Quebecor hits wireless milestone, topping 1M subscribers

Seven years after Quebecor Inc. launched its mobile network to become the fourth wireless player in Quebec, it has surpassed the one million subscriber mark.

The Montreal-based communications and media giant, which offers wireless, cable and internet services under the Videotron brand, reported Wednesday that it ended 2017 with 1,024,000 wireless subscribers.

It added 34,000 mobile customers in the three months ending Dec. 31, nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of the gross additions in the areas where it competes, Videotron CEO Manon Brouillette said in a call with analysts. Videotron’s wireless market share now sits at 16 per cent, she said. Executives have previously stated a goal of capturing a quarter of the regional wireless market.

Brouillette credited the strong performance to dynamic wireless offerings, pointing to promotions including a two-for-one deal on iPhones and a subscription to Quebecor’s online video streaming service Club Illico for mobile customers on premium plans.

“Everything we do is to make sure we’re ahead of competition. Every quarter if they meet or match our offer, we bring something different, something new in the market and we will keep doing so,” she said.

Competitors play a “submarine strategy ” where they offer promotions directly to customers to keep their tactics confidential, she said.

“They’re very aggressive. Since we rank first in share of gross additions, of course they ’re trying to be as active as possible,” she said.

Videotron’s numbers indicate customers like the unique Club Illico deal. More than 32,000 customers downloaded the Club Illico mobile app since it launched in mid-November, Brouillette said. Videotron expects it will increase average revenue per user in the future as customers use more data.

Quebecor’s overall financial results were inline with expectations, with lower than expected revenue in the media division and soft numbers for cable television in advance of Quebecor’s internet protocol TV launch with Comcast’s X1 product.

But the wireless results impressed analysts, who praised the different promotions on the call.

Wireless subscriber growth continued its momentum as Videotron saw an uptick in average revenue per user, RBC analyst Drew McReynolds wrote in a note to clients.

“Quebecor’s continued strength in wireless is in line with the general strength in the Canadian wireless market in the fourth quarter, but we are pleased to see this excellent performance after BCE reported very strong net additions in the same quarter,” Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi noted.

Analysts have looked to Videotron as a blueprint as Shaw Communications Inc. tries to expand its wireless business, Freedom Mobile, to take on the Big Three in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.