Following
Bibic said the deal's approval, which hinged on the sale of Freedom Mobile to
"That is very rare across the global footprint. Having four players like that is quite significant and will enhance competition and consumer value," Bibic told analysts on Thursday as Bell's parent company
"On the wireless side, specifically, we are one of the very few countries with four players and probably the only with the convergence between wireline and wireless. I think the job ought to be considered as having been done now on the wireless front from a public policy and regulatory perspective," said Bibic, who also heads BCE.
He added Bell is closely watching regulatory developments in the sector that will impact the company's investment decisions going forward.
"The competitors in the market are not new to us," she said, noting Telus continues to "push the investment envelope" and emphasize its differentiated brands, including
"We have over 20 years of consistency and delivery and so we'll continue to focus on our customer experience, our social capitalism and the principles that are near and dear to us that resonate with our customers."
Speaking to analysts as Telus also reported its first-quarter earnings, Mawji added Telus has proven it can withstand "competitive challenges."
"We've also demonstrated the capability to weather different kinds of rugged, regulatory changes, to weather macroeconomic changes, to be ahead of our peer group in circumstances like COVID," she said.
"We feel very confident in our strategy, we feel that our diversified asset portfolio will continue to serve us into the future and we're excited about the new product capabilities that we're going to bring into the market."
Last month, Industry Minister
But Bell's Bibic downplayed concerns about cellphone and broadband prices in
"It's sadly unsophisticated, the discourse that we have on pricing," said Bibic.
"Comparing rack rates on a website and saying … that Canada's therefore significantly more expensive is so unsophisticated, it ignores so many things. It ignores really what the consumer is actually paying."
He noted cellphone prices in
"And let's not forget, we have the lowest population density of pretty much any industrialized country," Bibic said.
"So we still have to pay for all the input costs to build these incredible networks to 99 per cent of the Canadian population."
His comments came as
Operating revenue totalled
Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of
The company added more than 43,000 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter, up 26.5 per cent from around 34,200 last year.
Its monthly churn rate for the category — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — was 0.9 per cent, up from 0.79 per cent during its previous first quarter. Bibic said that reflected greater overall market activity but was still below pre-pandemic levels.
Bell's wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was
Meanwhile,
Telus also raised its dividend Thursday as it reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago on higher interest, depreciation and amortization, restructuring and other costs. The company said it will now pay quarterly dividend of
The increased payment to shareholders came as Telus reported a profit attributable to common shares of
Operating revenue and other income totalled
On an adjusted basis, Telus said it earned
Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of
"We're not a one-hit wonder," said Mawji.
"We're very, very pleased with our results and we continue to see the fruits of our strategy come from the customers really leaning into the diversified products and capabilities that we have."
Telus added 47,000 net mobile phone subscribers from January to March, up 2.2 per cent from 46,000 last year.
Its monthly churn rate for postpaid mobile phone subscribers was 0.7 per cent, up from 0.63 per cent during its previous first quarter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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