Editing Bell Internet (section)

== History ==
=== 1990s: Early years ===
[[File:Logo - Bell Sympatico.png|thumb|Bell Internet's former logo as Bell Sympatico]]
Sympatico was launched on November 29, 1995.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} Originally a national service operated jointly by Canada's [[incumbent local exchange carrier]]s and operational run as a content portal by [[MediaLinx]], the companies other than Bell<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bell.ca|title=Mobile phones, TV, Internet and Home phone service - Bell Canada|work=bell.ca}}</ref> (including [[Aliant]]) have since retreated to their own brands.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}

=== 2000s: Value-added services and rebranding ===
Starting in Summer 2003, Sympatico tried to differentiate its service from its competitors by adding [[value-added service]]s. This meant the launch of Radial Point's (formerly Zero Knowledge) suite of [[antivirus]], [[Firewall (networking)|firewall]] and [[spyware|anti-spyware]] services. Although a fee was originally required, this is no longer the case, as Bell now provides the service at no extra charge for DSL customers. In 2004, Sympatico added a [[wireless]] modem-router hardware upgrade and Microsoft's [[MSN Premium]] software to its portfolio. In Summer 2007, Sympatico packaged its Security suite and [[wireless]] home networking modem together with its high speed offering as Sympatico Total Internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet|title=Bell Internet|work=bell.ca}}</ref>

Bell Sympatico changed its name to Bell Internet on August 8, 2008, in conjunction with the [[Today Just Got Better]] [[rebranding]]. Bell subsidiaries [[NorthernTel]], [[Télébec]] and [[Northwestel]] continue to brand their Internet services as Sympatico, and users receive an @ntl.sympatico.ca, @tlb.sympatico.ca, or @sympatico.ca email address, respectively.

=== 2010s: Lower caps and faster speeds ===
On January 3, 2012, customer advocacy blog Stop The Cap! reported that Bell lowered its [[bandwidth cap]]s in [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]] by 10&nbsp;GB for all new activations of its Fibe services, except for the Fibe 25 plan in Ontario which was lowered by 25 GB instead and Fibe 6 and 7 which remain unchanged.{{dubious|date=September 2018}}{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} In May 2012, Bell launched new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) plans and simplified its slower DSL plans. FTTH regions can now download and upload at symmetric speeds of up to 175&nbsp;Mbit/s. The previous changes for lower bandwidth caps were reverted for the new Fibe 15/1 and Fibe 25/7 plans. The Fibe 5/1 plan replaced the older Essential, Essential Plus, Fibe 6 and Fibe 7 plans. The bandwidth cap for Fibe 5/1, however, was lowered from 25 GB to 15 GB.{{dubious|25 GB is not a bandwidth|date=April 2020}}

The Fibe 50/50 FTTH plan was removed from Bell's website by February 2013. In its place, a Fibe 50/10 FTTN plan was made available for the first time. During that same month, usage caps for the 15/10, 25/10 and 50/10 plans were lowered by 15, 25 and 75 GB respectively.{{dubious|date=April 2020}} February also saw the addition of an unlimited Internet usage add-on for Bell Internet. It costs $30/month and can be added to any residential plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet/Promotions/Unlimited-Internet|title=Unlimited Internet – Bell Internet promotion|work=bell.ca}}</ref> Those who subscribe to telephony ([[Bell Mobility]] or Bell Home Phone) and residential television ([[Bell Satellite TV]] or [[Bell Fibe TV]]) from Bell can obtain a $20/month discount on the unlimited Internet usage add-on.