TAGGED AS RURAL BROADBAND
CRTC approves claims for broadband rollout
telecom | 05/05/2023 1:40 pm EDT
Friday the CRTC issued approvals for several claims under the Broadband Fund. Three companies will receive money to roll out infrastructure across the country.
ATG Arrow Technology Group is receiving $15.7 million for four projects in Alberta. BCE Inc. property Bell Canada will get $1.51 million to...
Government announces new licencing policy for 5G
Internet and Governance | 05/03/2023 5:03 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced Wednesday that the government is adopting a new licencing policy for 5G spectrum that should provide easier local access for internet service providers and small communities.
“Whether...
INDU committee unanimously supports Mazier’s bill requiring carriers to provide accurate service quality metrics
Internet and Governance | 03/29/2023 6:00 pm EDT
Canadian carriers that offer fixed broadband...
Auditor General finds internet connectivity lags in rural and Indigenous areas
Internet and Governance | 03/27/2023 5:20 pm EDT
Auditor General Karen Hogan released a quartet of reports on the...
CRTC opening up Indigenous Broadband Funding steam in policy review
telecom | 03/23/2023 6:57 pm EDT
The CRTC is looking for feedback on how it can improve its Broadband Fund,...
All sides endorse Mazier’s internet bill in committee
telecom | 03/21/2023 3:59 pm EDT
Conservative MP Dan Mazier’s private member’s bill on internet service...
Canadian and Ontario governments invest $15 million in broadband rollout
telecom | 03/16/2023 2:09 pm EDT
The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced two projects that will see a total of $15 million invested in the deployment of high-speed broadband. The two governments...
Senate ‘one-size-fits-all’ spectrum deployment bill is counter-intuitive: CWTA, CanWisp, ISED
telecom | 03/09/2023 2:45 pm EST
Telecom experts say that a Senate bill that would...
Wholesale access in the North is essential for service improvement, Indigenous economic development: stakeholders tell CRTC
telecom | 02/17/2023 5:26 pm EST
There is a consensus forming that the CRTC should...
SaskTel CEO retiring
telecom | 02/13/2023 5:47 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. announced the retirement of its president and CEO Doug Burnett.
Burnett will be leaving at the end of May to early June,...
Federal government invests $31 million in Nova Scotia broadband
telecom | 12/19/2022 4:02 pm EST
The Canadian government announced Monday that it is investing up to $31...
Feds continue rollout of connectivity, Quebec achieves universality
telecom | 12/16/2022 1:20 pm EST
The federal government’s Innovation Science and Economic Development...
Indigenous Connectivity Summit calls for more inclusion in consultations
telecom | 12/07/2022 1:19 pm EST
Indigenous telecommunications stakeholders are calling on the government to...
CanWISP worried ISED proposals will reduce rural connectivity
telecom | 12/01/2022 7:04 pm EST
"Stringent" limitations proposed for the non-competitive licensing (NCL)...
CRTC officially releases its third call for Broadband Fund applications
telecom | 11/30/2022 5:12 pm EST
The CRTC is now accepting applications for eligible transport...
Feds rollout $2.6 million in broadband in Alberta First Nations community
telecom | 11/11/2022 12:14 pm EST
Thursday the federal government announced it was rolling out $2.6 million in broadband infrastructure in the Tsuut'ina indigenous community in Alberta. This will provide up to...
Xplore launching ultra-high density satellite in first half of 2023, expecting speeds of 100Mbps
telecom | 11/03/2022 4:04 pm EDT
Xplore Inc.’s residential and business customers...
Nova Scotia warns telecoms to be ready in case of emergencies
telecom | 10/14/2022 5:02 pm EDT
Thursday the Nova Scotia government tabled amendments to two laws which it...
Wholesale HSA service not needed in Far North; LEOs will do: Northwestel
telecom | 10/12/2022 4:59 pm EDT
There’s no need for BCE Inc.’s Northwestel to introduce wholesale...
Feds meet with telecoms over Hurricane Fiona, NS premier unimpressed
telecom | 09/30/2022 12:58 pm EDT
Heads of Canada's major telecommunications companies met with federal...
Spectrum Unceded: How Indigenous people are Fighting for Digital Sovereignty in a Wireless World
Media | 09/30/2022 9:48 am EDT
by Jenna Cocullo
At the frontier of the future Indigenous communities want to go from subscribers to owners
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4...
Nova Scotia premier blasts hurricane response from Big 3 and Eastlink; calls on ISED to intervene
Media | 09/28/2022 5:37 pm EDT
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston wrote to...
Cell phone, internet service still out in many parts of Atlantic Canada
telecom | 09/26/2022 5:27 pm EDT
Hurricane Fiona wreaked havoc on Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec last...
Xplornet rebranding to Xplore as it plans to expand rural footprint
telecom | 09/13/2022 5:11 pm EDT
Xplornet Communications Inc. is rebranding to Xplore Inc. “to better...
Federal government, BC announce $1.9m in broadband rollout
telecom | 09/06/2022 4:59 pm EDT
The Canadian government has partnered with the government of British...
Federal government increases connectivity in Quebec and Ontario
telecom | 08/26/2022 5:06 pm EDT
The federal government announced two projects on Friday that will increase...
Britain and Australia provide example for internet ads, PIAC says
telecom | 08/17/2022 6:52 pm EDT
Canada should look to Britain and Australia for lessons on how to regulate...
CRTC approves statements of work for several broadband projects
telecom | 07/19/2022 3:54 pm EDT
Tuesday the CRTC issued approvals of several statements of work for...
Telus invests $23 billion in Ontario over four years
telecom | 07/05/2022 4:00 pm EDT
Telus Corp. unveiled a $23 billion investment in broadband and related technologies across Ontario...
CRTC approves claims for broadband rollout in North
telecom | 06/27/2022 4:18 pm EDT
Monday the CRTC approved claim forms for four projects under the Broadband Fund. The payment orders went to the Kativik Regional Government in northern Quebec and to three projects from BCE Inc.’s Northwestel Inc.
Kativik was awarded over $36.2 million for fibre rollout...
CRTC looks at improving telecom services in Far North
Media | 06/08/2022 4:21 pm EDT
The CRTC announced it was initiating a proceeding to improve telecommunications services in Canada’s...
Canada and Quebec invest $200K each in broadband rollout
telecom | 05/26/2022 5:27 pm EDT
The governments of Canada and of Quebec are each investing $199,305 in...
Canadian LEOs challenge SpaceX’s offering, Gov. subsidy
telecom | 05/16/2022 7:04 pm EDT
Players in the low-earth orbit satellite (LEOs) space are casting doubt...
Senator calls for greater broadband access to First Nations
Media | 04/29/2022 3:29 pm EDT
A Saskatchewan senator called on the government to do more to ensure...
Government announces more internet connectivity projects funded in Ontario
telecom | 04/22/2022 5:14 pm EDT
Friday, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced which projects will be allocated a combined total of more than $163 million in funding to bring high-speed internet to...
$5m announced for rural internet in BC
telecom | 04/21/2022 5:03 pm EDT
In an announcement Thursday, the department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) said...
Canada and Ontario governments pledge $56 million for broadband rollout
telecom | 04/19/2022 3:29 pm EDT
The governments of Canada and Ontario are jointly investing $56 million for...
SaskTel announces $337M investment in province
telecom | 04/13/2022 4:29 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is investing approximately $337 million of capital in...
Feds rollout $20 a month internet for low-income families and seniors
telecom | 04/04/2022 1:22 pm EDT
The federal government is providing low-income families and seniors with...
CRTC allocates $19m for broadband rollout in Alberta and B.C.
telecom | 03/29/2022 4:25 pm EDT
The CRTC has issued $19.5 million from the regulator's Broadband Fund for...
Feds announce $41M in funding for rural Alberta broadband
telecom | 03/15/2022 4:57 pm EDT
The federal government is investing $41 million to deliver high-speed...
Consortium to run fibre network from Europe to Asia through Northwest Passage
telecom | 03/11/2022 4:51 pm EST
An Alaskan company has unveiled a billion-dollar project to run fibre from...
Federal government matches provincial funds for Alberta broadband
telecom | 03/09/2022 2:14 pm EST
The federal government is earmarking $240 million in matching funds to...
Canadian, BC governments invest $830M in high-speed internet
telecom | 03/08/2022 12:01 pm EST
The federal government has partnered with the government of British Columbia on the rollout of high-speed internet in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. The announcement was made Tuesday in Mission, British Columbia by Gudie Hutchings, federal Minister of Rural...
Alberta invests nearly $400 million in rural broadband rollout
telecom | 03/02/2022 4:31 pm EST
The province of Alberta will spend $390 million over four years to provide...
Gov. announces funding to connect remaining Newfoundland rural households
telecom | 02/22/2022 5:44 pm EST
The federal government and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador are...
Government spends $41M to bring broadband to rural Alberta
telecom | 02/09/2022 5:27 pm EST
The federal government is investing $41 million to roll out broadband in...
Telus, Iristel, say administrative monetary penalties don’t apply in 867 dispute
telecom | 01/24/2022 7:05 pm EST
The CRTC cannot impose fines on either Iristel Inc. and Telus Corp. after...
Gov. award Ontario AI company contract to map out rural broadband access
telecom | 01/12/2022 9:15 am EST
The Government has awarded a Toronto-based analytics company that uses artificial intelligence to collect data a contract to map out rural broadband access across the country....
Base Technology gets money from CRTC Broadband Fund
telecom | 12/01/2021 1:58 pm EST
The CRTC has granted Base Technology Ltd. up to $750,000 Wednesday to roll out broadband in rural British...
Telus launches Indigenous reconciliation plan amid goals for connectivity
telecom | 11/29/2021 2:31 pm EST
Telus Corp. Monday unveiled a program to connect Indigenous communities to...
Indigenous connectivity needs separate funding from feds’ UBF: Telus exec
telecom | 11/17/2021 7:40 pm EST
The federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), by having rural...
Internet Society releases Indigenous connectivity recommendations
telecom | 11/09/2021 10:34 am EST
Indigenous stakeholders in Canadian telecoms are renewing their calls for...
Rural, Indigenous, connectivity won’t improve by 2030 if Gov. keeps current goals in place : Report
telecom | 10/29/2021 5:48 pm EDT
Canada’s targets of reaching connectivity speeds...
Telesat announces new chief commercial officer, president of Government Solutions
Media | 10/26/2021 1:00 pm EDT
Satellite operator, Telesat Corp. appointed an executive in the...
CRTC approves work on Cogeco, Columbia Basin, Broadband Fund projects
telecom | 10/22/2021 6:14 pm EDT
Two telecom companies can start work on their Broadband Fund projects now...
CoopTel says Bell subsidiary doesn’t need 5 months to implement competition changes
telecom | 10/21/2021 5:36 pm EDT
Quebec-based telecom company CoopTel wants the...
Bell, SaskTel, not buying ISED proposal to reintroduce deployment requirements for cellular bands
telecom | 10/20/2021 12:04 pm EDT
BCE Inc. and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. are not in favour of a proposal from Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) to adopt its 20-year 3500...
Proposed fees for earth stations would hinder remote connectivity: Telecom stakeholders
telecom | 10/14/2021 6:25 pm EDT
Rural broadband provider Xplornet Communications...
Deadline extended for ISED consultation on new regime for licensing unused spectrum
telecom | 10/12/2021 5:35 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) is extending the...
Xplornet announces new CTO
telecom | 10/06/2021 4:01 pm EDT
Xplornet Communications Inc. announced Dennis Steiger as its new chief technology officer in a Wednesday press release.
Steiger will lead the architecture, planning,...
Telus expands networks in five B.C. communities
telecom | 09/27/2021 1:52 pm EDT
Telus Corp. is expanding its 5G network in four British Columbia communities as part of its $13 billion...
Xplornet announces rural 5G standalone network
telecom | 09/22/2021 3:12 pm EDT
New Brunswick-based rural broadband provider Xplornet Communications Inc. announced Wednesday it’s rolling out a rural 5G standalone network, starting with its home province and expanding over the coming months.
Xplornet, which bills itself as the leading...
Spectrum license exclusivity must go: Mozilla advisor
telecom | 09/21/2021 6:36 pm EDT
In order to achieve better spectrum sovereignty for Indigenous communities in Canada, the government has...
Conservatives would reject mergers impacting competition: O’Toole
telecom | 09/07/2021 5:14 pm EDT
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said during a press conference on...
Broadband blues: the UBF and its discontents
telecom | 09/03/2021 5:50 pm EDT
With a federal election called for Sept. 20, parties have pledged to make Canadians’ lives better in a...
Rogers picking up Nova Scotian ISP
telecom | 08/23/2021 5:35 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. has made a deal to acquire Seaside Communications, a long-time local internet...
The Wire Report’s guide to the 2021 federal election
Media | 08/17/2021 2:35 pm EDT
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally called Sunday for a...
Telesat reports rising expenses and drops in revenue, profit for Q2
telecom | 08/13/2021 3:28 pm EDT
Telesat Corporation, a newly-public satellite company with plans to connect...
Rural B.C. receives $17.3m from UBF, provincial fund, for high-speed internet projects
telecom | 08/06/2021 4:57 pm EDT
The government has announced more than $17.3 million of funding for four high-speed internet projects in rural British Columbia in an effort to close the digital divide in...
CRTC announces 10 projects, $20.5M, in Broadband Fund
telecom | 08/04/2021 5:39 pm EDT
Approximately 3,625 households will benefit from the CRTC’s Broadband Fund, after a Wednesday announcement of 10 projects selected to receive a total of $20.5 million....
Bell wants more notice for payments into NCF
telecom | 04/22/2021 6:02 pm EDT
BCE Inc. is objecting to proposed changes to the procedures for the operation of the National Contribution Fund, saying that a proposed system for payment forecasts does not allow contributors to the fund to plan properly. In an intervention filed April 19, Bell wrote that the proposal by the Canadian Telecommunications Contribution Consortium Inc. (CTCC), which is responsible for establishing the procedures necessary for the operation of the NCF, "does not provide sufficient time for each contributor to determine and arrange for the amount payable as part of their obligations." The CTCC...
SaskTel wants stay on BH Telecom funding
telecom | 04/20/2021 2:52 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is requesting a stay in the distribution of $9.5 million in funding the CRTC awarded to BH Telecom Corp. for a Saskatchewan project that BH Telecom says that would connect more than 26...
Internet equity gap grows for rural areas during pandemic: CIRA
Media | 04/14/2021 12:21 pm EDT
Internet speeds for rural Canadians continue to remain “well below” the recommended CRTC speeds, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people “are counting more than ever on reliable broadband...
SaskTel objects to CRTC funding for BH Telecom, says project is duplicative
telecom | 04/12/2021 6:06 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. has asked the CRTC to overturn its decision to award $9.5 million in funding to BH Telecom Corp. for a project in Saskatchewan that would connect some 26...
Universal broadband fund likely to be highly oversubscribed: ISED official
telecom | 03/31/2021 5:39 pm EDT
The federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund is in high demand, according to a speech from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) senior director David Willis Wednesday at...
Broadband project in rural Manitoba getting $260 million
telecom | 03/26/2021 3:00 pm EDT
The federal government’s Canada Infrastructure Bank and DIF Capital Partners have signed an agreement in principle to spend $130 million each to increase rural broadband connectivity through the Southern Manitoba Fibre project. The federal fund announced the project in a Friday release and said up to 49,000 underserved households will be connected with dedicated fibre-to-the-home in rural areas of Manitoba. The project involves 2,550 kilometres of fibreoptic cabling, including last-mile infrastructure with underground fibre cables and networking equipment. Valley Fiber Limited will...
Rogers, feds announce eastern Ontario wireless expansion project
telecom | 03/19/2021 4:13 pm EDT
The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), the Province of Ontario, the federal government, and Rogers Communications Inc. Friday announced a $300 million project with the goal of connecting 99 per...
CRTC awards $57 million for transport projects in Que., Ont., and B.C.
telecom | 03/19/2021 3:51 pm EDT
The CRTC is handing out $57.7 million through its Broadband Fund for the construction of thousands of kilometres of network transport infrastructure. The commission announced Friday that seven...
Telus gets $5.4 million for high-speed internet in rural Alberta
telecom | 03/17/2021 4:50 pm EDT
Telus Corp. will receive more than $5 million in funding through the Rapid Response Stream of the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund for projects bringing high-speed Internet to rural...
Telesat needs proceeds from 3800 MHz to compete: CEO
telecom | 03/11/2021 6:11 pm EST
If Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada doesn't approve Telesat Holdings Inc.'s proposal...
Telesat inks deal for high-speed modem chip for satellite broadband
telecom | 03/10/2021 4:10 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. announced a new agreement with satellite communications technology developer SatixFy Israel Ltd. Wednesday morning, as Telesat moves towards launching its Lightspeed satellite...
Monsef: encouraging competition will be a factor in UBF funding
telecom | 02/18/2021 5:14 pm EST
Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef said that the federal government is hoping to promote competition within the telecommunications sector as it awards funding for projects from the...
Northern TPIA access for SSi should be expedited: competitors
telecom | 02/10/2021 4:35 pm EST
The CRTC should move quickly to set wholesale prices in the North for SSi Canada's access to BCE Inc.’s Northwestel, according to an intervention by TekSavvy Solutions Inc. In an intervention...
Telesat announces LEOS constellation Lightspeed to launch in 2023
telecom | 02/09/2021 5:39 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. announced today that the company will partner with French-Italian company Thales Alenia Space for the manufacture of post of its low-earth orbit satellite (LEOS) constellation,...
CRTC Broadband Fund approves five transport projects
telecom | 02/04/2021 3:43 pm EST
The CRTC has awarded up to $26.7 million to five transport projects that will improve broadband connectivity in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan as part of the second funding call for its $750 million Broadband Fund. The successful projects, proposed by Shaw Communications Inc., BH Telecom Corp. (operating as FlexNetworks), Rogers Communications Inc., Tough Country Communications Ltd. and the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation, will build more than 550 kilometres of fibre transport network across the three provinces, the CRTC announced on Thursday. The projects will benefit...
CRTC hears divided opinions about internet service in North
telecom | 01/27/2021 9:56 am EST
Local governments and advocacy groups are urging the CRTC to take action to...
Bell joins call for centralized rural broadband fund
telecom | 01/26/2021 4:39 pm EST
Spectrum auction revenues should be reinvested in rural broadband initiatives and the multiple broadband...
SSi Canada announces new satellite capacity for north
telecom | 01/19/2021 1:16 pm EST
SSi Canada says a partnership with satellite and connectivity services provider SES S.A. will deliver a “large, large amount” of extra capacity for its QINIQ broadband and mobile services in the country’s north, allowing SSi...
Residents want CRTC to allow more competition in ‘monopolistic’ North
telecom | 01/13/2021 11:19 am EST
Canadian residents in the North want the CRTC to allow enhanced competition...
As he steps down, Bains says telecom affordability ‘won’t go away’
Media | 01/12/2021 7:58 am EST
The affordability-focused initiatives Navdeep Bains put in place will continue to bring down prices of telecom services after he leaves the innovation minister role, he told...
Xplornet acquires Metro Loop
telecom | 12/15/2020 1:27 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. has acquired the southern Ontario fibre-based service provider Ocdotus Inc., Xplornet announced Tuesday. Ocdotus -- which operates under the name Metro Loop -- is based in Hamilton and provides...
ISED proposal to displace spectrum for fixed wireless divides ISPs
telecom | 12/11/2020 11:37 am EST
A pair of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada proposals on changes to midband spectrum allocation that would affect fixed wireless service has drawn a mixed response from telecoms....
Create a broadband czar to coordinate funding: PIAC
telecom | 12/08/2020 6:05 pm EST
The disparate broadband funding programs administered across different federal government departments...
LEO satellite service pricing still uncertain, conference hears
telecom | 11/30/2020 6:28 pm EST
While much of the conversation about rural broadband in Canada has recently centered on low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the business is a very expensive one, with huge capital costs and...
Gov. rural broadband funding lacks strategy, cohesion: Execulink CEO
telecom | 11/30/2020 10:36 am EST
The recently launched package of funding opportunities for rural broadband...
Post-bankruptcy OneWeb plans to offer Canadian broadband by 2022
telecom | 11/25/2020 5:12 pm EST
OneWeb Ltd. is still planning to offer broadband internet service in Canada, following its recent exit from bankruptcy protection. The company intends to use a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite...
Going public gives ‘more optionality’ for funding LEOS, Telesat CEO says
telecom | 11/24/2020 7:04 pm EST
A corporate restructuring that will see Telesat Holdings Inc. go public and...
UBF won’t have fixed affordability requirements
telecom | 11/19/2020 5:30 pm EST
Government officials have indicated that the newly-launched Universal Broadband Fund will seek to allow for affordable internet pricing across Canada, although it will not impose many firm or fixed affordability requirements on...
LEO providers aiming to meet gov’t connectivity goals within 3 years
telecom | 11/18/2020 2:36 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) both said Tuesday they plan to provide broadband connectivity to remote and rural areas of Canada seven years ahead of the government’s 2030 target date, though neither had a definitive answer about the affordability of the services. Speaking before a meeting of the House of Commons industry committee, Telesat president and CEO Dan Goldberg said he expects Telesat to have its full constellation of around 300 low earth...