Shaw Communication’s Freedom Mobile added 90,744 wireless subscribers in Q4 2019, and it now has a total of 1,658,185 wireless subscribers.
In its earnings report released on October 25th, the regional carrier broke that number down to 75,913 new postpaid subscribers and 14,831 new prepaid subscribers.
“We have firmly established Freedom Mobile as the industry innovator and recognized champion of wireless affordability for Canadians. Through years of thoughtful and strategic capital investing, we have built a high quality, facilities-based wireless network that is capable of meeting the evolving needs of our customers and continue to fuel Freedom’s momentum,” Shaw’s CEO Brad Shaw said in the report.
The new additions are an increase from the 85,014 total wireless subscribers the carrier added in the same period a year ago, according to the report.
“The increase in the postpaid subscriber base reflects the seasonally active back-to-school period and continued customer demand for the Big Gig data-centric pricing and packaging options, including Absolute Zero,” Shaw said in its report. “The increase in the prepaid customer base reflects the success of the new plants that were launched in the market in early April.”
In this fourth quarter, Shaw reported a wireless postpaid churn rate of 1.47 percent, a slight decrease from the 1.49 percent that was indicated in the same period a year ago. Shaw indicated that this slight dip reflects “the active back-to-school period.”
Churn rate is the rate at which a subscriber leaves a carrier to go to its competitor.
The carrier said its Average Billing Per User (ABPU) for Q4 was $42.58, a slight increase from the $41.00 that was reported in Q4 2018. Shaw said its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was $38.59 for the quarter, again a very slight increase from the $38.38 that was reported in the same period a year ago.
Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.35 billion, a 1.9 percent increase from the $1.33 billion that was reported last year. Shaw said its operating income for the quarter was $537 million, a decrease of 3.4 percent from the $566 million that was reported in the same period a year ago.
Source: Shaw Communications
