Bell Q4 2013: Smartphone users Represent 73% of Postpaid Subscribers

Bell

Bell’s operating revenue has grown 2.6% to $4.813 billion, up from $4.577 billion reported a year ago, and has jumped 11.4% in free cash flow in Q4 2013, the company said in a press release today as it reported its quarterly earnings.

Bell’s wireless division has reported an increase of 15.2% in wireless data revenue due to higher customer usage driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones, and an increase in data consumption thanks to its 4G LTE network. Operating revenues jumped to $1,505 million during the past quarter (up 3.2%), and wireless service revenue is up 3.7% to $1,359 million.

Another 119,520 Canadians have decided to sign a contract with Canada’s No. 3 wireless carrier (down 6.7% from 143,834 a year ago), which the company attributes to the increased pricing on new two-year contracts, as well as lower handset discounts.

It is worth noting here that 73% of Bell’s postpaid subscribers are smartphone users, up from 62% reported in Q4 2012, while postpaid customers totalled 6,677,692 subscribers, up 3.9%.

Bell Wireless’ subscriber base has grown 1.3%, so the country’s No. 3 carrier has 7,778,334 customers in its database.

The incumbent’s press release also reveals that blended ARPU (average revenue per user) is up 2.1% for the past quarter, and is inching toward $58 ($57.92), thanks to the growth in the number of postpaid subscribers.

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