In October, for instance, we took a bold step forward in our national strategy. The Vancouver Organizing Committee named Bell a Premier National Partner for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. We strengthened that relationship when CTV earned the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to the Games. This is an opportunity to showcase Bell’s technology, reliability 

