Numbers up for Bell in Q3, wholesale fibre launch for western Canada expected in January

BCE Inc. issued positive figures in its third quarter results on Thursday, Nov. 6. Much of the black ink can be attributed to good numbers posted by American subsidiary Ziply Fiber, now reporting as part of the communications and technology services (CTS) group. “This was our first quarter of operating this asset and its results are reported in our new Bell CTS U.S. segment,” BCE CEO Mirko Bibic explained in an analysts’ call. “We’re very pleased that Ziply Fiber’s financial results continue to exceed our original investment case.” Because the Ziply deal did not close until August, its numbers in the report were for two months only. Bibic said he expects the company to expand beyond its current four state footprint. Ziply now services 1.4 million households but the CEO believes that will grow to three million by 2028. Further expansion beyond that year should eventually hit eight million households, he added. The company added that the former executive chairman of Ziply, Steve Weed, has joined the board of directors of BCE and Bell Canada. During the analyst call, Bibic had praise for Tuesday’s federal budget, saying, “at a macro level,” there are a number of positive initiatives “industry-wide.” “I don't mean the telecom industry only but, just generally speaking, spurring more investment in the Canadian economy is a decidedly good thing and I think there’s a lot of pro-competitive, pro-investment initiatives in the budget that should be looked upon favourably,” he said. On the subject of internet sales, the CEO said in the east the company’s strategy is to protect Bell’s position. That can be achieved through higher fibre penetration. In western Canada, where the firm does not have facilities, it will start out by protecting its mobility base. It also plans to resell services on existing fibre networks, including Telus Corp.’s. There is a trial program underway in Kelowna, B.C., with a full launch of wholesale fibre services planned for January, he noted. Operating revenues for Bell were $6.04 billion, up 1.3 per cent from the $5.97 billion posted a year prior. Net earnings were $4.55 billion in Q3 2025, versus a loss of $1.19 billion last year. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $2.76 billion, up 1.5 per cent from 2024’s $2.72 billion. Capital expenditures were $891 million, down from $954 million in 2024, a decrease of 6.6 per cent. Free cash flow was one billion dollars, a hike of 20.6 per cent from the $832 million of FY2024. Bell CTS, reflecting both Canadian and American numbers, saw revenues jump 2.4 per cent to $5.4 million from a year earlier. It added 26,111 new net high-speed internet subscribers, down 38.4 per cent from the 42,415 of 2024. The decline was attributed to losses in Canada, which were offset by gains in the Ziply marketplace. Overall the unit has 4.89 million internet users as of Q3 2025, up 9.7 per cent from the previous year. Retail IPTV activations fell by 16,218 net subscriptions compared to 9,197 subscribers in Q3 2024. Losses were experienced on both sides of the border. For the end of the quarter, Bell had 2.09 million IPTV subscribers, a fall of two per cent from the previous year. Delving into the countries separately, BCE reported that Bell CTS Canada revenue dipped by 0.6 per cent to $5.24 billion in the quarter. Postpaid mobile phone subscriber activations were 11,511 in 2025, a decline of 65.2 per cent from the 33,111 from 2024. Prepaid activations were 56,507 this year, versus 69,085 last year. Total mobile subscribers were 10.3 million, a slight jump of 0.4 per cent. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was down a similar 0.4 per cent to $58.04 from $58.26 in 2024. This was linked to competitive pricing pressures; lower overall revenue from customers subscribing to unlimited or large capacity data plans; and a decrease in travel to the United States affecting roaming revenue. For the quarter, high-speed internet subscriptions were 21,426, compared to 42,415 in 2024. The fall was attributed to competitors’ offers; less fibre expansion; and slow growth due to lower immigration and slower housing starts. IPTV customer base fell by 16,161 net subscribers in Q3 2025 versus 9,197 activations a year earlier. This was caused by less pull-through due to lower internet volumes; lower customer activations of the Fibe streaming service; and greater competitive intensity. For the American division, operating revenues were $160 million in the last two months of Q3. Internet subscription activations were 4,685. There are no numbers to compare with last year as Ziply was not a part of Bell at the time. Bell Media operating revenues fell to $732 million, a decline of 6.4 per cent. Advertising revenue was down 11.5 per cent. This was due to falling ad demand and the divestiture of 45 radio stations. Total subscriptions to the Crave streaming service jumped 24 per cent to 4.2 million total subscribers. Bibic repeated that Crave is now bundling its content with TSN and Disney+. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Numbers up for Bell in Q3, wholesale fibre launch for western Canada expected in January

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By Paul Park
|November 6, 2025

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Numbers up for Bell in Q3, wholesale fibre launch for western Canada expected in January

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