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Significant accounting policies (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2022
Accounting Policies, Changes In Accounting Estimates And Errors [Abstract] |
Disclosure of detailed information about property, plant and equipment |
| ESTIMATED USEFUL LIFE
Property, plant and equipment |
Network infrastructure and equipment | 2 to 50 years
Buildings | 5 to 50 years
Finite-life intangible assets |
Software | 2 to 12 years
Customer relationships | 2 to 26 years
Program and feature film rights | Up to 5 years
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 | NOTE | NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT (1) | LAND AND BUILDINGS (1) | ASSETS UNDER CONSTRUCTION | TOTAL
COST |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 70,923 |  | 8,889 |  | 2,241 |  | 82,053 |
Additions |  | 2,824 |  | 394 |  | 2,675 |  | 5,893 |
Business combinations/(business disposition) |  | 11 |  | (28) |  | 3 |  | (14) |
Transfers |  | 1,180 |  | 51 |  | (2,318) |  | (1,087) |
Retirements and disposals |  | (3,063) |  | (35) |  | (3) |  | (3,101) |
Impairment losses recognized in earnings | 8 | — |  | (132) |  | — |  | (132) |
December 31, 2022 |  | 71,875 |  | 9,139 |  | 2,598 |  | 83,612 |
ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 49,122 |  | 4,696 |  | — |  | 53,818 |
Depreciation |  | 3,195 |  | 465 |  | — |  | 3,660 |
Business disposition |  | (14) |  | (7) |  | — |  | (21) |
Retirements and disposals |  | (3,025) |  | (28) |  | — |  | (3,053) |
Transfers |  | 2 |  | (2) |  | — |  | — |
Other |  | (44) |  | (4) |  | — |  | (48) |
December 31, 2022 |  | 49,236 |  | 5,120 |  | — |  | 54,356 |
NET CARRYING AMOUNT |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 21,801 |  | 4,193 |  | 2,241 |  | 28,235 |
December 31, 2022 |  | 22,639 |  | 4,019 |  | 2,598 |  | 29,256 |
(1)Includes right-of-use assets. See Note 18, Leases, for additional details.
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 | NOTE | NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT (1) | LAND AND BUILDINGS (1) | ASSETS UNDER CONSTRUCTION | TOTAL
COST |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 69,477 |  | 7,832 |  | 1,889 |  | 79,198 |
Additions |  | 2,643 |  | 326 |  | 2,515 |  | 5,484 |
Business combinations |  | 2 |  | 12 |  | — |  | 14 |
Transfers |  | 358 |  | 771 |  | (2,163) |  | (1,034) |
Retirements and disposals |  | (1,550) |  | (37) |  | — |  | (1,587) |
Impairment losses recognized in earnings | 8 | (4) |  | (15) |  | — |  | (19) |
Reclassified to assets held for sale | 16 | (3) |  | — |  | — |  | (3) |
December 31, 2021 |  | 70,923 |  | 8,889 |  | 2,241 |  | 82,053 |
ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 47,563 |  | 4,122 |  | — |  | 51,685 |
Depreciation |  | 3,220 |  | 407 |  | — |  | 3,627 |
Retirements and disposals |  | (1,515) |  | (27) |  | — |  | (1,542) |
Transfers |  | (95) |  | 191 |  | — |  | 96 |
Reclassified to assets held for sale | 16 | (1) |  | — |  | — |  | (1) |
Other |  | (50) |  | 3 |  | — |  | (47) |
December 31, 2021 |  | 49,122 |  | 4,696 |  | — |  | 53,818 |
NET CARRYING AMOUNT |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 21,914 |  | 3,710 |  | 1,889 |  | 27,513 |
December 31, 2021 |  | 21,801 |  | 4,193 |  | 2,241 |  | 28,235 |
(1)Includes right-of-use assets. See Note 18, Leases, for additional details.
Disclosure of detailed information about intangible assets |
| ESTIMATED USEFUL LIFE
Property, plant and equipment |
Network infrastructure and equipment | 2 to 50 years
Buildings | 5 to 50 years
Finite-life intangible assets |
Software | 2 to 12 years
Customer relationships | 2 to 26 years
Program and feature film rights | Up to 5 years
|  | FINITE-LIFE | INDEFINITE-LIFE |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 | NOTE | SOFTWARE | CUSTOMER RELATION- SHIPS | PROGRAM AND FEATURE FILM RIGHTS | OTHER | TOTAL | BRANDS | SPECTRUM AND OTHER LICENCES | BROADCAST LICENCES | TOTAL | TOTAL INTANGIBLE ASSETS
COST |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 9,565 |  | 1,736 |  | 631 |  | 404 |  | 12,336 |  | 2,409 |  | 5,786 |  | 1,580 |  | 9,775 |  | 22,111 |
Additions |  | 484 |  | 1 |  | 1,208 |  | 7 |  | 1,700 |  | — |  | 44 |  | — |  | 44 |  | 1,744 |
Acquired through business combinations |  | 6 |  | 65 |  | — |  | 3 |  | 74 |  | 26 |  | 75 |  | — |  | 101 |  | 175 |
Transfers |  | 1,087 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 1,087 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 1,087 |
Retirements and disposals |  | (599) |  | — |  | — |  | (7) |  | (606) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (606) |
Impairment losses recognized in earnings | 8 | — |  | — |  | (53) |  | — |  | (53) |  | — |  | — |  | (94) |  | (94) |  | (147) |
Amortization included in operating costs |  | — |  | — |  | (1,183) |  | — |  | (1,183) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1,183) |
December 31, 2022 | 10,543 |  | 1,802 |  | 603 |  | 407 |  | 13,355 |  | 2,435 |  | 5,905 |  | 1,486 |  | 9,826 |  | 23,181 |
ACCUMULATED AMORTIZATION |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 5,407 |  | 969 |  | — |  | 165 |  | 6,541 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 6,541 |
Amortization |  | 926 |  | 91 |  | — |  | 46 |  | 1,063 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 1,063 |
Retirements and disposals |  | (599) |  | — |  | — |  | (7) |  | (606) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (606) |
December 31, 2022 | 5,734 |  | 1,060 |  | — |  | 204 |  | 6,998 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 6,998 |
NET CARRYING AMOUNT |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2022 |  | 4,158 |  | 767 |  | 631 |  | 239 |  | 5,795 |  | 2,409 |  | 5,786 |  | 1,580 |  | 9,775 |  | 15,570 |
December 31, 2022 |  | 4,809 |  | 742 |  | 603 |  | 203 |  | 6,357 |  | 2,435 |  | 5,905 |  | 1,486 |  | 9,826 |  | 16,183 |
|  | FINITE-LIFE | INDEFINITE-LIFE |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 | NOTE | SOFTWARE | CUSTOMER RELATION- SHIPS | PROGRAM AND FEATURE FILM RIGHTS | OTHER | TOTAL | BRANDS | SPECTRUM AND OTHER LICENCES (1) | BROADCAST LICENCES | TOTAL | TOTAL INTANGIBLE ASSETS
COST |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 9,169 |  | 1,736 |  | 645 |  | 469 |  | 12,019 |  | 2,409 |  | 3,701 |  | 1,730 |  | 7,840 |  | 19,859 |
Additions |  | 361 |  | — |  | 1,034 |  | 19 |  | 1,414 |  | — |  | 2,085 |  | — |  | 2,085 |  | 3,499 |
Acquired through business combinations |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 52 |  | 52 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 52 |
Transfers |  | 1,154 |  | — |  | — |  | (125) |  | 1,029 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 1,029 |
Retirements and disposals |  | (1,089) |  | — |  | — |  | (11) |  | (1,100) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1,100) |
Impairment losses recognized in earnings | 8 | (28) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (28) |  | — |  | — |  | (150) |  | (150) |  | (178) |
Amortization included in operating costs |  | — |  | — |  | (1,048) |  | — |  | (1,048) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1,048) |
Reclassified to assets held for sale | 16 | (2) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (2) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (2) |
December 31, 2021 | 9,565 |  | 1,736 |  | 631 |  | 404 |  | 12,336 |  | 2,409 |  | 5,786 |  | 1,580 |  | 9,775 |  | 22,111 |
ACCUMULATED AMORTIZATION |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 5,644 |  | 878 |  | — |  | 235 |  | 6,757 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 6,757 |
Amortization |  | 851 |  | 91 |  | — |  | 40 |  | 982 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 982 |
Retirements and disposals |  | (1,087) |  | — |  | — |  | (11) |  | (1,098) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1,098) |
Transfers |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (99) |  | (99) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (99) |
Reclassified to assets held for sale | 16 | (1) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1) |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | (1) |
December 31, 2021 | 5,407 |  | 969 |  | — |  | 165 |  | 6,541 |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 6,541 |
NET CARRYING AMOUNT |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
January 1, 2021 |  | 3,525 |  | 858 |  | 645 |  | 234 |  | 5,262 |  | 2,409 |  | 3,701 |  | 1,730 |  | 7,840 |  | 13,102 |
December 31, 2021 |  | 4,158 |  | 767 |  | 631 |  | 239 |  | 5,795 |  | 2,409 |  | 5,786 |  | 1,580 |  | 9,775 |  | 15,570 |
(1)On December 17, 2021, Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell Mobility) acquired 271 licences in a number of urban and rural markets for 678 million megahertz per population (MHz-Pop) of 3500 MHz spectrum for $2.07 billion.
Disclosure of adoption of amended accounting standards | As required, we adopted the following amendments and clarifications to accounting standards issued by the IASB.
STANDARD | DESCRIPTION | IMPACT
Onerous Contracts – Cost of Fulfilling a Contract, Amendments to IAS 37 – Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets | These amendments clarify which costs should be included in determining the cost of fulfilling a contract when assessing whether a contract is onerous. | These amendments were adopted effective January 1, 2022 and did not have a significant impact on our financial statements.
IFRIC Agenda Decision on Demand Deposits with Restrictions on Use arising from a Contract with a Third Party (IAS 7 – Statement of Cash Flows) | In April 2022, the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) issued an agenda decision clarifying that an entity should present a demand deposit with restrictions on use arising from a contract with a third party as cash and cash equivalents in the statements of financial position and cash flows, unless those restrictions change the nature of the deposit such that it no longer meets the definition of cash in IAS 7. | In 2022, we applied this agenda decision retrospectively to each prior period presented, the impact of which was limited to the classification of funding of $97 million received in Q1 2021 under a subsidy agreement with the Government of Québec. The application of this agenda decision resulted in the following: •an increase in Cash of $82 million with a corresponding decrease in Other current assets in the statement of financial position as at December 31, 2021 •an increase in Capital expenditures and Other financing activities of ($15) million and $97 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2021 in the statement of cash flows •no impact in the statement of financial position as at January 1, 2021 as the funding was received in Q1 2021.
Disclosure of future changes to accounting standards | The following amendments to standards issued by the IASB have an effective date after December 31, 2022 and have not yet been adopted by BCE.
STANDARD | DESCRIPTION | IMPACT | EFFECTIVE DATE
Disclosure of Accounting Policies - Amendments to IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements | These amendments require that entities disclose material accounting policies, as defined, instead of significant accounting policies. | We are currently assessing the impact of these amendments on the disclosure of our accounting policies. | Effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Early application is permitted.

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- Definition The disclosure of detailed information about intangible assets. [Refer: Intangible assets other than goodwill] + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Name IAS -Number 38 -IssueDate 2022-03-24 -Paragraph 118 -URI https://taxonomy.ifrs.org/xifrs-link?type=IAS&num=38&code=ifrs-tx-2022-en-r&anchor=para_118&doctype=Standard -URIDate 2022-03-24 + Details
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