Bell fibre build progress threatened by regulatory uncertainty: Bibic

In a Thursday quarterly earnings conference call, BCE Inc.'s president and CEO, Mirko Bibic, shared his enthusiasm for the company's performance in the third quarter while also expressing concern about the potential impact of unfavorable regulatory decisions on its investment plans. Bibic said Bell took a proactive approach to infrastructure development in the first six months of the fiscal year, emphasizing their progress on their fibre build, keeping the company on track to meet the ambitious targets set for 2023. However, a cloud of regulatory uncertainty looms over their investment plans, he said. In the event of unfavourable decisions, particularly in relation to the CRTC’s fibre access wholesale decision, Bell might be compelled to slow down its fibre network expansion. “We had some, some wiggle room there, given that we had such a head start. We could have kept going and actually built more than what was in our target plan for 2023 but we decided not to because of the regulatory uncertainty that's out there,” he said. “If the decision is unfavourable from a fibre perspective or from a wholesale access perspective, you're going to see us slow down the build as early as next year. ”He said the potential slowdown could have broader implications for consumers in communities where BCE introduced fibre-based services. “So when we enter with fibre, we increase competition against the cable company and then the cable company knows that in time it needs to upgrade its networks and build fibre of its own, which actually further increases competition,” he said. “You see the results where we enter — the customer gets better service, better value, lower prices and that's what's being put at stake here with the conversation that we're generally having in the regulatory proceedings around TPIA access.” Regarding its quarterly results, one of the standout achievements according to the CEO was the company's consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth of three per cent, marking the best quarterly results since Q2 of 2022, despite facing challenges such as media advertising headwinds and increased pricing competition in consumer products. Bell reported $6.08 billion in operating revenue, almost a one percent increase year-over-year. Net earnings declined by eight per cent from Q3 2022, dropping from to $771 million to $707 million. Bell Communication and Technology Services (Bell CTS) saw a one per cent increase year-over-year to $5.46 billion while Bell Media saw a one per cent decline to $710 million. Gross subscriber activations grew by more than three per cent to 603,770, however, net activations declined by 25 per cent – going from 224,343 activations in Q3 2022 to 166,930 this quarter. Retail television subscribers, including satellite and internet protocol television (IPTV) decline went from 10,853 in Q3 2022 to 4,222 this quarter – a 61 per cent decline. Bell lost 31,754 net satellite subscribers. In wireless, Bell added 231,212 new mobile phone and connected device net activations, marking its second best quarter ever. Bibic called this a great result “taking into consideration the notable step up and competitive intensity this year, particularly during the back-to-school period given the new competitive landscape.” Bell reported an average revenue per user (ARPU) as $60.28, down from $60.39 in Q3 2022 due to roaming growth slowing. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Bell fibre build progress threatened by regulatory uncertainty: Bibic

News | November 2, 2023

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Bell fibre build progress threatened by regulatory uncertainty: Bibic

News | November 2, 2023

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