The telecom landscape in Canada is changing quickly and radically, said Michael J. Sabia, President and CEO of Bell Canada Enterprises, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. Sabia cited three fundamental forces that are reshaping the industry. First, customer preferences are evolving to demand new technological solutions and less complexity. Second, the level of competitive intensity is increasing. There will soon be genuine local competition as cable companies launch their VoIP services. Third, there is a major trend among enterprises to outsource their entire IT operations. For network providers, this raises the question of who controls the customer. Despite the new world of competition, Sabia believes there are many opportunities for telcos that are well positioned. Some highlights:
- In broadband, Bell Canada has about 43% share against the cable companies. Sabia argues that Bell Canada has been the most aggressive North American carrier in DSL. About 75% of the company’s footprint is DSL eligible. The company has 1.3 million DSL customers. Its penetration rate is 13%, compared to 6.7% for SBC and 4.4% for Verizon. DSL is Bell Canada’s local loop for the future. The next challenge is delivering more advanced services, such as security, music and other content. Bell Canada is partnering with Microsoft on new portal capabilities.
- Sabia described FTTH as a “daunting prospect” economically because “there is no Moore’s law for fiber trenching.” However, the fundamental direction over the long term is to push fiber deeper into the network.
- Bell Canada’s satellite TV service has captured 1.3 million subscribers and continues to grow. The company has two dedicated satellites for its DBS offering. Satellite TV has also given Bell Canada expertise in the content arena. Ultimately, Sabia believes video will be the key for a “broadband home” bundling strategy.
- Bell Canada is ramping up a VDSL offering targeted at multi-dwellings units, which represent 40% of the population in Toronto alone. The VDSL connection will provide video service for up to three TVs from a single set-top box.
- Bell Canada recently completed a major VoIP contract with Nortel Networks and plans to introduce a hosted telephony service for enterprise customers. Bell Canada will initially target large enterprises, followed by VoIP services for smaller companies, and eventually for residential companies.
- Bell Canada’s major focus will remain on “simplifying the customer experience.” The major goal here is to sell more to the customer while providing a one-stop provisioning and billing interface. Bell Canada’s consumer research indicates that 70% of consumers want a service bundle that combines all-distance voice, Internet and video services. Simplification is also expected to drive efficiency gains inside the company. Some 350 projects are underway to support the “one-stop” strategy.
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- In September 2003, Bell Canada announced plans to invest CDN$200 million (approximately US$146 million) over three years in Nortel Networks’ IP and multimedia messaging platforms to provide new services to its large enterprise customers. Bell Canada is pursuing a “One Network” approach to the development and delivery of services.”
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