TAGGED AS MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC.
Rogers still expects Shaw deal to close in Q2
Media | 03/08/2022 5:44 pm EST
Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Tony Staffieri has said that last week's announcement from Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in which he said he would not allow the 'wholesale' transfer of Shaw Communications Inc.'s spectrum assets to Rogers as part of the...
ISED approves Freedom spectrum licence subordination in British Columbia
telecom | 05/21/2021 4:42 pm EDT
The department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has approved the subordination of two spectrum licences held by Freedom Mobile. In its decision released Thursday, ISED said it reviewed an application from Freedom, a subsidiary of Shaw Communications Inc., and mining company Teck Resources Limited to subdivide two spectrum licences held by freedom in British Columbia and to subordinate one subdivided licence in each band to Teck. The first licence is in the...
Xplore Mobile to launch with data rollover plans
telecom | 11/05/2018 4:58 pm EST
Manitoba customers of Xplornet Communications Inc.’s upcoming mobile service will be allowed to...
TV subscriber losses steady, wireless adds at record high in 2016
telecom | 03/16/2017 9:10 pm EDT
Following a year in which cord-cutting increased sharply, the trend seems to have levelled out somewhat in 2016, with Canada’s publicly traded telecoms losing 220,990 TV subscribers, compared to...
SaskTel sale off the table, Wall says
telecom | 03/07/2017 5:38 pm EST
The premier of Saskatchewan said Monday that the province will not pursue the sale of its telecommunications crown corporation, according to a report in the Canadian Press. Brad Wall said last year that the province...
Jay Forbes leaving MTS
Media | 03/03/2017 9:24 pm EST
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...
Péladeau’s return to Quebecor shouldn’t affect business: analysts
Media | 02/16/2017 10:20 pm EST
The man who led Quebecor Inc. for 14 years but left to join provincial politics will return as head of the company Thursday, though despite the change in leadership, analysts expect business to continue as usual. Effective immediately, Pierre Karl Péladeau will return to the company his father founded in 1965 and he headed from 1999 to 2013. National Bank Financial analyst Adam Shine said in a research note that “Mr. Péladeau is back. Figuratively, we’re...
Bell-MTS deal receives final approval, includes Xplornet in ‘surprise twist’
Media | 02/15/2017 3:07 pm EST
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...
Could telecom be next after new airline foreign ownership rules?
telecom | 11/08/2016 9:58 pm EST
Industry watchers said last week’s announcement by the federal government that it was loosening foreign ownership rules for Canadian airlines probably isn’t indicative of a coming shift...
MTS looking for savings as it awaits Bell takeover
Media | 11/03/2016 8:32 pm EDT
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...
MTS asking to exempt ‘graphic’ channel from TV packaging rules
Media | 10/27/2016 8:20 pm EDT
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...
Telcos unlikely to fully deploy FTTH: Desjardins
telecom | 10/25/2016 10:08 pm EDT
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...
CRTC’s lowering of HSA rates means small ISPs ‘free to innovate’: CNOC
telecom | 10/06/2016 8:00 pm EDT
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...
CRTC consulting on MTS licence transfer to Bell
telecom | 08/30/2016 8:10 pm EDT
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...
CRTC allowing off-tariff GSM agreements, for now
telecom | 08/05/2016 8:50 pm EDT
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...
Bell, MTS receive court approval for takeover
telecom | 06/29/2016 5:49 pm EDT
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 a Wednesday press release. The $3.9-billion acquisition proposal must still go through the required regulatory approvals, including from the CRTC, the Competition Bureau and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Last week, shareholders of MTS nearly unanimously approved the deal. Previously, both independent proxy advisors Institutional...
MTS shareholders back Bell acquisition
telecom | 06/23/2016 4:25 pm EDT
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...
Bell-MTS deal could pose regulatory risk for SaskTel: report
telecom | 06/20/2016 8:43 pm EDT
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...
Bell-MTS deal raised in Manitoba legislature
telecom | 05/27/2016 6:51 pm EDT
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...
Bell-MTS deal weakens Rogers’ ability to compete: academics
telecom | 05/26/2016 9:27 pm EDT
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...
Bell, MTS announce Manitoban service improvement
telecom | 05/20/2016 7:36 pm EDT
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 north-south highway in the prairie province. The two companies, which announced earlier this month they had struck a deal for Bell to purchase MTS for $3.9 billion, said in a press release the acquisition would include an investment to “ensure continuous broadband wireless coverage along Highway 75, Manitoba’s main transportation corridor linking...
MTS Q1 revenues down on landline, wireless voice
telecom | 05/12/2016 8:43 pm EDT
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...
Competition Bureau wants input on Bell-MTS deal
telecom | 05/10/2016 4:32 pm EDT
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...
Don’t ‘rubber-stamp’ Bell-MTS deal: NDP
Media | 05/05/2016 6:58 pm EDT
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...
Bell’s MTS purchase to boost competition: MEI
telecom | 05/04/2016 6:22 pm EDT
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)....
Redirect voice subsidy to broadband, CRTC panel hears
telecom | 04/21/2016 9:37 pm EDT
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...
Customers say skinny basic not worthwhile: study
Media | 04/15/2016 4:57 pm EDT
More than 66,000 Canadians have signed up for a skinny-basic TV package since its rollout on March 1, according to the CRTC. In a Friday press release, the regulator said a third of those who signed up also took...
Mobile prices on the rise
telecom | 01/19/2016 3:55 pm EST
All major mobile carriers in Canada are raising their prices, according to analysts. Drew McReynolds, an analyst with RBC Dominion Security, detailed in a research note last week how BCE Inc. had recently raised its prices on share plans for premium smartphones by $5 to $65 a month, its plans for...
Telecoms to feel economic headwinds: analyst
Media | 01/18/2016 7:33 pm EST
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...
MTS completes sale of Allstream to Zayo
Media | 01/15/2016 2:29 pm EST
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced Friday it has completed the sale of Allstream, its business communication division, to Boulder, Colo.-based Zayo Group Holdings Inc. MTS said in a news release that the deal, announced in November, cost $465 million and added that after closing MTS expects to realize net proceeds of about $420 million. It will release specific details on the use of proceeds when MTS announces its fourth quarter results on Feb. 4, the company said. “The closing of this transaction represents an important milestone in delivering on the commitments we have made to...
MTS expands HSPA, LTE network in Manitoba
Media | 01/13/2016 4:51 pm EST
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced Wednesday it has expanded its HSPA and LTE network to Piney, Man., which is located about two hours driving south of Winnipeg. MTS CEO Jay Forbes said in a press release that the expansion...
Bell top in wireless speeds, Rogers in LTE: OpenSignal
telecom | 01/07/2016 3:49 pm EST
A new report analyzing wireless network performance among Canada’s biggest three players says BCE Inc. has the fastest speeds, while Rogers Communications Inc. has the best LTE coverage....
Incumbents seek little change in domestic data roaming tariffs
telecom | 11/25/2015 11:06 pm EST
The domestic roaming rates for voice and text services BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. have asked the CRTC to implement are significantly lower than what they currently...
Bell holds out on distributing Bloomberg TV
Media | 11/19/2015 7:11 pm EST
When Channel Zero Inc. announced the launch of its Bloomberg TV Canada channel this week, it listed every TV-service provider that was carrying it and absent from that list was Canada's biggest provider of TV service. Channel...
CRTC to release ISP performance results in spring
telecom | 11/18/2015 4:31 pm EST
The CRTC said Wednesday it will, in spring 2016, release a preliminary report on the results of an ongoing study of the broadband performance of various Canadian Internet service providers (ISPs). The regulator said in a press release that it will collect data from whiteboxes installed in the homes of 4,500 participants that were selected from about 28,000 Canadians who showed an interest in measuring their Internet performance. Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc., BCE Inc., Quebecor Inc.’s, Telus Corp., Manitoba Telecommunications Services...
Selling spectrum outside Quebec ‘only option’: Quebecor
telecom | 11/12/2015 8:25 pm EST
Quebecor Inc.'s chief financial officer told an investors conference Thursday that selling the spectrum it holds outside Quebec is the only thing the company can do with it. During the Scotiabank Telecom & Cable Conference in Toronto, Jean-François Pruneau was asked about what appeared to be a change in...
MTS to offer CTV, TSN TV-everywhere apps
Media | 11/12/2015 5:38 pm EST
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Thursday that all of its TV customers will have access to BCE Inc.’s TSN GO and CTV GO mobile apps for free. MTS said in a press release that the apps are available through Apple...
Market has adjusted to 2-year wireless contracts: analyst
Media | 11/10/2015 8:42 pm EST
Third-quarter results indicate the mobile market has adjusted to the higher-priced, two-year contracts that became the norm after the CRTC implemented the wireless code in 2013, says Scotia Capital...
‘Record’ loss of TV subscribers this year: Boon Dog
Media | 11/06/2015 9:17 pm EST
The number of Canadian households abandoning TV-service subscriptions from Canada’s biggest providers during the first nine months of this year was almost seven times higher than during the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by consulting company Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. Boon Dog said...
MTS revenue, profits down in Q3
telecom | 11/04/2015 9:58 pm EST
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...
MTS, MNS ask CRTC to review wholesale wireline policy
telecom | 10/23/2015 5:50 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream division and small Ontario ISP Managed Network Systems Inc. have both asked the CRTC to review aspects of the wholesale wireline policy regarding mandated access to unbundled local...
MTS releases SIP trunking suites for Canadian businesses
telecom | 10/21/2015 2:07 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream division announced Wednesday it is making SIP trunking, technology that provides signaling and call handling capacity to make VoIP calls over a...
Liberals to be ‘less aggressive’ on 4th-player policy: analyst
Media | 10/20/2015 8:21 pm EDT
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...
MTS starts ‘voluntary workplace reduction’
telecom | 10/13/2015 9:05 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Tuesday it is initiating a "voluntary workplace reduction" to "improve its cost structure." It said in a press release that the degree of staff reductions will depend on employee interest in the program, as well as organizational needs. MTS said the program is aimed at union and non-union workers in Manitoba, and that it will affect mosty "back-office support functions," rather than positions that are "customer facing." It said more information will be provided during its third-quarter earnings presentation on Nov. 4....
MTS seeks another extension on Classic TV alert compliance
telecom | 09/30/2015 5:30 pm EDT
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...
MTS puts LTE in 2 more rural communities
telecom | 09/16/2015 2:59 pm EDT
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...
MTS opens data centre
telecom | 09/14/2015 4:47 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced Monday it has opened a new $53-million data centre in Winnipeg. MTS’ CEO Jay Forbes said in the press release that the data centre offers reliable, secure and flexible IT solutions to customers that are trying to grow their business. “This is...
Data costs limit mobile-video consumption: Ericsson
Media | 09/03/2015 8:16 pm EDT
A new report from Ericsson AB shows that while people are increasingly consuming video on mobile devices, the cost of data limits many from taking advantage of what the technology makes possible. The report released Thursday from...
MTS seen as acquisition target for Bell
Media | 09/02/2015 9:26 pm EDT
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 its Allstream division in the coming months, “we believe that the stage will be set for a sale of the remaining Manitoba operations to one of the larger telcos in Canada by mid-2016.” Valentini referenced Bell’s recent purchases of CTV, Astral Media and Bell Aliant as proof of the company’s willingness to use acquisitions to fuel growth. He...
Government approves all spectrum-auction applicants
telecom | 08/14/2015 2:20 pm EDT
Industry Canada has approved all six companies applying to take part in this month's residual spectrum auction, which deals with licences that went unsold in last year's 700 MHz sale and this year's AWS-3 auction. The...
All incumbents sign up for next spectrum auction
telecom | 08/12/2015 4:34 pm EDT
Canada's three national wireless carriers and regional players have applied to be part of the next spectrum auction, one intended to deal with licences that went unsold in this year's AWS-3 auction and last year's sale...
Cord-cutting accelerated in first half of 2015: report
telecom | 08/12/2015 2:37 pm EDT
A report from Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. released Wednesday said Canada's publicly traded TV-service providers lost six times as many subscribers in the first half of 2015 than in the...
Wind sells Manitoba, Sask. AWS spectrum
telecom | 07/31/2015 7:37 pm EDT
Wind Mobile has sold its AWS spectrum in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., stating the company plans to focus on the Ontario, B.C. and Alberta...
MTS revenue, profits down
telecom | 07/30/2015 2:56 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced in its quarterly results a decrease in revenues, which totalled $398.3 million, compared to $403.3 the previous year. Net income was $10.4 million for the three months ending June 30, down from $28.8 million for the same period a year earlier. The...
CRTC awards costs in wholesale wireline review
telecom | 07/28/2015 5:05 pm EDT
The CRTC has awarded costs to l’Union des consommateurs, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC), and Internet activist group OpenMedia for their participation in its...
Kelvin Shepherd stepping down from MTS
telecom | 06/29/2015 8:59 pm EDT
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...
Fibre Internet customers more satisfied, says market study
Media | 06/24/2015 7:22 pm EDT
The proportion of Canadians connected to the Internet by fibre is rising and these people are more satisfied with their Internet service than others, according to market research data released...
MTS launches single Internet service for home and on the go
telecom | 06/23/2015 9:02 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. launched a new plan Tuesday that integrates home Internet and wireless data service in one package, which analysts agreed is an indication of the ongoing trend toward Internet connectivity becoming telecoms’ core product. The plan, called Total Internet, offers unlimited home Internet service at 10 Mbps and wireless service, its website outlines. Plans start from $60 for one person to $160 for five smartphones, though customers can upgrade the speed for an extra monthly fee. The service also includes access to MTS’ hotspots, a press release noted....
Carriers ordered to comply in Apple competition case
Media | 06/19/2015 6:29 pm EDT
The Federal Court has ordered wireless carriers to provide information being asked for by the Competition Bureau as it looks into whether Apple Inc. engaged in anticompetitive practices related to sales of its iPhone. BCE Inc.,...
Quebecor adds spectrum, still non-committal on national expansion
telecom | 05/12/2015 2:43 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. is still publicly sitting on the fence when it comes to expanding its wireless service throughout Canada despite bidding $187 million on 2500 MHz spectrum, including for licences outside...
MTS Allstream announces $100M contract with government
telecom | 05/11/2015 4:03 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s Allstream unit on Monday announced a multi-year contact with the federal government it said is likely to be worth more than $100 million. Allstream said in a...
MTS chops operations at Allstream
telecom | 05/07/2015 3:06 pm EDT
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...
Incumbents could have fared worse in wholesale wireless decision: analyst
telecom | 05/05/2015 8:10 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — Wireless incumbents are going to have to play by a different set of rules than smaller carriers when it comes to providing network access to competitors, though one industry analyst said it could have been worse for the major carriers. The CRTC said Tuesday it will regulate the wholesale wireless rates BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. charge smaller carriers, but the roaming rates of smaller carriers and rates the big three charge each other will be...
DiversityCanada refused costs on multiple applications
telecom | 04/09/2015 6:05 pm EDT
Three different CRTC decisions issued on Thursday left the DiversityCanada Foundation more than $70,000 short of what it hoped to get out of applications for reimbursements on initiatives taken in...
Telecoms will adjust to pick-and-pay regime, analysts say
Media | 03/20/2015 9:10 pm EDT
Financial analysts reacting to the CRTC’s new pick-and-pay rules say they don’t expect the decision to have a major impact on the industry, though the broadcasting side of the business is...
Major providers’ broadband subs exceed TV subs for first time
Media | 03/16/2015 8:48 pm EDT
The number of Canadian broadband subscribers among the major publicly traded telecom service providers exceeded television subscribers for the first time in 2014. Data compiled by The Wire Report shows the overall number of TV subscribers at these companies, as recorded at the end of their last fiscal years, fell by almost...
MTS lobbies senior federal officials
telecom | 03/10/2015 7:35 pm EDT
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...
BCE asks for extension to public alerting deadline
Media | 03/03/2015 5:40 pm EST
BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to extend the March 31 deadline for incorporating its Bell Aliant subsidiary’s services into the National Public Alerting System (NPAS). The company said in a Feb. 26 filing posted to the...
Ratings, revenues never enough to make Sun News Network worthwhile: experts
Media | 02/13/2015 9:59 pm EST
Quebecor Inc. said it took Sun News Network off the air early Friday morning due to “a series of barriers to carriage,” while some experts said the long-struggling channel’s...
Industry Canada accepts all bidders in AWS-3 and 2500 MHz auctions
telecom | 02/13/2015 3:19 pm EST
Industry Canada released the list of qualified bidders in both the AWS-3 and 2500 MHz spectrum auctions on Friday, with every applicant meeting the qualifications. There are 10 qualified bidders in...
Spectrum auction applicants list holds few surprises
telecom | 02/05/2015 8:34 pm EST
The list of aspiring bidders in the upcoming AWS-3 and 2500 MHz spectrum auctions released by Industry Canada on Thursday includes the dominant players in Canada’s wireless sector as well as the remaining new entrants from...
MTS reports lower Q4 revenue as wholesale wireless declines
telecom | 02/04/2015 10:01 pm EST
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Wednesday reported lower revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, though unlike the year-earlier period, it was profitable. The company said in a press release that revenue was down less than one per cent from the year before to $404.8 million in the three months ended Dec. 31. It reported net earnings of $24.2 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $87.9 million a year before. In the most recent quarter, it reported about $6 million less in capital expenditures and there was a $13.5-million restructuring charge factored in during the fourth...
Mobilicity, Wind in stare-down as AWS-3 deadline looms
telecom | 01/27/2015 3:39 pm EST
Mobilicity's intent to access up to $65 million in debt to participate in the upcoming AWS-3 auction has important implications for Wind Mobile, which would otherwise face no competition for the...
Mandated wholesale access to FTTP wouldn’t deter investment: Shaw
telecom | 11/28/2014 10:29 pm EST
GATINEAU, Que. — Shaw Communications Inc. on Friday took a different tack than other large Internet service providers that have spoken before the CRTC’s wholesale wireline...
Enterprise customers ‘more demanding’: Allstream head
telecom | 11/25/2014 6:38 pm EST
MONTREAL — Business customers have become more knowledgeable about technology and more specific about their telecommunications needs, said Michael Strople, president of Manitoba Telecom Services...
Jay Forbes to become MTS chief executive
telecom | 11/17/2014 3:25 pm EST
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...
MTS Classic TV phase-out hastened by CRTC rules
telecom | 11/14/2014 9:07 pm EST
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 a national alert system might bring about the demise of MTS Classic TV sooner than expected. A letter from MTS, published on the CRTC's website earlier this month, asks that its Classic TV service be given a one-year reprieve from the March 31 deadline for most TV service providers, over-the-air TV broadcasters and radio stations to be part of a national...
MTS financial numbers down despite more subs
telecom | 11/05/2014 9:51 pm EST
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...
Wireline wholesale hearing to put focus on ISP access
telecom | 10/29/2014 4:55 pm EDT
The CRTC faces another major policy hearing next month, and this one has the potential to affect independent Internet service providers that depend on major telecom companies to connect them to customers. In September, the...
Rogers ranked fastest Canadian ISP by PCMag.com
telecom | 10/10/2014 7:47 pm EDT
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...
MTS opens new network monitoring facility
telecom | 10/09/2014 3:38 pm EDT
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...
Carriers ask CRTC to take powers from government
telecom | 10/02/2014 9:37 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — Two of Canada's largest wireless carriers called on the CRTC to take some regulatory power from Industry Canada at the commission's week-long hearing into the wholesale wireless market. Both Rogers...
U.S. channels have ‘little bargaining power’: CRTC
Media | 09/26/2014 7:40 pm EDT
Documents from the CRTC indicate its officials felt that if conventional television broadcasters from the United States had the right to negotiate their carriage by Canadian service providers, they would have "little bargaining power" due to their "marginal viewership" in Canada. "Since Canadian...
MTS announces agreement on pensions
telecom | 09/25/2014 6:05 pm EDT
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 launches Passport, new app
telecom | 09/24/2014 3:49 pm EDT
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...
Disney says pick-and-pay hurts TV broadcasters
Media | 09/15/2014 7:58 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. —Walt Disney Co. on Monday warned the CRTC against a move toward pick-and-pay television. Susan Fox, Disney’s vice-president of government relations, told the commission that having broad distribution benefits channels by allowing them to maximize advertising revenues, gives them the certainty necessary for long-term planning and allows them to “redirect consumer marketing and retention expenditures into higher quality and more diversified programs to better serve viewers.” Speaking as part of the CRTC's two-week hearing reviewing the TV industry,...
MTS, SaskTel to carry iPhone 6
telecom | 09/15/2014 5:26 pm EDT
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...
Bell says rural broadband commitment fulfilled
telecom | 09/02/2014 7:06 pm EDT
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...
Moore promises to outlaw ‘pay-to-pay’ billing
telecom | 08/28/2014 11:56 pm EDT
Hours after a meeting between telecommunications companies and CRTC officials regarding paper-billing charges that failed to end in a result satisfactory to policy-makers, Industry Minister James Moore said via social media...
DiversityCanada granted fraction of costs claimed in CRTC proceeding
telecom | 08/15/2014 6:29 pm EDT
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...
CEO Pierre Blouin to retire from MTS
telecom | 08/12/2014 2:05 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said on Tuesday its chief executive officer, Pierre Blouin, will retire this year. The company said in a press release that its board of directors has started looking for a new CEO, and a new chief will likely be announced before Blouin's departure. Blouin has been CEO of MTS since 2005 after spending several years in an array of executive roles at BCE Inc. "Pierre Blouin has done an exemplary job as CEO of MTS Allstream during a decade marked by significant change and intense competition across both the MTS and Allstream businesses," MTS...
CRTC releases figures on wireless wholesale caps
telecom | 08/06/2014 8:54 pm EDT
On Wednesday the CRTC released average domestic retail prices for wireless carriers as part of its ongoing examination of the wholesale wireless market in Canada. The CRTC declined a request from Wind Mobile to make public the...
MTS posts lower profit on wireless weakness
telecom | 07/31/2014 2:19 pm EDT
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...
Lower prices for AWS-3 auction ‘attractive’ for new entrants: analyst
telecom | 07/28/2014 9:37 pm EDT
The minimum opening bids for the entirety of the available spectrum in the upcoming AWS-3 auction total $162.45 million, with a $97.45 million minimum for the blocks set aside for smaller carriers, Industry Canada said Monday as it launched a consultation on its proposed auction framework. In a Monday research...
MTS expands LTE network in Manitoba
telecom | 07/21/2014 4:45 pm EDT
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...
Allstream to provide telecom network for Rexall
telecom | 07/21/2014 2:37 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s Allstream unit on Monday said it has been chosen by the Rexall chain of drugstores to provide a telecommunications network for its 448 stories across Canada. Allstream said in a press release...
Rogers’ Internet speed improves further: Netflix
Media | 07/18/2014 4:54 pm EDT
Over two months, Rogers Communications Inc. has gone from being dead last in Netflix Inc.'s ranking of Canadian Internet service providers' speeds to being sixth out of 16 with an average speed that has nearly doubled. In the latest ranking, released Monday, Netflix said Rogers had an average Internet speed of 2.95...
CRTC warns companies as rural broadband deadline looms
telecom | 06/06/2014 8:45 pm EDT
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...
Allstream gets certified for Ethernet service
telecom | 05/26/2014 6:11 pm EDT
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...
MTS squeezes more profit out of less revenue
telecom | 05/13/2014 2:05 pm EDT
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Tuesday that its first-quarter earnings were up as expenses declined in the face of lower revenue. The company’s financial statements indicated it had net income of $41.9 million in the three months ended March 31, up from $30.9 million a year before. Its revenue was $401.5 million for the period, down 1.3 per cent from the previous year. Operating expenses, combined with depreciation and amortization costs, fell to $327.4 million from $343.3 million in the first quarter of 2013. MTS said in a press release that its lower revenue was due to declines...