Quebecor Inc. has surpassed BCE Inc.'s Bell and R ogers Communications Inc.'s mobile subscriber net additions in the third quarter, beating analyst expectations of the Quebec-based telco.
The company, which owns wireless providers Videotron Ltd., Freedom Mobile and Fizz, added 136,700 net subscribers, above the consensus of 92,100 net adds. This was ahead of Bell's 53,689 and Roger's 17,000 wireless net additions in the same quarter.
"In mobile telephony, we reached a new milestone with a net increase of 136,700 subscriber connections, or three per cent, representing the largest quarterly increase since the launch of the mobile service in 2010," said chief executive Pierre Karl Péladeau.
Péladeau said all three brands contributed to the record growth, reflecting the success of his company's Canada‑wide expansion and strength in organic growth in Quebec.
"The value and appeal of our offerings continue to set us apart, driving both the acquisition of new subscribers and the loyalty of our customer base," he said.
Quebecor's mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) was up by $1.03, or 2.9 per cent in the third quarter, its fourth consecutive quarterly increase.
Desjardins telecom analyst Jerome Dubreuil noted that Quebecor was the only major Canadian telecom provider with a positive ARPU growth. He added that it remains better positioned than peers to drive longer-term growth in the metric.
"What slow population growth? What CRTC fee ban?" Dubreuil wrote in a note to clients on Thursday morning.
Big telcos over the past year have pointed to Canada's weaker population growth due to Canada's tighter immigration policies as the main driver of smaller growth in subscriber additions.
Meanwhile in the quarter, Rogers blamed its weak wireless service revenue on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)'s new ban on activation and modification fees, as well as a decline in mobile phone average revenue per user due to what it said is intense competition in the industry.
On June 12, the CRTC implemented new consumer protections that prohibit service providers from charging fees whenever Canadians choose to modify or cancel their cellphone and internet service plans.
The regulator in July asked the "Big Three" telecom companies Rogers, BCE's Bell and Telus Corp. to prove they're not violating this after the telcos introduced different fees following the ban.
The CRTC said Rogers introduced a $40 device setup charge, a $25 shipping charge and an unspecified SIM fee, though Rogers has argued that the latter two fees were not new. Bell Canada also introduced a $40 device-handling charge for customers purchasing a cellphone along with their wireless service, while Telus introduced a $15 fee for the purchase of a SIM card or e-SIM as part of its wireless service, the regulator said.
In response to this, Quebecor's Freedom Mobile launched a campaign in late July calling out its competitors, the "Big Three," for introducing new fees since the CRTC announced the ban.
"Some providers have introduced other charges in their place. Freedom is taking the opposite approach: no activation or modification fees, and no equivalent charges under another name," the wireless carrier said.
Freedom said it was committed to "no hidden charges and no fees the regulator set out to remove."
It said the decision not to charge those fees is part of its commitment to keep pricing predictable for customers.
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"Our customers should know exactly what they're paying, with nothing added along the way," Jean B. Péladeau, chief marketing officer of Freedom Mobile, said in a statement at the time.
BCE disclosed also its quarterly results on the same day, reporting a 21.1 per cent drop in Bell's mobile phone net subscriber activations.
Rogers, which released its results on Oct. 23, reported a massive 84.68 per cent drop in mobile phone net additions from its third quarter net adds of about 111,000 last year.
