MONTREAL-BCE Mobile Communications Inc., whose subsidiaries operate under the Bell Mobility name, reported a net loss of $49.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30.
The company attributed the loss to its investment in Iridium L.L.C., through a stake in Iridium Canada, and to a special charge of $4 million for costs associated with a BCE Mobile staff reduction in May.
However, cellular and personal communications services activations in the quarter totaled 140,000, the highest reported in a second quarter in the company’s history, said BCE Mobile. The figure was up 39 percent from 101,000 reported for the second quarter of 1998. BCE Mobile ended the quarter with 1.61 million cellular and PCS subscribers.
Revenue from the company’s cellular and PCS operations increased 8 percent in the second quarter from $152.7 million to $164.9 million, reflecting both the subscriber growth as well as lower revenue per subscriber. Revenue per subscriber decreased from $40.3 per month in the second quarter of 1998 to $35 in the second quarter of 1999.
Paging revenues dropped slightly to $24.6 million from $24.8 million for second-quarter 1998.
