BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Mirko Bibic: Yes. Just €“ I am not going to repeat any of that because that was very good. I will just add the following. So, at the highest level, Maher, I think the investors €“ our investors should have confidence like we have a clear strategy, we have articulated that strategy, and we are funding it and executing against it. So, we have a diversified revenue streams and our fiber strategy is working. We have good wireless momentum. And while the media industry is pressured right now, we are taking share because our digital strategy has traction. And then you alluded to €“ so that’s a bit of a summation, what Glen said, you alluded to price competition as well, and we kind of see some of that €“ we saw some of that during the Black Friday period and you foreshadow potentially more of that for 2023.

On that, I will say the following. We have the room to compete on price if anyone wants to take us there. And we have the room because we are really good at managing costs and because of the scale of our fiber network, which €“ and then the bundling strategy. And all of that’s delivering lower churn, lower cost structure, higher lifetime value of our subscribers. Look, we have invested billions and billions to build North American leading networks. We are going to load those networks, and we can compete on price if we are taken there. And then that kind of segues into the regulatory question that you asked me. And look, it’s a bit early, like we are looking forward to sharing our thoughts with the new CRTC leadership on how competitive our industry is, and we shared those thoughts on these calls, obviously, quarter-after-quarter, but there is new CRTC leadership.

So, we are looking forward to those conversations. And in particular, really looking forward to highlight and reiterate the importance of the massive investments that need to be made in communications networks to drive the country forward. So, a couple of other things just on that prices are declining. It’s actually undeniable. And communications networks are pretty central to everything we want to accomplish as a country in terms of economic growth and productivity and maybe I will leave it with this last point. Does everyone in the country want better networks, yes. Do we want more coverage, yes. Do we want prices that keep declining, of course. Does local TV content matter, yes, it does. Do we want better customer experience, yes we do. Do we want more innovation, more jobs, yes, yes and yes.

But there is one common element that underpins all of those and its investment. So, we can’t lose sight of that. And I will leave it there.

Thane Fotopoulos: Mode, next question please.

Operator: Thank you. The following question is from Stephanie Price from CIBC. Please go ahead.

Stephanie Price: Hi. Good morning. For 2023, fiber homes decreased from 900,000 to a plan of 650,000, but CapEx stayed relatively elevated at $4.8 billion. Just curious about the other buckets of investment besides the mid-band and fiber that you are looking at? And maybe related, how do you think about a longer term view and what a more normalized run rate could look like for CapEx as you ramp down fiber initiatives?