Telecom Lead America: Canadian operator Rogers says its wireless data revenue in Q1 2013 comprises 45 percent of wireless revenue against 39 percent in the corresponding period of 2012.
A portion of this growth reflects enhancements to data roaming plans introduced in the third quarter of 2012.
Its wireless data revenue rose 22 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to $762 million. The growth in wireless data revenue reflects the penetration and growing usage of smartphones, tablet devices and wireless laptops, which drive increased usage of e-mail, wireless Internet access, text messaging, data roaming, and other wireless data services.
3 percent growth in Q1 revenue to $3.027 billion was primarily driven by wireless network revenue growth of 4 percent and cable revenue growth of 4 percent, partially offset by declines at media.
Net income rose 15 percent to $414 million.
Blended ARPU increased 3.5 percent in the first quarter.
The 3.5 percent year-over-year increase in blended ARPU for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, compared to the corresponding period of 2012, primarily reflects the aforementioned growth in wireless data revenue, partially offset by the continued decline of wireless voice ARPU.
The wireless data component of blended ARPU increased by 20.5 percent, partially offset by a 7.3 percent decline in the wireless voice component as a result of a general shift in usage patterns from voice to data based wireless services and the general level of competition around wireless voice services.
Nadir Mohamed, president and CEO of Rogers, says the company’s LTE / 4G now covers approximately 60 percent of the Canadian population.
“The positive operating trends which we achieved during 2012 are carrying into the new year as evidenced by the continued improvements in ARPU, data and Internet revenue, churn and margin profiles which we reported for the first quarter of 2013,” Mohamed added.
