Bell Canada (BCE) Unveils Plan for 6 AI Data Centers in British Columbia

On Wednesday, BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE), also called Bell Canada, announced its plans to open 6 AI data centers in British Columbia/B.C., forming the initial supercluster of what is intended to be the largest AI compute project in Canada, known as Bell AI Fabric. These facilities are projected to provide ~500MW of hydroelectric-powered AI compute capacity.

A long-distance telecommunications tower looming large against a dawn sky.

The first 7-megawatt data center is slated to open next month in June in Kamloops, B.C., in partnership with American AI inference provider Groq. Groq’s technology, specifically its Language Processing Units/LPUs, is designed to accelerate AI inference tasks for LLMs. A second facility is planned to open in Merritt, B.C., by the end of 2025.

Further expansion includes an additional 26-megawatt data center, being built in partnership with Thompson Rivers University, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2026. Another facility of similar size is expected in 2027. Beyond these, two more AI data centers with a total capacity of more than 400 megawatts are in advanced planning stages, designed for high-density AI workloads. Bell also indicated that future facilities across the country will leverage its real estate assets to add further capacity, with plans for expansion into Manitoba and Québec.

Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE, stated that Bell’s AI Fabric will ensure Canadian businesses, researchers, and public institutions have access to “high-performance, sovereign and environmentally responsible AI computing services.” BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is a communications company that provides wireless, wireline, internet, streaming services, and TV services in Canada.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.