TAGGED AS SMARTPHONES
CRTC further extends deadline for block pooling comments
telecom | 04/18/2023 5:08 pm EDT
The CRTC has again extended its deadline for comments and replies on a proposal to implement thousand-block pooling. The recommendation is to reduce block pools to 1,000 phone numbers, slashed from the current level of 10,000.
Telus Corp. filed a letter earlier this month...
Ottawa police caution about misusing 911 calls
telecom | 04/14/2023 1:14 pm EDT
To mark National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, the Ottawa Police Service issued a news release outlining some of the more outrageous calls the 911 system has received. In 2021, the service handled 667,000 calls. As the pandemic wanes, those numbers are expected to...
Nearly one million dormant phone lines under government review
telecom | 04/11/2023 3:40 pm EDT
The government is in the process of checking into how many phone numbers in...
CRTC to look at limiting number pools to 1000
telecom | 03/23/2023 5:52 pm EDT
The CRTC is worried about telephone number depletion and is suggesting that number pools be reduced to...
CRTC wants telecoms to address Canadians with disabilities wireless services
telecom | 02/23/2023 3:29 pm EST
Thursday the CRTC issued a decision directing wireless service providers...
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,...
SaskTel rolls out 5G into rural communities
telecom | 01/30/2023 4:00 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday that it is expanding its 5G footprint into 11 rural sections of the province. This will further wireless connectivity in Saskatchewan.
“Saskatchewan people will continue to benefit from some of the best...
Rogers gets details on how Quebecor-Freedom deal harms competition
telecom | 09/13/2022 4:44 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau responded Monday to Rogers Communications Inc.’s...
CRTC clarifies privacy rules for COVID tracing apps, declines to establish new regulations
telecom | 09/06/2022 4:49 pm EDT
The CRTC has clarified the rules around the...
CRTC approves 988 crisis number, won’t start until next year
telecom | 08/31/2022 4:57 pm EDT
Following months of discussion, the CRTC has finally implemented the use of...
Major non-compliance issues decreased, insufficient information sharing increased in 2021: CCTS
telecom | 08/15/2022 5:53 pm EDT
The Commission for Complaints for...
Canadian politicians subject to police surveillance, Ethics committee told
telecom | 08/09/2022 6:32 pm EDT
The Parliamentary committee looking at so-called on device investigation...
RCMP not using Pegasus, Ethics committee upset with lack of information
telecom | 08/08/2022 6:50 pm EDT
The RCMP are not deploying the Pegasus system to conduct surveillance on...
Canadian, U.S., STIR/SHAKEN authorities sign MoU on robocalling
telecom | 07/26/2022 3:57 pm EDT
Two Canadian and American governing authorities responsible for...
Gov. announced 11 projects, with $2.4M funding, to combat disinformation
Internet and Governance | 07/21/2022 4:11 pm EDT
The ministers of Canadian Heritage and Intergovernmental Affairs,...
Doherty demands 988 service in Canada as US rollout begins
telecom | 07/18/2022 5:07 pm EDT
Conservative MP Todd Doherty continued his fight for a national three-digit helpline for mental crises and suicide prevention. He proposed a motion which passed unanimously in the House of Commons back in 2020 but there has been little progress made since. Saturday the...
Cell phone border search bill, with higher search threshold, passes Senate
telecom | 06/21/2022 5:24 pm EDT
Late Monday night the Senate passed a reformed version of a bill that seeks...
Gov. tables three-headed private sector privacy reform bill
Media | 06/16/2022 5:45 pm EDT
Touting it as a "historic day" at an afternoon press conference, Innovation...
The border is a “perfect storm” for discrimination in cell phone search bill: Citizen Lab fellow
Media | 06/08/2022 4:55 pm EDT
The government's effort to convince...
OPC calls for higher threshold on border cell phone search bill
telecom | 06/06/2022 5:01 pm EDT
When it comes to the government's plan to lower the threshold governing the...
Tim Hortons app violated privacy laws: privacy watchdogs
Media | 06/01/2022 5:48 pm EDT
Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons violated national privacy law because users of its app had “their movements tracked and recorded every few minutes of every day, even when their app was not open,” according to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and several...
Searches of cell phones should meet same threshold as mail: civil liberties advocates
telecom | 06/01/2022 5:35 pm EDT
Given that the data contained on personal digital...
Lower, legally novel threshold in Bill S-7 needed for “unique situation”: minister
telecom | 05/31/2022 6:04 pm EDT
The government's attempt to create a brand new...
Liberal, Conservative MPs call for 988 service
telecom | 05/04/2022 4:10 pm EDT
The fight for a dedicated three-digit emergency number for suicide prevention continued to gather steam...
Bill S-7 would “weaponize the Customs Act”: Senator
telecom | 05/04/2022 4:06 pm EDT
A Government bill in the Senate that seeks to codify the legal threshold...
Therrien endorses Ethics report on data dive, makes further recommendations
telecom | 05/04/2022 3:58 pm EDT
Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien has welcomed the report on collection...
Ethics committee seeks changes to privacy laws, opting out of data collection
telecom | 05/03/2022 5:34 pm EDT
The House of Commons’ Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and...
Quebec union 911 committee request CRTC suspend NG911 funding consultation
telecom | 05/03/2022 5:05 pm EDT
The 911 committee for the Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique au...
CanOps argues for broader standard adoption for NG911
telecom | 04/28/2022 5:07 pm EDT
As the CRTC is considering the funding structures for the planned rollout of so-called next generation...
Doherty renews calls for 988 suicide helpline, Bennett say urban may be served first
telecom | 04/25/2022 3:46 pm EDT
Conservative MP Todd Doherty issued a news release on Monday marking the 500th day since he called for the establishment of a dedicated helpline for suicide prevention. The...
OPC not consulted, privacy experts concerned on cell phone border search bill
telecom | 04/13/2022 5:44 pm EDT
A new Government-backed Senate bill now seeks to establish a new framework...
NWT Gov. made party to three-digital mental health, suicide, crisis line proceeding
telecom | 04/01/2022 5:08 pm EDT
The CRTC is allowing the Government of the Northwest Territories to file...
Device search bill will safeguard traveller rights: Gov.
telecom | 03/31/2022 6:15 pm EDT
In what it says is an effort to safeguard travellers' rights when entering...
CRTC amends deadlines for NG911 comments
telecom | 03/25/2022 4:41 pm EDT
The CRTC has pushed back deadlines for comments on next generation 911 (NG911) service following a...
MVNO terms will determine our participation in 3800 NHz auction: Cogeco’s Jetté
telecom | 03/17/2022 5:19 pm EDT
Cogeco Inc.'s ability to participate in the upcoming 3800 MHz auction will depend on what terms and conditions the CRTC eventually approves for negotiations between incumbents...
ISED consults on requirements for spectrum licensees to submit technical info about sites
telecom | 03/11/2022 5:45 pm EST
Innovation, Science and Economic Development...
Telecom companies waive fees for calls to the Ukraine
telecom | 02/25/2022 5:29 pm EST
Several Canadian telecom companies have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by temporarily...
CRTC approves 911 location technology implementation, denies Bell rate range
telecom | 02/25/2022 4:39 pm EST
On Friday, the CRTC approved recommendations from the Emergency Services...
Telus, Blue Dot stress Health Canada never received personal data
telecom | 02/18/2022 5:26 pm EST
It would be impossible for the government to re-identify mobility data of...
Government is using surveillance in data dive, Ethics committee told
telecom | 02/14/2022 4:05 pm EST
A panel of academics reiterated that the Privacy Act and the Personal...
CRTC poses questions on three-digit suicide number
telecom | 02/11/2022 2:57 pm EST
The CRTC has released a dozen questions it wants stakeholders to answer regarding the establishment of a...
PHAC lack of transparency “appalling”, Cavoukian tells Ethics committee
Internet and Governance | 02/11/2022 10:06 am EST
Ontario’s former privacy commissioner called the Public Health Agency’s...
Paper billing for vulnerable customers, not universally: CRTC
telecom | 02/10/2022 5:42 pm EST
The CRTC has determined that all communications service providers (CSPs),...
Opposition grills Libs over definitive date on suicide hotline implementation, Online Streaming Act
Media | 02/07/2022 5:19 pm EST
Conservative MP and Heritage Critic John Nater accused the Liberals of “trying to use 20th-century rules to address the digital world of 2022” in its second attempt to...
Feds win fight to keep evidence secret in decision to ban China Mobile
telecom | 02/04/2022 5:30 pm EST
A federal court judge has rejected a China Mobile Communications Group Co.,...
Tories attack government over PHAC data tracking, Huawei delay
telecom | 02/02/2022 3:38 pm EST
Two Conservative MPs lambasted the Liberal government on Tuesday over data...
Tam refuses to appear before Ethics committee, Duclos to testify on Thursday
telecom | 01/31/2022 4:56 pm EST
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has declined an...
Quebec Ag. Commission to reconsider decision to reject Quebecor build
telecom | 01/21/2022 6:15 pm EST
The Commission for the Protection of Quebec’s Agricultural Territory will...
China Mobile pleads for Gov. evidence in fight against order to vacate Canada
telecom | 01/20/2022 4:48 pm EST
China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. is arguing before the Federal Court that the government should turn over the evidence it used to make an assessment of the national...
5G and aviation: the Canadian context
telecom | 01/18/2022 5:28 pm EST
On Monday, executives of several U.S. airlines wrote to leadership of the Federal Aviation...
CRTC asks Eastlink to propose NG 911 rates and submit cost study
telecom | 01/17/2022 6:10 pm EST
The CRTC has requested that several telecoms companies send it more...
Ethics committee votes for data hearing, Health Canada amends RFP
Internet and Governance | 01/13/2022 5:09 pm EST
OTTAWA–The House of Commons Ethics committee voted unanimously Thursday...
Opposition seeks emergency probe into Health Canada cellphone tracking
telecom | 01/10/2022 5:21 pm EST
A group of four Opposition MPs is asking for an emergency meeting of the...
Revenues dropped in 2020, EBITDA margins increased in 2020: CRTC CMR report
telecom | 12/15/2021 6:00 pm EST
Overall, telecommunications companies pulled in some $53.4 billion in 2020,...
CRTC calls for comments on next-gen 911
telecom | 12/09/2021 5:27 pm EST
On Thursday the CRTC called for comments on hosted call handling solutions (CHS) for public safety...
Opposition hammers Government on 988, broadband rollout
telecom | 12/08/2021 10:24 am EST
The government was taken to task Tuesday over rollout of a dedicated number...
SaskTel launches new digital mobile service
telecom | 12/07/2021 4:02 pm EST
A crown-owned Saskatchewan telecommunications firm is launching its new digital mobile service
In a...
Samsung opens Regina office to work with SaskTel
telecom | 12/01/2021 3:11 pm EST
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has opened a regional office in Regina to facilitate its work with Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. to roll out 5G service in the prairie province, the two companies announced Wednesday.
“This announcement is further validation...
Western Quebec to get new area code overlay
telecom | 12/01/2021 12:09 pm EST
The CRTC approved the implementation of an overlay for area code 468 for the western Quebec region...
CRTC approves new area code for Montreal area
telecom | 11/12/2021 12:18 pm EST
The CRTC has approved a new area code for the region surrounding Montreal. In a decision issued Friday...
Telecoms renew call for delay of STIR/SHAKEN
telecom | 11/11/2021 3:43 pm EST
Canada’s incumbent telecoms made another plea for deferral of the application of the STIR/SHAKEN...
RCMP seeks to develop encrypted data solutions for investigation purposes
telecom | 11/04/2021 5:03 pm EDT
The RCMP is looking for an artificial intelligence decryption system that...
Quebec company fined $200k for violating telemarketing rules
telecom | 11/04/2021 2:12 pm EDT
A Quebec-based company that specializes in the sale of wellness products to seniors was penalized for sending millions of unsolicited calls to Canadians, some of which were registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL).
In a Thursday release, the CRTC stated that...
263 area code coming to Montreal next year
telecom | 11/01/2021 2:32 pm EDT
Montreal will be getting a third area code within the next year, the CRTC said in a Monday decision. The...
UPDATED – Rodriguez back as Heritage minister, Champagne remains in Innovation
Media | 10/26/2021 12:47 pm EDT
OTTAWA -- MP Pablo Rodriguez is back in familiar territory as he is once...
Ontario Court of Appeal says provincial bill stands in Telus class-action suit
telecom | 10/25/2021 3:35 pm EDT
Ontario’s Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Telus Corp. in a...
Privacy Commish launching investigation into proof of vaccination requirements for federal workers
telecom | 10/22/2021 6:03 pm EDT
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner will be...
Several Quebec organizations receive leftover funds from Rogers $26M class-action lawsuit
telecom | 10/08/2021 6:30 pm EDT
A Quebec judge Tuesday decided the majority of the...
ARPU remains flat for wireless service providers despite increase in data usage: CWTA
telecom | 10/06/2021 6:29 pm EDT
An industry association-sponsored study released...
Telecoms companies debating immediate vs. phased-in deployment of crisis line
telecom | 10/05/2021 7:09 pm EDT
Canada’s telecom companies are debating before the CRTC whether it is...
Rewheel report again shows high prices for wireless data
telecom | 10/04/2021 5:44 pm EDT
Canada remains amongst the world's highest wireless phone prices, according...
Indigenous economic reconciliation needs path toward spectrum sovereignty: experts
Media | 09/30/2021 5:03 pm EDT
While the Canadian government is busy collecting $8.9 billion dollars from its recent 3500 MHz spectrum auction, Nunavut is still 100 per cent dependent on satellites for its...
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...
Telecoms say no need for additional accessibility requirements; advocates disagree
telecom | 09/03/2021 5:28 pm EDT
Canada’s telecommunications companies are recommending that the CRTC...
Redline Communications hires new CEO as it eyes LTE and 5G growth
telecom | 08/19/2021 12:54 pm EDT
Redline Communications Group Inc., a Markham-Ont.-based manufacturer of...
No reason to deny TSPs access to secure telephony identity certificates: CRTC
telecom | 08/05/2021 2:10 pm EDT
The CRTC has determined that, unless a telecommunications service provider...
Iristel to launch low-cost portability service
telecom | 06/14/2021 5:09 pm EDT
Iristel Inc. is launching a service that will allow Canadian phone numbers to be paired with less expensive plans offered by U.S. telecom companies. On Monday the company announced its $6 per month "Mobifi" service, which it said will be available on its website in late-June. In a press release the company said the service “is ideal” for entrepreneurs re-locating in the United States and for snowbirds who live in the U.S. or Mexico for part of the year. Mobifi, the release said, will forward voice and data from a Canadian phone number to a phone with an American SIM card,...
CRTC sets new next-gen 911 implementation deadlines
telecom | 06/14/2021 4:34 pm EDT
The CRTC is setting new deadlines for the implementation of next-generation 911 networks and services after delaying due to the pandemic. The regulator said in a decision Monday next-gen or NG911 providers will have until...
Feds investing $14 million in 5G development for oil, gas, and mining sectors
telecom | 04/09/2021 4:58 pm EDT
The federal government is investing $14 million in Redline Communications Group Inc. through its Strategic Innovation Fund for the company to produce “Industrial 5G” products for clients in the...
CRTC extends STIR/SHAKEN deadline again
telecom | 04/07/2021 1:37 pm EDT
The CRTC has once again extended its deadline for telecom providers to enact an anti-call-spoofing protocol known as STIR/SHAKEN, this time into fall 2021. Instead of entirely blocking calls from coming through, the...
Federal court dismisses telecom carriers attempt to get SOCAN royalties back
Media | 03/22/2021 7:03 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., and Quebecor Inc.’s collective bid to get back millions in royalties they say they paid to the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada...
Claims administrator to launch Facebook campaign in Rogers class action
telecom | 03/18/2021 5:05 pm EDT
The Quebec Superior Court has granted the group handling claims related to a $26 million class-action lawsuit against Rogers Communications Inc. permission to target thousands more people who may be...
ITPA asks CRTC to compel release of limited customer data for NG911
telecom | 03/05/2021 5:15 pm EST
The Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA) is asking the CRTC to force large telecom service providers to give the association a list of the wireless service numbers with...
Mitel pushes back on incumbents in STIR/SHAKEN access debate
telecom | 02/18/2021 5:06 pm EST
Mitel Networks Corp. has delivered a blunt reply to incumbents over their approaches to implementing the STIR/SHAKEN anti-fraud-call technology, suggesting that larger companies are seeking...
CRTC should release data on fraud calls: PIAC
telecom | 02/09/2021 5:58 pm EST
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has asked the CRTC to publicly disclose the information it...
CRTC establishes relief planning committees into two Manitoba area codes
telecom | 01/11/2021 5:30 pm EST
The CRTC announced Monday that it would establish a CRTC interconnection steering committee (CISC) ad hoc relief planning committee to examine options and make numbering relief recommendations for area codes 204 and 431 in Manitoba. Both area codes are projected to be exhausted by June 2024, according to the latest numbering resource utilization forecast undertaken by the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA). The CRTC is requesting the CNA chair the ad hoc relief planning committee, with...
Public Safety looking at changing emergency alert funding: gov’t docs
telecom | 12/16/2020 3:26 pm EST
Public Safety Canada is considering implementing a “more sustainable...
Xplornet picks Ericsson for 5G
telecom | 12/08/2020 5:22 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. will use technology from Ericsson AB in its next-generation network, the company said Tuesday. Xplornet will begin rolling out its 5G fixed-wireless network in rural areas this summer, it said in...
Telecom complaints down 19%, CCTS says
telecom | 11/30/2020 12:50 pm EST
The number of complaints from Canadians about their telecom services fell 19 per cent last year, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said in its annual report Monday. It’s the first time...
PIAC requests privacy review of contact tracing apps
telecom | 10/29/2020 6:24 pm EDT
Six months after the CRTC declined its request to hold an inquiry into contact tracing technologies and...
Secret shoppers with disabilities less satisfied with telecom options
telecom | 09/29/2020 6:23 pm EDT
One in five potential customers for telecommunications services "perceived that they may have faced misleading or aggressive sales practices," and telecom shoppers with...
Gov’t should launch public awareness campaign about COVID-19 fraud: INDU
telecom | 08/20/2020 5:42 pm EDT
As its work was being put on hiatus due to prorogation of the House of Commons, the industry committee sent a letter to Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains saying the federal government must act to...
No need for changes to cellphone, antenna safety standards, gov’t says
telecom | 07/23/2020 4:01 pm EDT
The federal government has responded to a petition calling for Canada to restrict the installation of cellphone towers and antennas around schools and playgrounds, saying such measures are...
PIAC calls for providers to detail COVID-19 tracing involvement
telecom | 05/04/2020 6:14 pm EDT
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is asking for all Canadian...
Canadian authorities in talks about COVID-19 tracking apps
telecom | 03/31/2020 5:54 pm EDT
Several of Canada’s cities and provinces, as well as the federal...
Cell data tracking company continues lobby push, despite tough reception
telecom | 11/05/2019 11:44 am EST
A company that says its privacy-focused software app can tell employers...
Rogers further defends 36-month financing
telecom | 11/01/2019 5:19 pm EDT
The objection to the new phone financing plans from the likes of the Competition Bureau is based on an incorrect understanding of device financing arrangements, according to Rogers Communications Inc.’s reply in the CRTC’s...
Wireless prices down in Canada, but also everywhere else: report
telecom | 10/30/2019 6:29 pm EDT
Canadian mobile wireless data prices are falling precipitously, according...
Singh says telecom affordability among number of priorities
telecom | 10/30/2019 3:13 pm EDT
OTTAWA — NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that lowering wireless...
New StatCan survey details a heavily connected Canada
telecom | 10/29/2019 4:09 pm EDT
Eighty-eight per cent Canadians have a smartphone, 45 per cent of Canadians check their smartphones at least every 30 minutes, and 56 per cent of Canadians look at their phones the last thing they do before they go to sleep.
That’s all according to the Canadian...