BCE (BCE) 11th Annual Desjardins Conference 2026 summary

Strategic announcements and competitive positioning

• Announced a 300MW data center project in partnership with the Government of Saskatchewan, emphasizing infrastructure build and a targeted 20% IRR, supported by upfront customer contracts and secured power and permits.

• Differentiation is driven by a unique, sovereign AI solution crafted over three years, leveraging partnerships with leading tech firms like Cerebras, Groq, Coveo, and Cohere.

• Go-to-market strength is enhanced by a large B2B sales force and obligations to expand sales capabilities, with a focus on public sector opportunities and alliances with major tech players such as SAP.

• The company maintains a strict investment bar of 20% IRR for all data center projects, adjusting for site-specific factors but consistently prioritizing high returns.

• Power access and monetization are central, with a disciplined approach to turning down deals that do not meet return thresholds.

Risk management and operational execution

• Major risks such as chipset, end-customer, and AI ramp-up timing are mitigated through upfront contracts and full facility sell-out, leaving construction and counterparty risk as primary concerns.

• Construction risk is managed by leveraging repeatable engineering and experienced teams, with a proven track record of rapid data center builds.

• Partnerships with CoreWeave and Cerebras offload specialized rack and wiring work, reducing operational complexity.

• Customer risk is minimized by working with established, high-momentum partners and securing long-term contracts.

• The company avoids exposure to volatile GPU asset values, focusing on infrastructure and power.

Wireless and fiber strategy

• Wireless competition is cyclical, but long-term growth is expected, with ARPU anticipated to recover by 2027 and increased focus on bundling and premium services.

• Fiber deployment is a key differentiator, improving wireless experience and reducing churn, with market share exceeding 50% in the East and targets of 40% within five years in new fiber areas.

• Customer experience improvements, including digital and call center enhancements, are credited with double-digit churn reduction over the past three quarters.

• Bundling content such as Crave and D2C offerings further differentiates the service and drives customer loyalty.

• Fiber build strategy is flexible, prioritizing ROI over fixed targets, and avoiding direct competition with other fiber operators to maintain strong returns.