One Caribbean Television approved for distribution

telecom | 03/10/2014 8:16 pm EDT

The CRTC said it has approved One Caribbean Television for distribution in Canada. In notice Monday, it said the channel was a “24-hour 100% English-language general interest channel with programming focused on news,...

Senate could look into Bell’s privacy practices

telecom | 12/06/2013 8:34 pm EST

The Senate transport and communications committee could look into BCE Inc.’s tracking of subscribers’ Internet usage, TV viewing and mobile device use. Bell said in October it would begin tracking the websites...

V Media Group acquiring two Bell specialty channels

Media | 12/04/2013 8:34 pm EST

V Interactions Inc. is acquiring the French-language specialty channels MusiquePlus and MusiMax from BCE Inc.’s media division. Bell Media was required to divest the channels as part of its acquisition of Astral Media Inc....

Small ISPs say their potential footprint is shrinking due to fibre upgrades

telecom | 10/15/2013 8:47 pm EDT

Small Internet service providers (ISPs) will find themselves blocked out of more markets as incumbent providers continue their fibre-to-the-home network upgrades, particularly if the CRTC does not...

BCE may buy out Bell Aliant after 2015: analyst

telecom | 10/10/2013 9:06 pm EDT

BCE Inc. may try to acquire full ownership of Bell Aliant Inc. to boost its free cash flow and shareholder dividends, likely sometime after 2015, RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said. In a research note released Thursday, McReynolds said BCE, which currently owns a 44-per cent stake in Bell Aliant, could attempt to buy out the remaining 56 per cent in the company to support future growth opportunities following its recent acquisition of Astral Media Inc. Any such acquisition, he said, would give BCE access to Bell Aliant’s free cash flow, and would provide the fully merged company with...

Bell supports U.K.-style broadcast system, blocking U.S. networks

telecom | 09/26/2013 8:15 pm EDT

BCE Inc., Canada's largest broadcaster, would support the establishment of broadcasting rules similar to those of the United Kingdom, where American channels cannot be aired and broadcasters can...

Hurdles to clear before older network technologies can be phased out

telecom | 09/19/2013 9:31 pm EDT

Telus Corp., BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. have several hurdles to clear before they can benefit from shutting down their older IDEN, CDMA and GSM wireless networks, a move that's likely...

BCE supports full removal of telecom foreign ownership rules

telecom | 09/10/2013 8:58 pm EDT

BCE Inc. would support government efforts to fully remove foreign ownership restrictions for Canadian telecom companies, though the company “will never be foreign owned,” BCE chief...

Fibe TV adds most quarterly subs ever, BCE says

Media | 08/08/2013 8:53 pm EDT

BCE Inc. said it added a net 50,555 subscribers to its Fibe TV service in the second quarter of 2013, more than in any other quarter to date, as the company continued to expand its IPTV footprint. In a financial statement...

Blog post replying to Cope gets 60,000 views

telecom | 08/07/2013 7:52 pm EDT

Benjamin Klass, who penned a blog post replying to George Cope's open letter about the Conservative government's wireless policies, said his post has received about 60,000 views, with 7,500 shares on Facebook and 300 on...

Government likely to block a Rogers-Birch Hill deal for Wind: analysts

telecom | 08/02/2013 7:56 pm EDT

Industry Canada would most likely block a deal to acquire Wind Mobile it it involved significant funding from Rogers Communications Inc. or another wireless incumbent, industry analysts said. In a...

Cope rallies BCE staff as incumbents press on with campaign

telecom | 08/01/2013 9:07 pm EDT

BCE Inc. chief executive George Cope is calling on all 60,000 company employees to write letters to the prime minister as the incumbents' lobbying campaign to change the government's wireless...

Moore meets with telcos, stands by 700 MHz auction timeline

telecom | 07/29/2013 8:53 pm EDT

Industry Minister James Moore's office said the government is moving ahead with its planned spectrum auction in January as the minister held meetings with telecommunications companies on Monday....

Charges for paper bills justified, providers say

Media | 07/23/2013 2:54 pm EDT

Canadian consumers need incentives to make the switch to environmentally friendly electronic bills, SaskTel said in response to CRTC questions about telcos' charges for paper billing.  SaskTel, a provincial Crown corporation that offers wireless, landline and IPTV services, said in regulatory documents filed with the commission last week that it has not adopted the industry trend of charging consumers to receive paper copies of their monthly bills. The result, the company said, is that many customers aren’t getting rid of paper invoices, despite the ease and availability of...

CRTC gives BCE, Videotron until July 30 to settle carriage dispute

Media | 07/22/2013 8:05 pm EDT

The CRTC temporarily suspended its final offer arbitration process for a carriage dispute between BCE Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc. to give the companies more time to negotiate a deal. In March,...

Incumbents pushing for changes to 700 MHz auction cap rule

telecom | 07/18/2013 7:31 pm EDT

BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. are lobbying for changes to the 700 MHz auction cap rule that permit foreign player Verizon Communications Inc. to purchase more spectrum than each...

CRTC denies payphone rate increase, launches consultation

telecom | 07/17/2013 8:59 pm EDT

The CRTC denied BCE Inc.’s application seeking permission to raise the cost of using its payphones and opened a consultation on the “role” public payphones play in Canada’s communication system, the commission said. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said it denied an application by BCE subsidiaries...

CRTC rejects amendments to Book Television licence

Media | 07/17/2013 8:51 pm EDT

The CRTC has rejected a request by BCE Inc.’s media division to allow its Book Television specialty channel to air more drama and comedy programs. In a decision Wednesday, the CRTC said it denied Bell Media’s request...

HBO could launch today as OTT. Where does that put BCE’s TV Everywhere strategy?

Media | 07/17/2013 8:42 pm EDT

BCE Inc., the country's largest converged media and telecom company, finally acquired Astral Media Inc. and its “must have” pay service TMN last month, after the CRTC gave its blessing to the $3.38-billion deal. The companies said the transaction, which would give BCE ownership of Astral's TMN pay service with HBO content, was largely about having the scale to compete with online, foreign-owned, over-the-top competitors like Netflix Inc. “OTT competition has only intensified since we were last before you,” former Astral chief executive Ian Greenberg told CRTC commissioners at a hearing in Montreal on May 6, adding that he estimated Netflix has grown its...

CRTC rejects amendments to Comedy Network licence

Media | 07/11/2013 7:31 pm EDT

The CRTC has rejected a request by BCE Inc.’s media division to amend The Comedy Network’s broadcast licence, citing concerns the channel wouldn’t have aired enough Canadian programming. In a decision released...

Overnight, Astral brand all but disappears

Media | 07/05/2013 7:15 pm EDT

BCE Inc. didn’t waste any time in absorbing the former Astral Media Inc. BCE, Canada’s largest vertically integrated communications and media company, formally gained control of Astral at 12:01 a.m. Friday, eight days...

Bell, CGI, win $398m contract to consolidate government email

telecom | 06/25/2013 9:06 pm EDT

BCE Inc. division Bell Canada and an IT company won a $398-million contract to implement a single email system across the federal government, Shared Services Canada said. The federal government now...

National ad revenues drop to 2009 levels for private conventional TV

Media | 06/13/2013 9:05 pm EDT

Private conventional television stations' national advertising revenues fell to 2009 levels in the 2012 broadcast year, dropping 7.9 per cent and causing profits to sink, new CRTC data show. In conventional TV statistical and financial data released on the commission’s website Thursday, the CRTC said private...

BCE plans community TV channels in Montreal, Ottawa

Media | 06/07/2013 9:05 pm EDT

BCE Inc. asked the CRTC for permission to use funds dedicated for Canadian programming to launch new community TV channels in Montreal and Ottawa. In two applications posted on the commission’s website on June 4, Bell asked to amend its regional broadcasting licenses in Ontario and Quebec to allocate some of its Canadian programming contribution...

Bell Media to launch Bravo GO in July

Media | 06/07/2013 4:12 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media subsidiary will launch Bravo GO as its first TV Everywhere product next month, the company said. In a release Thursday, Bell Media said it will launch multiplatform live streaming and video-on-demand services for its Bravo Canada television channel, a Category A specialty channel, on July 18. The subscription service will...

BCE teams up with Twitter on social TV research project

Media | 06/06/2013 9:26 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary is teaming up with Twitter Inc. in a new research project to measure Canadians’ “social TV behaviour,” Bell Media said. In a release Thursday, Bell...

BCE, Bell Aliant face delays in broadband rollouts: CRTC

telecom | 06/06/2013 9:14 pm EDT

The CRTC asked BCE Inc. and Bell Aliant Inc. to identify how they will complete their plans to expand broadband services in Ontario and Quebec using funds from the deferral accounts, the commission said. Deferral accounts are regulated telecom funds originating from CRTC phone rate regulation that led to surcharges paid on...

First signs of cord cutting are here, Boon Dog says

Media | 06/06/2013 7:09 pm EDT

Canada’s publicly traded broadcast distribution companies reported “concrete signs” of cord cutting over the past two quarters as their combined subscriber base fell for the first time since cable TV first become a feature in most homes, said Mario Mota, partner at Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. In a release Thursday, Boon Dog said Canada’s publicly traded cable, satellite, and IPTV television providers lost a combined 5,394 TV subscribers in the first quarter of 2013 after losing a combined 8,175 in the last quarter of 2012. He said those figures included subscribers to television services offered by Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., BCE Inc., Videotron Ltd. (a Quebecor Media Inc.subsidiary), Cogeco Cable Inc., Telus Corp., Bell Aliant...

Wind Mobile says ‘extreme rents’ higher than the cost of building a tower

telecom | 06/05/2013 2:17 pm EDT

TORONTO—Wind Mobile said it is paying “extreme rents” for wireless tower sharing and called for mandated tower access at regulated rates as the Conservative government is said to be considering stronger roaming and tower sharing rules favouring the new entrants. On a panel Tuesday...

CRTC says consumers can cancel wireless contracts after two years, no fees

telecom | 06/03/2013 2:08 pm EDT

Canadian wireless consumers can cancel long-term wireless contracts with mobile phone providers after two years without any cancellation fees, the CRTC said in new wireless code of conduct...

Rogers to launch Fido in Atlantic Canada

telecom | 05/31/2013 6:25 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. will offer its discount wireless brand Fido in Halifax and Fredericton this spring, as well as in Moncton and Saint John, N.B., the company said. In a release Friday, Rogers said it will launch the Fido brand in five kiosk locations in the four cities, and through “over 50 third-party retailers,” including some in...

Bell Mobility extends Glentel deal

telecom | 05/30/2013 8:28 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Glentel Inc. renewed a partnership to offer Bell Mobility products and services in Glentel stores, Bell said. In a release Wednesday, Bell said Glentel, a mobile phone retailer based out of Burnaby, B.C., has 360 retail stores in Canada and will add 74 Target Mobile locations in the “coming months.” "This agreement builds...

BCE launches wireless TV receiver

telecom | 05/27/2013 9:11 pm EDT

BCE Inc. launched a wireless receiver for its fibre-based, Fibe TV Internet protocol television service, the company said Monday. In a release, Bell said the wireless receiver will allow subscribers to connect up to five televisions in their home to their Fibe TV service simultaneously. Fibe TV subscribers can rent the wireless receiver for $7 per month or purchase one for $200, the company said. Bell said in a quarterly earnings statement filed this month that its Fibe TV service had 295,761 subscribers as of March 31.  ...

Sawiris re-enters Canadian market with deal for Allstream

telecom | 05/24/2013 6:40 pm EDT

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....

Delays in 700 MHz auction process increasingly likely, analysts say

telecom | 05/23/2013 7:52 pm EDT

Delays in Industry Canada's spectrum auction process are looking more likely by the day, analysts said. They said new wireless entrants will need more time to look at consolidation options after...

Cogeco expands on-demand service

Media | 05/22/2013 8:34 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. expanded its video on demand library available in Ontario, the company said Wednesday. In a release, Cogeco said most of its digital television subscribers in Ontario now have access to nearly 7,000 titles, up from 3,000 in April. Rogers Communications Inc. is also expanding its video-on-demand service with new titles.  David...

BCE says its non-sports rights fees rose less than inflation, or fell

Media | 05/22/2013 7:36 pm EDT

BCE Inc. division Bell Media said broadcast distributors' wholesale fees for access to the company's non-sports programming fell or rose less than the rate of inflation when multi-year...

Bell, Cirque, finalize joint production company

Media | 12/18/2012 9:22 pm EST

BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media Inc. completed a deal with Cirque du Soleil to create a new joint venture to develop entertainment projects by Cirque, the company said Tuesday. In a release, Bell said the new company, called Cirque du Soleil Media, will be governed by a board with representatives of both companies and will be managed by a programming...

Value-for-signal decision to be issued Thursday

Media | 12/10/2012 8:02 pm EST

The Supreme Court of Canada will issue a decision Thursday on whether the CRTC has the jurisdiction to implement a proposed value for signal regime to compensate local TV stations for the carriage of their signals. The court said in a notice Monday that the decision will be issued at 9:45 a.m. on Dec. 13. The commission’s proposed...