As the exclusive telecom services provider to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Bell expects to benefit for years with revenues flowing from the Games and an increased customer base.
Bell hasn’t disclosed its revenues from the Winter Games, but CEO George Cope said Thursday that the company expects the revenues will go for years, after BCE Inc. rang up a profit of $608 million in the first quarter of 2010.
“Some of our wireless results this quarter, I think, benefited from what we did in the Olympics, and with our new network,” Cope said after the company’s annual meeting.
For the Olympics, Bell built an Internet-based network for TV, data and voice and has already said it plans to use the network long after the Olympics to generate more revenue.
Cope said revenues are being tracked internally from the Feb. 12- 28 Games to make sure “we bring in more customers as a result of that.”
Bell also launched an advanced wireless network for its mobile phone users last November and did heavy advertising during the Games.
Bell’s sponsorship of the Vancouver Olympics totalled $200 million.
Bell built a fibre optic network from Vancouver to Whistler, B.C., the home to major events like downhill skiing, to enable all communications traffic, such as data, voice and Internet.
At the meeting, Bell brought in three medal-winning athletes to meet shareholders.
Ski-cross gold medal winner Ashleigh McIvor, figure skating bronze medallist Joannie Rochette and speed skater Clara Hughes, who won a bronze medal, spoke to shareholders about their Olympic experiences and signed autographs.
As for wireless, Cope said it’s the fastest growing part of its business, followed by TV and Internet services. He noted that competition in the wireless industry is increasing with new players coming into the cellphone business.
“It won’t get any less intense as we go forward. My fundamental belief is that it takes a lot of capital and as for the new entrants, the market will have to decide.”
In its financial results, BCE said it realized profit of $608 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of $377 million for the same 2009 period.
Revenue at Canada’s largest telecommunications company rose 2.3% to 4.43 billion, getting a boost from sales at the Source chain of electronics stores that it acquired last year. Revenue at its main subsidiary, Bell Canada, rose 3.8% to $3.76 billion.
