April 24 (Reuters) - Canada's Rogers Communications ( RCIAF )

topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter

wireless subscriber additions on Wednesday, with rapid growth in

the country's immigrant population boosting demand for its

services.

The company added 98,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless

phone subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, compared with

analysts' average expectation for net additions of 77,530,

according to 10 analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

In Canada, rising population driven by temporary foreign

workers and immigrants has sparked demand for companies such as

Rogers Communications ( RCIAF ), even as it faces fierce competition from

BCE and Telus Corp. ( TU )

Canada's population touched a record high of 40.77 million

in 2023, Statistics Canada said in March. The country added 1.27

million people in 2023, up 3.2% from the previous year - marking

the highest growth since 1957.

Toronto, Ontario-based Rogers, which acquired Shaw

Communications in April last year, has also benefited from

cost-conscious new customers turning to its bundled and

discounted plans with a promise of expansive network coverage.

In the reported quarter, free cash flow, a metric closely

watched by investors to help determine dividend payouts, rose

58% from a year earlier to C$586 million ($428.27 million).

The company's total revenue rose about 28% to C$4.90

billion, compared with analysts average estimate of C$4.92

billion, according to LSEG data.

($1 = 1.3683 Canadian dollars)