BCE Inc. is launching an integrated advanced messaging function that allows subscribers to use features available on third party messaging apps. “As the first integrated [rich communications services] product available in Canada, Bell Advanced Messaging takes the...
Shaw Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that it has purchased 700MHz and 2500MHz spectrum from Quebecor Inc. for $430 million, in what Shaw described as “a significant milestone towards improving network coverage and quality across Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.” The deal gives the company’s Freedom Mobile access to the low-band spectrum it has lacked until now. Iain Grant, an analyst at the Seaboard Group, said in an email that the deal will make Shaw’s challenge...
In an unexpected move, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced Guy Laurence is no longer CEO of the company and will be replaced by former Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale, a choice...
The need for upload speed is growing among Canadian consumers and businesses, though it’s too early to tell whether there’s real demand for symmetrical Internet plans that some companies have begun offering, according...
The significant number of new postpaid wireless customers reported by service providers in the second quarter of 2016 can partly be explained by the aggressive push toward handset subsidies as new phones enter the market and drive demand, according to analysts. Wireless providers reported...
Over the course of the past year, several Canadian telecoms have introduced systems that allow small businesses to use their mobile phones with landline functionality, a move that highlights a shift away from landline services in...
BCE Inc. announced Monday morning that it will purchase Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in a $3.9 billion transaction that, if approved, will see the number of players in Manitoba’s telecom market fall from four to three. Some experts said the deal is likely to be approved, especially given a pre-emptive move to shift some subscribers to Telus Corp. The deal is subject to approval from shareholders, the CRTC, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada and the Competition Bureau. Bell CEO George Cope said in a Monday conference call with analysts that he expects the regulatory...
According to the Conference Board of Canada, high debt levels and weak job prospects will make it difficult for Canadians to increase spending on telecom services in 2016, limiting industry growth. A...
The idea of a merger between Canada's two biggest cable providers — Shaw Communications Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. — is on the radar again, with at least two market analysts saying the conditions are right...
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...
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...
Quebecor Inc.’s Tuesday announcement of nationwide roaming at no charge for its Videotron wireless customers could allow the company to test the waters for a national mobile service, according...
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...
In June, wireless carriers face a higher-than-usual number of expiring contracts, as a result of the wireless code effectively banning the previously standard three-year agreements. But experts...
With Rogers Communications Inc. focusing on improving its relationship with and reputation among customers, Friday's announcement of a $5-a-day roaming plan in the United States gets to the heart of what CEO Guy Laurence said was the biggest issue among Rogers' wireless subscribers when he joined the company....
A merger between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. has been the subject of speculation for years. As the various industries these companies participate in — broadcasting, TV distribution, landline phone services, Internet and, in Rogers' case, mobile — change rapidly, at least one industry watcher sees such a combination as inevitable, while others can at least see the business logic behind such an arrangement. Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan said it's just a matter of time before the two telecom/media giants become one company, adding that the case for a merger becomes stronger as time goes on. "As the industry requires more scale, I think the industrial rationale for the merger becomes greater," Fan said. Fan cited the media...
New details about the government’s push for new-entrant carriers in the 2008 AWS auction were revealed in a lawsuit filed this week against Industry Canada by two of the original investors in...
The government’s proposed changes to the licensing of 3500 MHz spectrum are receiving praise from small wireless Internet service providers (ISPs), while satellite Internet provider Xplornet...
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...
Saving money, simplifying operations and creating a stronger telecom competitor in Atlantic Canada were among the reasons cited for why BCE Inc. is seeking ownership of all parts of Bell Aliant Inc....
WiFi is not necessarily a friend of mobile carriers, though it could be, according to a Denmark-based industry consultant who’s hosting an international summit on WiFi in mid-June. Wireless service providers are increasingly looking at data transmission as a source of revenue, as evidenced by Rogers Communications Inc.’s first-quarter financial report this year, which showed for the first time that more money came from data than voice in its wireless operations. All three Canadian wireless incumbents — Rogers, Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. — reported double-digit,...
While the federal government’s current plan for limiting wholesale roaming rates charged within the wireless industry is a “step in the right direction,” a new study from the...
The federal government’s meddling in the wireless market over the past seven years and its focus on bringing a fourth carrier into every region has failed to bring about meaningful competition,...
Industry Minister James Moore blocked a spectrum-transfer request on Thursday between NextWave Wireless Inc. and a joint venture between two of Canada’s incumbent carriers, a decision that could...