Rogers Communications reported that its total revenue increased 14 percent to C$3.582 billion during the second quarter of 2021.
Rogers said wireless service revenue increased by 2 percent, due to a larger postpaid subscriber base, and higher roaming revenue. Wireless equipment revenue increased due to higher device upgrades by existing subscribers and higher gross additions.

Cable revenue increased by 5 percent as a result of disciplined promotional activity, service pricing changes in late 2020, and increases in Internet and Ignite TV subscriber bases.

Media revenue increased by 84 percent, primarily as a result of higher advertising and Toronto Blue Jays revenue due to the resumption of live sports as COVID-19 restrictions were eased.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 6 percent this quarter and adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 260 basis points driven by the impact of Media. Wireless adjusted EBITDA increased by 10 percent, primarily as a result of lower bad debt expense as we recorded a provision in the prior year due to the economic uncertainty relating to COVID-19.

Capex

The increase in capital expenditures in Wireless were a result of investments made to upgrade wireless network.

Rogers focused on 5G deployments in the 600 MHz band and other bands as it has deployed 5G network in more than 700 communities and rolled out 5G standalone core network in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The decreases in capital expenditures in Cable were a result of lower investments in network infrastructure as it recognized capital efficiencies and improved capital intensity. Rogers upgraded its network infrastructure, including additional fibre deployments to increase our fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-curb distribution.

Rogers said these upgrades will lower the number of homes passed per node and incorporate the latest technologies to help deliver more bandwidth and an even more reliable customer experience as it progresses in Connected Home roadmap, including service footprint expansion and upgrades to DOCSIS 3.1 platform to offer increased download speeds over time.

Rogers said its 5G network  reaches more than 700 communities and over 50 percent of the population, including Selkirk and Steinbach, Manitoba; St. Catharines, Ontario; Saint John, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Rogers will extend 5G network to more than 1,000 communities, reaching over 70 percent of the Canadian population, by the end of 2021.