Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Glenn Brandt: I think in terms of the network costs, Stephanie, think of it in the context of the higher band spectrum carries more data. 5G service users consume more data. On a per gig basis, you need the mid and higher bands. And we’ll need those as we move into the years to come to carry the data. But the capital investment in that spectrum and getting it into our towers that, think of that as being the network costs associated with 5G. They are fixed costs, largely they’re the capital spend that we put into spectrum into infrastructure. And those were the fixed costs that you don’t see in the margins. You see them below the EBITDA line in terms of our capital spending. Once we get them out there, we deploy them and we can run services out to our customers.

Operator: Our next question comes from Jerome Dubreuil of Desjardins. Please go ahead.

Jerome Dubreuil: Thanks for taking my questions. Two for me. The first one is on cable. I would like to get a an update on the percentage of your cable network that overlaps with fiber to the premises. And then second question on wireless. Great postpaid adds, again. Would you agree that now a larger proportion of wireless subscriber growth comes from a bit of a lower end of the market? And if yes, what does that mean, in terms of the strategy to adopt to go to market? Thank you.

Tony Staffieri: Thanks for the question, Jerome. I’ll start with the second part. And then Glenn will come back to the cable question. In terms of the wireless as you think about new to Canada as a student migration. Certainly that segment would index first to the Flanker brands and we’re certainly seeing that and as so I would say in the near term, there’s a slight indexation to that. But at the same time, what we’re finding is a very good and healthy migration to the Rogers brand, especially as a result of, as we’ve talked about our focused efforts on that migration within our base. And so I would say it continues to be balanced much like it always has been. And so I wouldn’t overstate that the market is moving to in a big way to the Flanker. As I said, I think it’s slight, but there’s more than enough offsetting in the base and the rest of the market to get the right mix to the premium brand.

Glenn Brandt: And Jerome in terms of the percentage of our network that we have fibre to the prem without seeking to frustrate you with my answer, we were opportunistic with Atlantic Canada is an overbilled or a rebuild of our network facilities. Because Atlantic Canada is primarily ariel over the air transmission and poles are simply easier to run fiber than burying and replacing plant that way. On a cost per home pass basis we can be opportunistic and run fiber through Atlantic Canada. New construction build when the trenches are open, we’re putting in fiber to the premise. We’re opportunistic with it, but don’t think of it in the context of they’ve done X percent and still have 100 minus x percent to go. Our hybrid fiber coax has a long, long tenure still to run.

DOCSIS 4 will be entirely competitive with whatever we can deliver over our fiber to the premise plant as well. There will be comparable and we will be competitive with our peers, where they have fibre to the pram over our hybrid DOCSIS or sorry, hybrid fiber coax plan. So think of it in that regard.

Operator: Our next question comes from Aravinda Galappatthige of Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

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