Bell quietly completed Distributel acquisition in December

Telecom giant Bell has completed its acquisition of Distributel, according to its Q4 earnings report.

The report highlights a number of areas of customer growth through the acquisition. However, this is the first time Bell has mentioned the acquisition publically since announcing its intentions to acquire Distributel in September.

MobileSyrup has learned the acquisition was completed in December. It’s unclear what regulatory approvals the acquisition went through, when it gained approval, and how much Bell paid.

The merger added 128,065 retail internet customers and 2,315 retail IPTV customers to Bell’s customer base.

Q4 results

In the fourth quarter, Bell increased its broadband customer base with 330,743 new activations, increasing its customer base by 46 percent compared to Q4 2021.

On the wireless front, revenue grew by almost 8 percent thanks to growth in the service and product sectors. Mobile phone subscribers increased by nearly 12 percent. Postpaid subscribers grew 41 percent as the company reports an increase in greater retail traffic, immigration growth, and bundling options. The figure was offset by decreased prepaid customers, which lost nearly 32,000 subscribers in Q4.

Bell’s wireline business didn’t report the same success. Operating revenue only increased by 0.5 percent year over year. Bell’s internet business saw the most success on the wireline side. The company added over 63,000 internet subscribers, increasing the figure by 33 percent year-over-year.

Bell expanded its fibre network to 854,000 locations in 2022 through communities in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, and the East Coast.

More to come…