BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell MTS has responded to a report criticizing how the telecom has operated since it was privatized in 1996. The initial study came from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Bell bought the independent MTS six years ago. “Since 2017, Bell MTS...
The federal government will spend $38.5 million of its $500 million of Connect to Innovate funding to build backbone networks in rural Manitoba, according to a Tuesday press release. Those backbone connections will “bring fibre to the majority of the 112 communities,...
Telus Corp. has finalized a deal it struck as part of BCE Inc.’s acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. to have 100,000 former MTS subscribers, or about one quarter of its postpaid wireless subscriber base,...
The acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. expands the scale at which BCE Inc. operates, which is “becoming one of its most important competitive advantages,”...
The purchase of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc. has officially closed, Bell said in a press release Friday. “Uniting the local and national strengths of MTS and Bell Canada, the new Bell MTS...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s president and CEO will leave the company following the closing of its acquisition by BCE Inc. MTS said in a press release Friday that Jay Forbes will leave after the deal closes on March 17. The $3.9 billion acquisition received...
Technologies identified by the CRTC as potential tools to combat spoofed and nuisance calls have promise, but barriers to their deployment mean they’re not likely to be put in place any time soon, companies told the regulator. The CRTC launched a consultation in January following a November order requiring telecoms put in place measures to block “unwanted nuisance calls” on both wireless and wireline networks. In interventions, which were due Wednesday, companies addressed the potential effectiveness of two standards that are currently in...
Greater flexibility allowed by the federal government for market forces to shape the wireless industry would benefit most of the big players but negatively affect Shaw Communications...
The introduction of Xplornet Communications Inc. into Manitoba’s wireless market was a “surprise twist” to the story of BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion acquisition...
The CRTC has granted approval for Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. to transfer its broadcast distribution licences to BCE Inc. as part of an overall $3.9-billion acquisition of the provincial provider. In a...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. will cut about 80 jobs to save about $7 million following a voluntary workforce reduction program “for certain employees who are not in customer-facing roles,” the company announced...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is asking the CRTC to exempt a television service from being offered in a package to meet the commission’s basic TV mandate later this year. The telecom...
High fibre costs and advancements in technology are among the reasons Canadian telcos are unlikely to expand their fibre-to-the-home [FTTH] footprint beyond 60 per cent coverage, according to Desjardins Capital Markets. In...
The CRTC has set revised interim wholesale rates for high-speed access (HSA) services, criticizing large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for proposing “unreasonable” rates that were too...
The CRTC said Tuesday that it wants input on Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s application to transfer its broadcast distribution licences to BCE Inc. as part of the proposed acquisition of MTS by...
Gigabit-speed Internet will be introduced to Northern Manitoba under a BCE Inc.-owned Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., the companies announced Monday. The improvement in Churchill, Man., would be part of the $1-billion-over-five-years investment Bell pledged to make as part of the acquisition proposal for MTS, said a press release. Churchill, which is located “at the edge of the Arctic on Hudson’s Bay,” is a tourist destination that will benefit from faster Internet speeds and access to Bell’s Fibe TV services, the release said....
The CRTC has determined that a hands-off approach to regulating roaming rates on GSM networks until it approves a final set of guidelines would not put smaller carriers in a negotiating disadvantage with larger ones. The...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said it made improvements to its post-paid wireless churn for the third consecutive quarter, though its total wireless subscribers were still down from a year ago,...
Manitoba Telecommunications Services Inc. will begin offering Netflix Inc.’s streaming service directly on its set-top box. The company said in a press release Thursday that the move “removes the...
BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have cleared yet another hurdle in their quest to combine, as the deal has now received court approval from the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, according to...
The shareholders of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have nearly unanimously approved its acquisition by BCE Inc. Of the just over 43 million votes cast, 99.66 per cent were in favour of the acquisition, according to a Thursday press release. The deal now requires regulatory approvals from the likes of the CRTC, the Competition Bureau and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the press release noted. Bell CEO George Cope previously said that he expects the regulatory process to take between nine and 12 months. The...
The biggest risk to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. in the wake of BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is the...
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall told reporters he would rather sell Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. than take the company public and sell shares on the open market, Bloomberg...
An independent proxy advisory company has backed the takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc., MTS said in a Tuesday press release. International Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending...
Current Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. customers are concerned about the future of their bills if the proposed takeover by BCE Inc. is approved, suggest the results of a new poll...
An information package for Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. shareholders sheds some light on the genesis of the proposed $3.9-billion acquisition of the company by BCE Inc., announced May 2. According...
The sale of Manitoba’s largest telecommunications company is not sitting well with Manitobans, with 61 per cent stating they don’t approve of the deal, while only 21 per cent said it would...
The proposed $3.9-billion acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc. dominated question period in the Manitoba legislature this week, with the opposition NDP peppering the governing Conservatives...
Toronto-based consulting company Mark H. Goldberg and Associates Inc. will conduct the third-party review of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., the company announced Friday. The review, launched in...
In a submission to the Competition Bureau arguing that allowing BCE Inc. to acquire Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. would weaken wireless competition in the province, Carleton University’s Dwayne Winseck and Ben Klass state the merger would also affect Rogers Communications Inc.’s competitive power. They said “it is likely that Rogers’ position as a viable competitive alternative and constraint on the market power of [Bell and Telus Corp.] would be significantly weakened following the merger.” That’s because Rogers relies on a...
BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. made a high-profile overture Friday in their bid to join forces, announcing plans for a proposed merged operation to fill gaps in wireless coverage along a major...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. reported a two-per-cent loss in revenues, earning $250.7 million in the three months ended March 31, compared to $255.9 million in the same period a year earlier. The company...
The Competition Bureau is asking for comment on BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion bid to buy Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., it said in a press release Tuesday. It made a form available on its website that both consumers and...
Faced with the prospect of becoming “an island in Western Canada” at the conclusion of the proposed Manitoba Telcom Services Inc. sale, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is...
NDP MPs pushed the innovation minister to closely scrutinize BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in the House of Commons Wednesday. Manitoba MP Niki Ashton asked if the Liberal government would “commit to a public study of this potential takeover, or will they rubber-stamp this deal and stand with well-connected business interests instead of standing up for Manitoba jobs and Manitoba consumers,” according to transcript of question period. While he said the government wouldn’t comment on an individual...
Telus Corp. revenues increased by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, rising to $3.1 billion compared to $3.03 billion during the same period a year earlier, the company said Thursday. In a press release...
The $3.9-billion acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc. would increase competition in Manitoba’s wireless market, according to the authors of a new report from the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI)....
OTTAWA — Parliamentarians hoping for answers to outstanding questions about Monday’s news that BCE Inc. had struck a deal to acquire Manitoba Telecom Services...
BCE Inc. announced Monday morning that it will purchase Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in a $3.9 billion transaction that, if approved, will see the number of players in Manitoba’s telecom...
GATINEAU, Que. — With the use of landlines declining across the country, the money collected for the provision of universal phone service should be reallocated to cover areas of the country underserved by broadband...
A $422 million expansion of broadband Internet services to underserved communities has been completed, the CRTC confirmed Thursday. In 2010, the regulator approved plans by BCE Inc., Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and Telus Corp....
Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang said Monday that providers of telecommunications services in Canada will feel the effects of the struggling economy. He said in a research note that most of repercussions from things such as...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. CEO Jay Forbes on Monday downplayed the likelihood that the whole company could be sold in the wake of a deal to unload its business communications division, Allstream....
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Wednesday reported lower revenue and profits compared to a year earlier. It said in a press release that revenue was down one per cent to $398.4 million for the three months ended Sept. 30. Net earnings came in at $26.7 million, down from $36.8 million one year earlier. MTS said revenue was down due to declines in wireless-voice and long-distance revenue, partially offset by gains in wireless-data, Internet, "information solutions" and IPTV revenues. The company said it is continuing efforts to transform the company, which include improving customer experiences in its MTS division and revitalizing its Allstream division, the latter of which it intends to sell....
Canaccord Genuity analysts Aravinda Galappatthige and Sanford Lee said Tuesday that they expect a Liberal majority government, as elected Monday, to take a “softer pro-wireless new entrant...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is asking the CRTC to grant its Classic TV customers another exemption from the regulator’s emergency alert rules, which would be in place until MTS is able to...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Wednesday it has brought LTE to two more rural communities, making for 30 non-urban areas that have received this level of service so far this year. MTS said in a press release that the two new...
A stock market analyst has speculated that an acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc. is likely next year. A research note Wednesday from TD Securities analyst Vince Valentini said that with MTS set to sell off...
Kelvin Shepherd is retiring as president of Manitoba Telecom Service Inc., paving the way for Jay Forbes to take on the roles of both chief executive and president, the company said Monday. Forbes became CEO at the start of this year. MTS said in a press release that Shepherd was going to leave the company later this year. It said the changes reflect changes that are meant to "simplify and realign its organizational structure to better fit the company's go-forward strategy focused on a stand-alone MTS." Shepherd said in the release that change is "logical," given...
The Competition Bureau has filed applications in Federal Court seeking information from wireless carriers about how they set prices for Apple Inc.’s devices. The applications involve BCE Inc.,...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Thursday that, following a strategic review, it will make cuts to staff and capital spending at its Allstream division. MTS's Allstream, which provides business communications services...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. CEO Jay Forbes met with three cabinet ministers and the head of Canada’s telecommunications regulatory body over the last five weeks, according the federal lobbying registry. MTS chief...
Canadian telecommunications providers are looking to the business market to pick up the slack from the increasingly competitive consumer space, yet financial data from the incumbent service providers shows, in the opinion of one...
MONTREAL — Business customers have become more knowledgeable about technology and more specific about their telecommunications needs, said Michael Strople, president of Manitoba Telecom Services...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Monday that Jay Forbes will replace Pierre Blouin as chief executive. It said in a press release that Forbes will assume the role on Jan. 1, one day after Blouin retires. Blouin's pending...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s first generation of IPTV service was already on the way out, pushed aside by a more technologically advanced alternative the carrier started in 2009, but CRTC requirements for participation in...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Wednesday reported lower third-quarter earnings and revenue, despite adding subscribers to its main retail categories. The company said in a press release that its revenue in the quarter was down...
For the second year in a row, PCMag.com has named Rogers Communications Inc. the fastest Internet service provider in Canada. The online technology publication gave Rogers a score of 30.3, which is based on a compilation of download and upload speeds in megabits per second, with the download portion representing 80 per cent of the score and the upload portion representing 20 per cent. PCMag.com said testing for these rankings occurred between Oct. 1 last year and Aug. 13 this year, and each ISP ranked had its service tested from at least 50 different IP addresses. Rogers' score improved...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. has opened a new Winnipeg facility for monitoring and managing its network infrastructure, the company said in a press release Thursday. The Manitoba Network Operations Centre will also “act...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with its unions and retirees regarding a pension plan that was in dispute following its 1997 privatization and was subject to a Supreme Court decision early...
BlackBerry Ltd. launched a new smartphone, the Passport, on Wednesday, as well as an app that brings content from BlackBerry smartphones to computers and tablets. The Passport, revealed at a launch event in Toronto that featured...
Two regional wireless carriers from the Prairie provinces announced Monday they will carry Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 6. when it becomes available on Sept. 19. Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and Saskatchewan...
BCE Inc. says it has held up its end of a 2006 deal with the CRTC by hooking up 112 rural communities to broadband Internet by Aug. 29. “Bell completed broadband service rollouts to all 112 communities in our deferral account-funded broadband program by Aug. 29, as planned,” company spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in an email. In June, the regulator had warned Bell, Telus Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. about the looming deadline, which was part of an agreement the companies signed on the use of funds set aside between 2002 and 2006 as part of their operations as...
The CRTC said that four telecommunications companies must pay a portion of the costs incurred by the DiversityCanada Foundation during the CRTC’s consultation on the removal of a last payphone...
Analysts are split on the wisdom of Industry Canada’s rules for the upcoming AWS-3 auction, which appear to put valuable spectrum in two provinces out of reach for any carrier. The spectrum rules, detailed on July 28, set...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Thursday posted slightly lower profits in the second quarter of 2014 from the same period last year, with growth in broadband Internet and Internet protocol TV (IPTV) revenues offset by declines...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Monday it has expanded its LTE network to Swan River, Man., which is about 500 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. MTS said in a press release the service will provide download speeds of up to...
This week the CRTC warned three companies — Telus Corp., BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. — about missing a late-August deadline for expanding broadband service to rural...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Monday said its business-networking arm, Allstream, had achieved a level of certification for its Ethernet services to enterprises, and is the first national carrier in Canada to receive this...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said it will be launching a 4G HSPA+ mobile network in six rural Manitoba communities this year, giving around 4,000 residents wireless speeds that are up to five times faster than their current CDMA...
Dean Prevost, president of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s MTS Allstream business unit, will leave the company on Jan. 17. MTS said in a release Tuesday he would step down “in order to pursue other interests.”...
MTS Inc. has extended its fibre-to-the-home service to Lorette, Man. The company said in a release Friday the rollout will give residents access to its IPTV service, MTS Ultimate TV, as well as its high-speed Internet plans. The expansion is part of a multi-year program to bring the service, called Fion, to more than 20 communities across Manitoba, MTS said....
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. will provide WiFi to Winnipeg’s libraries, arenas, and other community facilities, the company said Monday. MTS said in a release it would invest approximately $2 million “to bring Wi-Fi...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is removing the “for sale” sign from its Allstream division following the Conservative government's decision to block its sale...
MTS Inc., a subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., expanded its DSL Internet service to Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation, Brunkild, and Seven Sisters Falls, Man. The company plans to bring the...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. reported a loss of $52.9 million in the second quarter of 2013 that ended June 30, mostly related to the discontinued operations of its Allstream business division. "After announcing the sale...
Mike Strople, chief operating officer of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream subsidiary, was elected to the board of international industry group the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), Allstream said. In a release Monday, Allstream said Strople, who has been with the company since 2005, was one of three new members elected to the MEF board at its July 23 annual meeting in Montreal. He is the only Canadian among the group’s 11 board members, the company said. MEF is a global industry alliance whose mission is to “accelerate the worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet...
The Telecommunications Employees Association of Manitoba (TEAM) Local 161 reached a tentative agreement on a revised collective agreement with Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., a release said. The union voted to authorize a strike...
About one-third of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s (MTS) Manitoba-based workforce voted to authorize a strike and could walk off the job in two weeks, the Telecommunications Employees Association of Manitoba (TEAM) Local...
Rogers Communications Inc. said it aims to improve its competitive position against BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. through more wireless network sharing agreements, though analysts do not yet see potential...
Former Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris said he is re-entering the Canadian telecom market with a “long-term commitment” and the purchase of Allstream from Manitoba Telecom Services Inc....
Six Ontario communities are looking for partnerships with wireless carriers to launch or improve local mobile services using repurposed radio and TV broadcast towers, which could mean cellphone...
MTS Inc. will invest $40 million this year to upgrade and enhance its telecom infrastructure in rural Manitoba, the company said. In a release Wednesday, MTS said the investment, which comes in addition to “normal operating...
MTS Inc. will begin deploying its fibre-to-the-home FiON network in Stonewall, Man., this summer and expects the service to be available in the area later this year, the company said. In a release Thursday, MTS said its rollout...
Team-IFPTE Local 161, representing more than 1,200 managers working for MTS Inc. is “shocked” that the company’s chief negotiator asked the federal government to appoint a conciliation officer, the union said...
MTS Allstream Inc. signed a “multi-year contract” to provide business IP and switched Ethernet services to the federal government through Shared Services Canada, the company said Friday. Shared Services is the government department responsible for providing telecommunications services such as email and data centres to departments and agencies. “The implementation of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) managed service will help SSC deliver on its mandate to improve the efficiency, reliability and security of the government's IT infrastructure,” the release...
MTS Allstream Inc.’s profits reached $40.8 million in the third quarter of 2012, the company said Thursday. In a release, MTS said profits for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2012, was up from $37 million in the same...
MTS Allstream Inc. reached a roaming agreement with SaskTel that “immediately” improves its HSPA+ wireless coverage in Saskatchewan, the company said Wednesday. In a release, MTS said its customers now have access to...
MTS Allstream Inc. launched its MTS Fion fibre-to-the-home network in Neepawa, Man., the company said Monday. MTS said in a release the new fibre optic network will bring high-speed Internet and MTS' IPTV service, Ultimate...
MTS Allstream Inc. turned on its fourth-generation LTE network in Winnipeg and Brandon, Man. at the end of August, the company said Tuesday. In a release, MTS said its new LTE network offers download speeds of up to 75 Mbps and...
MTS Allstream Inc. is undertaking a “wide-ranging strategic review” of its Allstream telecom business with an eye on appealing to potential foreign investors, the company said Thursday. In a release, MTS said the loosening of federal laws restricting foreign ownership of telecommunication companies earlier this year presented a “logical opportunity to consider a full range of alternatives that could be undertaken to further enhance Allstream's growing competitiveness.” MTS said it will turn to external legal advisors during the exploratory process, and will use CIBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley as financial advisors. MTS said the strategic review process would take place over the coming year. The company does not intend to disclose further developments of the review until the board of directors approves a...
MTS Allstream Inc. reported profits of $44.5 million in the three-month period ending June 30, down from $49.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier. In a release Thursday, MTS said earnings per share in the second quarter of 2012 rose 4.7 per cent to reach $0.67. The company said...
TORONTO—MTS Allstream Inc. and Telus Corp. are leading in the rollout of broadband for remote communities under a 2010 CRTC directive while BCE Inc. subsidiaries Bell Canada and Bell Aliant...