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INDU debates study of mobile plan price hikes

telecom | 01/15/2024 5:46 pm EST

After almost two hours of deliberation last Thursday, the House industry and technology committee failed to decide on a motion put forward by Conservative MP Rick Perkins to conduct a study into Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc.’s recently announced price hikes....

Ex-minister Bains’ appointment to Rogers reflects problems with lobbying rules: commissioner

telecom | 06/21/2023 2:18 pm EDT

Lobbying commissioner Nancy Bélanger called for changes to Canada’s lobbying rules during a House of Commons ethics committee meeting discussing the appointment of...

Ex-minister Navdeep Bains joins Rogers c-suite

Media | 04/20/2023 5:14 pm EDT

Former Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has been appointed Rogers Communications Inc.'s chief corporate...

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...

New privacy legislation mixed bag in terms of enforcement, experts say

telecom | 12/18/2020 1:24 pm EST

When the federal government’s proposed new privacy legislation, Bill...

INDU report says government should act on fraud calls

telecom | 11/27/2020 4:48 pm EST

The House industry committee is calling on the federal government to review legislation covering fraudulent calls, and for the government and regulators to support industry-based solutions to the issue. The committee put out a...

CNOC, advocates push gov’t to be tougher on affordability

telecom | 11/27/2020 11:38 am EST

The Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) and advocacy group OpenMedia told MPs the federal government needs to demonstrate more political will to bring lower internet and wireless prices to Canada, two days after Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told the same...

ISED opening up 6 GHz band for WiFi

telecom | 11/19/2020 5:01 pm EST

The federal government has launched a consultation on a proposal to open up the 6 GHz spectrum band for...

Gov’t tables PIPEDA reform, new consumer privacy legislation

Media | 11/17/2020 5:54 pm EST

The federal government introduced sweeping private-sector privacy law...

Feds boost Universal Broadband Fund by $750M

telecom | 11/09/2020 12:57 pm EST

The federal government announced the launch of its long-awaited Universal Broadband Fund Monday morning,...

Liberals’ wireless price drop unlikely to achieve promised savings: gov’t docs

telecom | 10/15/2020 2:50 pm EDT

The Liberals' election commitment to drop wireless prices 25 per cent will...

Infrastructure Bank earmarks additional $1B for rural broadband

telecom | 10/01/2020 7:46 pm EDT

The Liberal government is doubling the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s...

ISED launches 3800 MHz consultation

telecom | 08/27/2020 5:31 pm EDT

Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada announced the launch of its consultation process on the 3800 MHz spectrum auction. The band is widely seen as being one of the bands crucial for 5G deployment.  The launch...

Bell bringing cabinet’s wholesale appeal response to Federal Court

telecom | 08/17/2020 7:56 pm EDT

Lawyers representing BCE Inc. have asked a Federal Court of Appeal judge to...

Cabinet says CRTC wholesale rates too low, may harm investment

telecom | 08/15/2020 9:06 am EDT

The Liberal government has sided with Canada’s largest telecoms in their...

ISED says wireless prices goals still mostly unmet

telecom | 07/28/2020 6:00 pm EDT

Following on the Liberal election campaign promise to lower wireless prices by 25 per cent, the federal government released on Tuesday the first of its quarterly check-ins on wireless prices across the country.  The data -- which is based on advertised prices from January to June for post-paid, bring your own device (BYOD), unlimited talk and text 4G/LTE plans in the 2 to 6 GB range -- shows that only 2 GB plans on the three main flanker brands in Quebec are meeting the government's objective. BCE Inc.'s Virgin, Telus Corp.'s Koodo, and Rogers Communications Inc.'s Fido are all offered at...

U.K. government-led consortium scuppers Telesat’s reported bid for OneWeb

telecom | 07/03/2020 4:38 pm EDT

A reported bid by Ottawa-headquartered satellite service provider Telesat Holdings Inc. to acquire competitor OneWeb has been unsuccessful, with a consortium including the U.K. government and Indian...

Canada yet to make Huawei decision despite Chinese ‘pressure’

telecom | 06/22/2020 6:30 pm EDT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has again refused to put a timeframe on when...

Gov’t launches AI centre in Montreal

Media | 06/15/2020 3:14 pm EDT

Innovation, Science, and Economic Development announced on Monday the launch of what it is calling the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), as well as a research centre to be based in Monteal in cooperation with...

5G monitoring same as for all wireless tech: Health Canada

telecom | 05/06/2020 3:16 pm EDT

Health Canada has responded to an MPs’ query about what steps it is...

Bell speeding up rural broadband rollout

telecom | 04/23/2020 3:30 pm EDT

BCE Inc. will be delivering its fixed wireless internet to some 137,000 more homes than it had planned to by this point in its 2020 rollout, according to a Thursday release.  The company said it was increasing the speed of the rollout because of the COVID-19 pandemic,...

Gov’t in ‘early stages’ of using cellphone data for COVID-19 tracking: Bains

telecom | 04/20/2020 3:40 pm EDT

The federal government is looking at what other jurisdictions are doing...

CNOC calls for gov’t funding to keep Canadians connected

telecom | 04/07/2020 5:40 pm EDT

The federal government should guarantee internet service providers payments...

Networks coping, but future traffic impossible to predict

Media | 03/25/2020 5:48 pm EDT

Experts say Canada’s telecommunications networks are currently handling a...

Carriers to text consular information to Canadians abroad

telecom | 03/18/2020 5:30 pm EDT

Canada's wireless service providers will send out text messages to their...

Telus savages gov’t price directive, others more circumspect

telecom | 03/06/2020 5:30 pm EST

Analysts have provided nuanced reactions to the government’s plan to...

Telus introduces its own wireless affordability certification

telecom | 02/11/2020 6:20 pm EST

Telus Corp. says it has already met and exceeded the Liberal Party’s goal...

Industry waiting on detail from gov’t on wireless price drop

telecom | 01/15/2020 6:14 pm EST

If Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains wants to see a 25-per-cent reduction...

Throne speech reiterates Liberal promise to cut wireless bills 25%

telecom | 12/05/2019 3:33 pm EST

The new Liberal minority government repeated its promise to lower wireless prices in the speech from the throne that kicked off the new Parliamentary session Thursday. It...

Blair says ‘no timeline’ on Huawei ban; Bains promises ‘more’ on prices

Media | 11/20/2019 1:51 pm EST

OTTAWA — New Public Safety Minister Bill Blair indicated Wednesday he is...

Internet Society lobbies on project to get ahead of IoT vulnerabilities

telecom | 10/17/2019 5:33 pm EDT

The Canadian chapter of the Internet Society (ISCC) is looking to embark on...

Telus warned gov’t of Huawei ban’s ‘far-reaching impacts’: secret docs

telecom | 08/27/2019 3:18 pm EDT

Telus Corp. told the federal government that prohibiting Huawei...

Government investing in new cyber security initiatives

telecom | 08/13/2019 5:45 pm EDT

The federal government announced on Monday the creation of the CyberSecure Canada program, a new certification program for Canadian businesses to further promote cyber security as a central tenet of commercial enterprise. In a release from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, the department describes the...

Internet code will indirectly tackle poor sales practices, CRTC chairman says

telecom | 07/31/2019 11:01 am EDT

CRTC chairman Ian Scott said the new internet code will address many of the underlying issues that have resulted in complaints about the industry's poor sales practices, which...

‘Many’ in the North to get 50 Mbps+ speeds: Bains

telecom | 07/24/2019 8:01 pm EDT

OTTAWA — As part of its strategy to tackle rural broadband in Canada,...

Rogers’ new no-data-overage plan a ‘necessary’ development: analyst

telecom | 06/12/2019 6:26 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc.’s launch of a wireless plan that won’t...

3.5 GHz auction will mean a level playing field for 5G: ISED

Media | 06/05/2019 7:56 pm EDT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Innovation Canada will give existing holders of 3.5...

No issue with Canadian wireless pricing: telecom execs

telecom | 06/05/2019 8:45 am EDT

TORONTO — Executives from Canada’s biggest carriers defended the...

Broadband strategy coming before the election: rural minister

telecom | 06/03/2019 11:43 am EDT

OTTAWA — The new rural economic development ministry will release the...

Data anonymization network launches amid privacy concerns

telecom | 05/31/2019 6:24 pm EDT

A consortium of data stewards launched an informal network last week that looks to promote the anonymization of personal information in Canada in the wake of data privacy concerns sweeping the...

Scheer promises Huawei 5G ban, but no info on what that means

telecom | 05/21/2019 5:17 pm EDT

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said last week he was in favour of a ban...

ISED convenes AI advisory council

telecom | 05/15/2019 4:51 pm EDT

Innovation Canada announced the creation Tuesday of a new advisory panel for artificial intelligence made up of members from across academia, the private sector, and government. The panel, announced as Innovation Minister...

60% of Connect to Innovate applicants still haven’t heard back

telecom | 05/09/2019 12:32 pm EDT

More than two years after the deadline to apply for funding through the federal government’s Connect to Innovate rural broadband program, the majority of those who submitted applications have yet to find out whether they were successful. The government received 892...

Bell-branded wireless hits sub-1% churn, continuing industry trend

Media | 05/02/2019 5:46 pm EDT

The expected focus by the country’s largest wireless service providers...

Gov’t aiming to release Huawei decision before election: Goodale

telecom | 05/01/2019 2:07 pm EDT

The federal government plans to issue its decision on whether to ban equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Canada’s 5G networks before this year’s federal election. “We understand...

Resistance to tower builds shows need to ‘rethink’ consultations: MP

telecom | 04/30/2019 4:35 pm EDT

Residents of a New Brunswick town are asking the Federal Court to review...

Include ‘investment’ in new policy direction: big telecoms

telecom | 04/15/2019 1:20 pm EDT

Canada’s four largest wireless providers are asking the government to...

Analysts surprised by Bell’s lack of 600 MHz, incumbent spend

telecom | 04/11/2019 5:57 pm EDT

BCE Inc. walking away from the 600 MHz spectrum auction with no licences, and the amount the winning incumbents ended up paying for the spectrum, came as a surprise to some financial analysts. National Bank analyst Adam Shine said in a research note that while the...

Bell will work with Comp Bureau following CCTS court order

Media | 04/11/2019 12:50 pm EDT

OTTAWA — A Federal Court judge has granted an application by the...

Bell opts out of 600 MHz, Rogers nabs 52 licenses for $1.7B

telecom | 04/10/2019 5:30 pm EDT

BCE Inc. was among three prospective applicants who didn’t grab licenses for the coveted 600 MHz spectrum, widely considered to be the last chance to get valuable low-band frequencies. The...

Gov’t should encourage Canadian 5G equipment: Public Safety notes

telecom | 04/01/2019 3:49 pm EDT

Amid security reviews of Canada’s 5G infrastructure lays an...

Expect industry pushback on new CRTC directive, MVNOs: experts

telecom | 03/26/2019 1:27 pm EDT

The Liberal government should expect some amount of industry opposition...

OPC, AGC oppose Google expanding deindexing reference

Media | 03/14/2019 4:49 pm EDT

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Attorney General of Canada (AGC) have filed appeals challenging Alphabet Inc.’s application to expand the scope of a deindexing case to include questions about whether forcing it to...

MVNO access proposal ‘burst of oxygen’ to some potential entrants

telecom | 03/04/2019 3:21 pm EST

As the CRTC signals it’s ready to make an about-face on its approach to...

Ottawa proposes new consumer-focused policy direction for CRTC

telecom | 02/26/2019 5:51 pm EST

The Liberal government is proposing a significant departure...

Bell urged Bains not to send back MVNO decision a second time

telecom | 02/12/2019 2:37 pm EST

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains weighed sending back the CRTC’s...

Huawei 5G decision ‘beyond weeks’ away: Goodale

telecom | 01/29/2019 4:04 pm EST

The federal government’s sweeping security review that’s examining whether to ban Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s equipment from the country’s next generation telecom networks will take much longer than a matter of weeks before it’s finished...

Bernadette Jordan tasked to ‘lead work’ to improve rural broadband

telecom | 01/29/2019 12:56 pm EST

The Prime Minister’s Office has made public the mandate letter for the...

Growing CRTC cost awards delays ‘problem for everybody’

Media | 12/18/2018 7:44 pm EST

Increases in how long the CRTC takes to pay public interest groups to...

MP asks ISED to force CRTC internet code extension

telecom | 12/07/2018 4:40 pm EST

NDP MP Brian Masse is asking Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains to force the CRTC to extend the deadline...

OPC to Bains: privacy rights not ‘at odds’ with innovation

telecom | 12/05/2018 2:01 pm EST

The federal privacy watchdog is warning the Liberal government against...

ISED said it will do its ‘darndest’ for rural in face of 3.5 GHz clawback

telecom | 11/20/2018 2:49 pm EST

OTTAWA — Innovation Canada deputy minister John Knubley said his department will do what it can to address a concern that a clawback of 3.5 GHz spectrum for a future auction...

AG finds flaws in rural connectivity funding, spectrum auction process

telecom | 11/20/2018 10:23 am EST

OTTAWA — The federal government has been lagging behind on rural...

Lack of scale, device lineup challenges for Xplore Mobile

telecom | 11/16/2018 6:34 pm EST

New Brunswick-based internet provider Xplornet Communications Inc. started...

ISED announces signing of first supercluster funding agreement

telecom | 11/13/2018 12:28 pm EST

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced the federal government has signed a funding agreement with the group constituting its “advanced manufacturing” supercluster Tuesday, showing that Ottawa...

Ontario, Saskatchewan didn’t agree to ISED broadband strategy

telecom | 10/29/2018 5:45 pm EDT

Last week, ministers of innovation and economic development from three...

Bell, Rogers defend sales practices to CRTC

telecom | 10/26/2018 8:00 pm EDT

GATINEAU –– BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. defended their sales tactics Friday after a week...

ISED seeks mmWave testing after report questions spectrum readiness

telecom | 10/23/2018 10:39 am EDT

Just over a year after a critical internal report raised questions about the technological readiness of millimetre wave frequencies in the wake of a government consultation on using the spectrum for...

Alleged sales practices wouldn’t be ‘tolerated’ elsewhere: CRTC chairman

Media | 10/22/2018 6:23 pm EDT

GATINEAU— CRTC Chairman Ian Scott opened public...

OPC to seek court reference on search engine delisting

telecom | 09/27/2018 5:39 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien says he plans to...

Broadcasters’ association, Corus, add new lobby registrations

Media | 08/24/2018 11:33 am EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters registered to lobby the federal government on its review of the Copyright Act in July, which was otherwise a sleepy month in telecom and media government relations. Graham McLaughlin and Mark Resnick of McMillan Vantage registered to communicate with “public office holders with respect to the potential impact on the broadcasting sector as a result of changes of the framework for copyright in Canada.” The Copyright Act review kicked off in December, with the House industry committee holding meetings to hear from various groups this spring....

Cogeco hires lobbyist with wireless spectrum expertise

telecom | 07/03/2018 11:54 am EDT

Amir Bigloo, who has a history of successful spectrum purchases as CEO of...

Gov’t cites NAFTA over U.S. net neutrality rollback concerns

Media | 06/22/2018 1:33 pm EDT

The federal government is affirming its commitment to enforcing the...

ISED points to existing programs in response to rural broadband report

telecom | 06/21/2018 5:45 pm EDT

The government has responded to a House industry committee report that, among other recommendations, said the government should tackle the problem of rural broadband access in Canada and called for...

Balsillie’s Centre for Digital Rights meets with OPC

telecom | 06/21/2018 4:00 pm EDT

A newly-minted data rights group spearheaded by former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie met with privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien in late May, according to the federal lobbying registry....

Private member’s bill aims to give privacy commish more powers

telecom | 06/21/2018 2:11 pm EDT

OTTAWA — As the House of Commons rose for summer break Wednesday afternoon, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith tabled a private member’s bill to give the privacy commissioner greater enforcement powers. “What we have right now is an ombudsman; what we need is a...

Gov’t launches consultation on data, privacy

telecom | 06/19/2018 6:56 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The federal government said Tuesday it will hold consultations to look at the issue of data...

Industry should know Canadians concerned about sales practices: Bains

telecom | 06/14/2018 1:35 pm EDT

OTTAWA  — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Thursday afternoon that...

ISED consulting on timelines for 5G devices, 3.5 GHz for mobile use

telecom | 06/07/2018 6:11 pm EDT

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is seeking comments, during a consultation on the 3.5 Ghz spectrum, about timelines related to the deployment of the spectrum, including the...

Bains says spectrum auction dates to give industry predictability

telecom | 06/06/2018 6:51 pm EDT

TORONTO — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced Wednesday the...

ISED won’t rule out using spectrum proceeds for CanCon: Bains

Media | 06/01/2018 4:47 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains and Heritage Minister Mélanie...

Bains mum on if telecom concerns led to Aecon takeover denial

telecom | 05/24/2018 5:01 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains wouldn’t say Thursday...

Motion seeking to enshrine net neutrality into law passes

Media | 05/24/2018 12:56 pm EDT

A motion asking the government to consider enshrining the concept of net...

Rogers, Bell add junk food bill concerns to lobby efforts

Media | 04/25/2018 2:54 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. have registered to lobby the...

Analysts welcome regulatory certainty after WiFi MVNO decision

Media | 03/23/2018 4:12 pm EDT

The CRTC decision Thursday not to mandate roaming for WiFi-first mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) brings predictability for large telecoms, financial analysts said. “At the highest level, we believe the CRTC struck a very supportive tone with respect to facilities-based competition and ensuring the wireless industry has continued regulatory certainty,” wrote RBC Capital Market analyst Drew McReynolds in a note late Thursday evening. Instead of mandating WiFi-based players, the CRTC directed large telecoms to offer low-cost data-only plans, in addition to setting new roaming...

Low-cost data plans ‘superior alternative’ to WiFi-first MVNOs: Scott

telecom | 03/22/2018 4:23 pm EDT

Having facilities-based carriers offer low-cost data-only plans is a better way to fulfill the government’s goals of more affordable wireless options for consumers than mandating roaming access by...

Huawei concerns raised in Parliament

Media | 03/21/2018 4:52 pm EDT

The issue of whether a Chinese telecom equipment maker poses a security threat by operating in Canada is...

Broadband price hikes ‘concerning’: Bains

telecom | 03/12/2018 5:49 pm EDT

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains called reports of internet service price hikes by two large telecoms...

Cybersecurity, LEO satellites, data on OTT services in federal budget

Media | 02/27/2018 4:21 pm EST

OTTAWA — The 2018 federal budget, released Tuesday afternoon, includes...

Bell, Telus projects get go-ahead in superclusters announcement

telecom | 02/16/2018 2:24 pm EST

OTTAWA — Two “superclusters” involving BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. are among the five that will receive funding as part of the federal government’s $950 million initiative, according to an announcement Thursday at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa....

Telecoms defend FairPlay to MPs, call for 5G net neutrality flexibility

Media | 02/13/2018 2:01 pm EST

OTTAWA — Representatives from Canada’s biggest telecoms argued that...

Gov’t points to open internet for ‘legal content’ in FairPlay response

Media | 01/30/2018 4:25 pm EST

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has released a statement on a call by a coalition of broadcasters, telecoms and creative groups to begin blocking websites hosting pirated content, in which he...

End of 2017 saw Stingray, Birch Hill reinvigorate lobby efforts

Media | 01/17/2018 4:39 pm EST

Stingray Digital Group Inc. and Birch Hill Equity Partners ramped up their lobbying in December, with both submitting their first communications reports for the year in the last weeks of 2017....

NDP calls on Apple to justify software slowdown to MPs

telecom | 01/12/2018 5:39 pm EST

The NDP says silicon valley giant Apple Inc. should speak to a...

Citing gov’t signals, Cogeco CEO indicates renewed interest in wireless

Media | 01/11/2018 5:55 pm EST

MONTREAL — Cogeco Inc. is feeling more optimistic about the possibility...

Sidewalk Labs, civil liberties group register to lobby

Media | 01/08/2018 4:14 pm EST

Alphabet Inc.’s Sidewalk Labs kicked off the new year by registering to...

Canadian gov’t reiterates net neutrality support as FCC kills 2015 rules

telecom | 12/14/2017 5:00 pm EST

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2...

BPF registers to lobby amidst consumer group funding concerns

Media | 12/14/2017 2:25 pm EST

A few months after the emergence of a proposal asking the CRTC to shift...

Scheer mum on net neutrality as CPC MPs take opposing sides

Media | 12/13/2017 4:39 pm EST

Opposition leader Andrew Scheer isn’t going public with his position on the issue of net neutrality, even as two members of his caucus — both former Industry ministers — are publicly disagreeing on the question. On Saturday, Innovation critic Maxime Bernier tweeted...