The Canadian mobile connection market stood at 21.25m at the end of Q3 08, equivalent to a penetration rate of 63.0%. Annual growth has been stable at between 8.2% and 9.0% for the past five quarters and the Q3 08 figure of 8.7% was exactly the same as the year-earlier figure, although given the low penetration level this is not exactly an impressive performance. Perhaps the launch of OrascomÃ's network - scheduled for spring 2009 - will energise what is a decidedly sluggish market.
As we noted in Issue 143 of The Mobile World Briefing, Q3 08 saw Rogers record the highest figure in the market for quarterly net additions for the first time in four quarters. It added 239k during Q3 08 to finish the quarter on 7.74m. Second-placed BCE (Bell Mobility) was up 117k to 6.45m while third- placed TELUS saw a 149k boost to 5.98m. Meanwhile, regional operators Manitoba Tele Services (MTS) and Sasktel both added 12k to finish on 0.42m and 0.49m respectively.
In terms of proportionate annual growth, the two regional operators continued to lead the way. Sasktel posted a figure of 12.1% and MTS 11.4%, both of which were more than 1pp up on the previous yearÃ's figures. TELUS was the only national operator to see double-digit growth with a 10.6% year gain, while Rogers recorded 8.2% and Bell Mobility 7.1%.
Canada is dominated by contract customers, and Rogers is still top of the market in terms of customer quality. Its contract percentage improved by 0.9pp year on year to 81.3%. TELUS improved by 0.1pp to 80.3%, and Bell was up 0.4pp to 73.0%. In real terms, Rogers had 6.29m contract customers, TELUS 4.80m and Bell 4.71m.
The companiesÃ' ARPU figures reflect their respective levels of customer quality. Again Rogers leads the way with a third-quarter figure of Can$67.19 per month, compared to Can$64.14 for TELUS and Can$56.00 for Bell. Sasktel only reports a year-end ARPU figure, but MTS posted a cumulative average of Can$57.51. Rogers also saw the strongest growth with an increase of Can$3.18 compared to Q3 07. Bell remained flat, while TELUS was down Can$0.66 and MTS Can$1.74.
Posted to the site on 10th December 2008
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Customers and Annual Growth, Q2 06 – Q3 08
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