Telcos offer 5G growth plus sustainable dividends

Article Excerpt

Canada’s top telecoms recently bought new wireless spectrum (wireless frequencies) under Ottawa’s latest auction. These investments will help them expand the rollout of 5G service to more areas. The faster speeds will also attract new customers, and let these companies keep raising their dividends. BCE INC. $65 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BCE; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 905.7 million; Market cap: $58.9 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider. It also provides wireless and high-speed Internet services, in addition to owning TV and radio stations. With the April 2021 payment, BCE raised your quarterly dividend by 5.1%, to $0.875 a share instead of $0.8325. The new annual rate of $3.50 yields a high 5.4%. BCE recently agreed to purchase new wireless spectrum from the Canadian government for $2.07 billion. That will help the company accelerate the rollout of its ultrafast 5G wireless networks in urban and rural areas. It expects…