Both Telus and BCE, Canada’s number two and three mobile operators respectively, reported growing Q2 sales on the back of post-paid subscriber growth. But this comes against a backdrop of growing anxiety among Canada’s operators about the looming entry of Verizon into the market as the government aims to boost competition.

Telus boosted its year-on-year Q2 revenue by six per cent, to CAD2.83 billion ($2.75 billion), as the operator grew its post-paid mobile subscriber base by 100,000 over the three months. The operator’s total wireless base, at 7.7 million, is up 3.5 per cent compared with end-June 2012.

BCE’s Q2 turnover rose 1.9 per cent, to CAD4.4 billion, helped in part by a net increase of 96,390 contract subscribers.

Both companies, however, suffered falls in net income. Due to higher restructuring costs, Telus’ earnings fell 4.3 per cent, to CAD286 million.

Net earnings attributable to BCE common shareholders fell by 22 per cent, to CAD571 million, although Q2 2012 earnings were boosted by a one-off tax boost.

BCE set aside part of its Q2 statement to call on the federal government to “close the loopholes in new wireless regulations that favour major US wireless carriers like Verizon with a range of advantages originally intended for competitive wireless startups”.

Verizon has been circling smaller players in Canada’s mobile market for some time, encouraged by a change in regulation.

Last year, to bolster its attempt to create a viable fourth nationwide operator, Canada’s government ruled that telecom carriers could have full foreign ownership if they had less than a 10 per cent market share.

There are also worries among Canada’s operators that players such as Verizon might unfairly benefit from a government decision to reserve airwaves for new entrants, as well as rules that force incumbents to open their networks for use by competitors.

On the same day as Telus and BCE announced their Q2 results, Robert Depatie, the chief executive of Quebecor, a media and telecom company – which runs a wireless network in the province of Quebec – is reported by Reuters to have said that the entry of Verizon Wireless could be “catastrophic” for regional operators looking to expand.

According to figures from GSMA Intelligence, Rogers, BCE and Telus – combined – hold around 88 per cent of Canada’s mobile market.