TAGGED AS PHILIP HUANG
Few surprises in 600 MHz auction framework: analysts
telecom | 03/29/2018 4:15 pm EDT
Innovation Canada has released its framework for the 600 MHz spectrum auction, now scheduled for March 2019, and it will set aside 43 per cent of spectrum for “regional competitors and potential new market entrants,” according to a Wednesday release. Since the government had previously introduced its plan for the spectrum last year, analysts were not surprised by the move — which they said would mainly benefit Shaw Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. Details like the auction structure, timing and opening bids, as well as conditions on transferability, licence terms and deployment...
Shaw poised for boost from new iPhones
telecom | 09/12/2017 5:17 pm EDT
Apple Inc.’s new iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, announced Tuesday, are compatible with spectrum bands used by Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile, though not extending that capability to older models could dampen the positive effect on the company, according to...
Wireless promos up compared to last year: Barclays
telecom | 06/26/2017 4:58 pm EDT
Leading up to Canada’s 150th anniversary, wireless promotions from incumbents and their flanker brands have increased noticeably compared to last year, according to Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang. Promotions in the...
Lab to play ‘transformative’ role in wireless spectrum: Bains
Media | 05/08/2017 8:56 pm EDT
OTTAWA — The future of wireless spectrum in Canada won’t be about who holds the largest amount of it, but rather who wields it in the...
Shaw promises more integration with Freedom under new COO
telecom | 04/12/2017 9:10 pm EDT
Shaw Communications Inc. said Wednesday that its Freedom Mobile division will have a new chief operating officer, as Paul McAleese takes over from Alek Krstajic. CEO Brad Shaw...
Too soon to see benefits of BlueSky TV: Barclays
Media | 04/03/2017 4:37 pm EDT
Despite being well received in some western markets, it’s too early to determine how Shaw Communications Inc.’s BlueSky TV is working out for the company, according to Barclays Capital. “We expect it will take...
Less government interference not positive for Shaw: Barclays
telecom | 02/27/2017 8:56 pm EST
Greater flexibility allowed by the federal government for market forces to shape the wireless industry would benefit most of the big players but negatively affect Shaw Communications Inc.'s Freedom Mobile, according to Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang. “While the Liberal government is maintaining the four-player wireless market structure introduced by the Conservative government a decade ago, it appears to allow greater flexibility for market forces to shape the industry,” Huang said in a Monday note, adding the government “appears less...
Investor concerns about changes at Quebecor ‘overdone’: Huang
Media | 02/21/2017 6:50 pm EST
Some investors are worried about potential disruptions at Quebecor Inc. following the return of former CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau to the company, though such concern is overblown,...
Shaw launches IPTV platform
telecom | 01/11/2017 11:40 pm EST
Shaw Communications Inc. has made its IPTV service, called BlueSky, available in Calgary, and plans to launch it in additional markets “in the coming months.” The IPTV service runs the same X1 platform from Comcast Corp. that Rogers Communications...
December to see ‘hyper competitive’ wireless market: Barclays
telecom | 12/05/2016 6:35 pm EST
Heavy handset promotions during Black Friday and Cyber Monday last month hint at a December that is shaping up to be “hyper competitive” for the wireless market,...
Wholesale rate decision could lead to focus on flanker brands, analysts say
telecom | 10/07/2016 8:17 pm EDT
In the days after the CRTC issued a decision that lowered wholesale wireline Internet rates proposed by large Internet Service Providers (ISPs), financial analysts said the large telecoms could...
Impact of Alberta fires on Shaw, Telus $5M-$10M: Barclays
telecom | 07/08/2016 5:50 pm EDT
Barclays analyst Phillip Huang said in a research note Friday that he estimates Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. lost about one month of cable revenues as a result of...
Market has adjusted to 2-year wireless contracts: analyst
telecom | 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...
Darren Entwistle as Telus CEO is ‘less complicated’: analyst
telecom | 08/10/2015 6:18 pm EDT
After a little more than one year on the job, Telus Corp. announced Monday that Joe Natale has stepped down as president and CEO, and has been replaced by Darren Entwistle, who was Natale's predecessor in this job and has been the company's executive chairman ever since the previous changeover. In a press release,...
New CRTC wholesale rules won’t change telco FTTH strategies: analysts
telecom | 07/23/2015 8:59 pm EDT
A day after the CRTC said it would mandate wholesale access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks by small ISPs, financial analysts said the move likely won’t have a significant impact on...
Telcos losing advantage over cablecos in TV: analyst
telecom | 06/29/2015 2:50 pm EDT
Cable companies are “poised to level the playing field” against telephone incumbents in the area of TV service as they launch more advanced technological services of their own, Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang said Monday. Huang wrote in a research note that in recent years, telcos have “differentiated with their advantage" in IPTV services, "which were successfully marketed to consumers as the sexier next-gen TV vs. legacy cable service.” Rogers Communications Inc. said recently it would launch its IPTV service at about the same time it starts...
Wholesale decision positive for Bell, Rogers, Telus: analysts
telecom | 05/06/2015 5:45 pm EDT
Financial market analysts say Canada's incumbent wireless operators were generally left undamaged in this week's decision by the CRTC to regulate the rates they charge smaller domestic...
Wireless competition to intensify this year: analyst
telecom | 01/19/2015 6:16 pm EST
Competition in the wireless market will “likely intensify” in the next six months, Barclays analyst Phillip Huang said in a research note Monday. He said a “double cohort” effect caused by three and...
Bell complaint could thwart Rogers’ hockey strategy: analyst
Media | 10/27/2014 5:54 pm EDT
Notwithstanding Guy Lawrence's recent remarks about rival BCE Inc. being a "crybaby," a market analyst says Rogers Communications Inc.’s strategy for NHL streaming could be affected by Bell's recent CRTC complaint. The analysis follows last week’s complaint by Bell that Rogers is contravening...
Quebecor says newspaper sale not connected to wireless expansion
Media | 10/06/2014 7:59 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. says there is no connection between the $316-million proposed sale of its English-language newspapers to Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and its intention of expanding its mobile services...
Build-out requirements, regulations, keeping Verizon away: analyst
telecom | 08/05/2014 8:08 pm EDT
Verizon Communications Inc. is not likely to enter the Canadian market, Barclay’s analyst Philip Huang said in a Monday research note, referring to a meeting a U.S. Barclay’s analyst had with Verizon management. Huang said that expansion to Canada was one of the topics discussed at that meeting, and that he believes Verizon is "unlikely to make a major acquisition in Canada." "Management sees important issues related to strategies that embrace geographic expansion to...