Critical issues impacting Canadian telecommunications
June 2, 2022
-
1 Minute 30 Seconds
The regulatory situation in Canadian telecommunications is currently very fluid with pending transactions, upcoming rules from the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission, and new decisions around wholesale internet access rates. Executives from across the sector spoke to these, and several other critical issues, at our recent Telecom & Media Conference.
Current drivers in the telecom and media sectors:
- Equipment installment plans and family plans are key reasons for record low levels of churn. With many customers paying for increasingly expensive smartphones directly, the average length of time between handset upgrades has increased to 35-36 months, which means less frequent opportunities to switch carriers.
- Higher roaming, increased data usage, new service tiers, and less headwind from data overage fee erosion were all cited as factors likely to drive continued strong ARPU growth in Q2/22 and beyond.
- Emerging 5G network capabilities should open new revenue opportunities in the enterprise and small-medium business sector.
- Wireless market growth has remained strong as of Q2/22, driven by increased immigration and the re-opening of retail stores.
- Roaming volumes remain below 2019 levels, but recent rate increases suggest that roaming revenue could be up versus 2019 (even with less business travel) by 2023. Inflation and supply chain issues were downplayed as manageable by all carriers.
- TV advertising demand remains strong (pandemic recovery; strength in digital/ABB sales; and new categories like sports betting) and they are seeing no signs of recessionary pullbacks in spending.
Subscribing clients can view the full report on our Market Alpha portal
