Expect fewer mobile discounts from Bell and Telus next year

Bell and Telus execs just lately spoke individually on the Desjardins Toronto convention and shared the outlooks each corporations have on the present telecom market and the place it’s going.

Each corporations despatched their chief monetary officers, who spoke at size relating to many elements of the telecom ecosystem, however largely appeared to concentrate on areas for progress. This convention appeared similar to an earnings name, however with out sharing any concrete numbers.

To kick it off, Telus CFO Doug French shared that the corporate has seen a cooling on offers supplied for wi-fi providers, however not as a lot for residence web. He additionally mentions that charges have gone down as a lot as 70 per cent on cellular plans in Canada over the previous few years.

Nevertheless, as we all know from a prior report, that quantity is manipulated because it’s often targeted on the common value per gigabyte, not how a lot the common individual is paying. Furthermore, a recent Statistics Canada report notes that wi-fi costs really elevated in October 2025. Notably, this comes after the group changed how it tracks wireless pricing to higher replicate what shoppers really pay final 12 months.

Carriers search to extend ARPU

Shifting on from that, French and the moderator discuss Telus’ common income per person (ARPU) and the way Telus’ ARPU for its cellular sector has been in a damaging progress space for the final little bit. Don’t confuse this with damaging ARPU — the telecom remains to be raking it in with ARPU hovering across the $58 mark over the previous three years, however it’s down barely in comparison with 2024 and 2023.

Beneath, I’ve outlined how a lot Telus has made on common from its cellular subscribers because the begin of 2023. The primary quantity is the ARPU, and the second is the whole income the corporate constituted of its wi-fi division that quarter:

• Q3 2025 – $57.21 – cellular community rev $1.755 billion.
• Q2 2025 – $56.58 – cellular community rev $1.723 billion.
• Q1 2025 – $57.13- cellular community rev $1.732 billion.
• This fall 2024 –  $58.05- cellular community rev $1.758 billion.
• Q3 2024 – $58.85- cellular community rev $1.766 billion.
• Q2 2024 – $58.49 – cellular community rev $1.734 billion.
• Q1 2024 – $59.31 – cellular community rev $1.746 billion.
• This fall 2023 – $58.50 – cellular community rev $1.759 billion.
• Q3 2023 – $59.19 – cellular community rev $1.753 billion.
• Q2 2023 – $58.80 – cellular community rev $1.718 billion.
• Q1 2023 – $58.61 – cellular community rev $1.697 billion.

Since we’re near Black Friday, French additionally had a chuckle about costs going up after the procuring occasion, which ought to assist improve ARPU. In Bell’s talk, it appeared like the corporate has additionally picked up on the development of attempting to lift ARPU as properly, so it looks like Canadians are going to start out seeing greater wi-fi plan costs because the Huge Three attempt to get their ARPU over $60. Bell mentioned it hopes to lift its common ARPU by the tip of 2026. (Bell’s ARPU chart appears very similar to Telus’ above, sticking round $57-$58 in the previous couple of quarters.)

That is an fascinating dynamic because the Huge Three have needed to be extra aggressive as Freedom is being pushed to change into the fourth nationwide service in Canada. The CFOs from each corporations appear to agree that issues are going again in the direction of regular within the telecom world, which for them means excessive costs and no offers.

That mentioned, the CRTC mandated that Freedom should hold its costs 20 per cent extra reasonably priced than the incumbent carriers in Ontario, B.C, and Alberta for ten years. That was in early 2023, so we’re over two years into that stint, which implies Freedom will seemingly stay aggressive for lots longer. Except it additionally begins to lift costs, I believe Bell and Telus is likely to be leaping the gun by pondering competitors is settling down.

A concentrate on residence web offers

French says that Telus shall be quieter out of the gate subsequent 12 months with fewer offers on cellular plans and units. Bell’s discuss suggests the identical, so solely time will inform how strictly they maintain to that technique. Nevertheless, he expects there to be plenty of presents on residence web. This residence web play provides up with Bell’s discuss, which additionally targeted so much on constructing out fibre to the house and gaining subscribers that manner.

Telus is constant plans to increase its fibre, and it’s hoping to make an impression within the east, equivalent to Ontario and Quebec, the place it’s been pushing more durable since a latest CRTC ruling allowed it to share infrastructure with different large telecoms. On this, French mentions that Telus is specializing in areas with a excessive return (large populations) at first, however in the end he says that “everybody deserves to have fibre on the finish of the day,” and that’s the corporate’s aim.

Bell CFO Curtis Millen additionally talked a giant sport a couple of hopeful return to progress and actually hit on the corporate’s fibre technique. I discovered this to be an fascinating twist, considering Bell has been spending a lot of money advertising that it’s paused its fibre rollout due to the same CRTC ruling that helped Telus move east. That mentioned, we have now since seen Bell launch fibre internet out west using Telus infrastructure, so it does seem to be the corporate is lastly taking part in ball once more.

On prime of that, Millen says that Bell is once more planning to “construct out fibre, load subs onto the community, construct extra fibre, load extra subs, and so forth.” That mentioned, he didn’t share the place this is able to be taking place or when. Notably, the corporate instructed me that there can be fibre in my neighbourhood in Toronto final summer time, and it’s nonetheless not right here, so it’s exhausting to take it on its phrase because it retains flipping backwards and forwards on its fibre rollout technique.

Supply: Desjardins conference Bell, Telus, Telus earnings, Bell earnings