Bell Canada’s consolidated revenues fell by 0.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2012 to CAD4.34 billion (USD4.37 billion), as increased sales from its wireless (Bell Mobility) and Bell Media divisions were offset by declines in wireline, equipment and other revenues. EBITDA for the three months ended 30 June 2012 grew by 3.7%, however, reaching CAD1.716 billion on robust performances in wireless and media. Wireless EBITDA in particular grew 20.9% to CAD556 million, reflecting wireless revenue growth of 6.7% to CAD1.361 billion, as post-paid net activations increased 8.2% to 102,067 in the three-month period, and the post-paid customer churn rate improved to 1.3%. Smartphone users represented 55% of post-paid mobile subscribers at mid-2012, up from 38% a year earlier, which drove mobile data revenue growth of 31.1%, and blended ARPU growth of 4.5%.
Bell also reported that its 4G LTE network now covers 49% of Canadians across 23 markets in seven provinces, in addition to its HSPA+ and DC-HSPA+ networks, which now serve more than 97% and 80% of the population, respectively.