TAGGED AS BRAGG COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Telus appealing CRTC speed cap relief
telecom | 04/18/2019 5:00 pm EDT
Telus Corp. is going to court over the CRTC’s decision last month to grant smaller internet providers a pause on a rule that caps the internet speeds they can provide their customers if they don’t switch to a new regime they argue is impractical.
Last month, the CRTC...
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 results of the auction were released late Wednesday afternoon. Among the winners were Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., Shaw Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc., Xplornet Communications Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., Iristel Inc., TBayTel Inc., and Bragg Communications Inc. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said in a phone interview he was “very happy with the outcome,...
ISPs can already resell incumbent internet to other providers, cablecos say
telecom | 02/04/2019 2:33 pm EST
Canada’s largest cable companies said they already have existing provisions that allow providers to buy and resell their services to other providers. Late last year, the CRTC asked the cablecos...
ISPs can resell wholesale service to other providers: CRTC
telecom | 12/11/2018 5:59 pm EST
The CRTC has sided with a small telecom that was reselling wholesale...
Cogeco won’t be among bidders for 600 MHz spectrum
telecom | 12/06/2018 6:29 pm EST
Cogeco Inc. isn’t among the list of participants in the 600 MHz auction, released by Innovation Canada...
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...
TekSavvy tells CRTC about incumbents trying to ‘poach’ customers
telecom | 10/24/2018 6:17 pm EDT
GATINEAU — TekSavvy Solutions Inc. told the CRTC Wednesday that a sales code of conduct for the telecom industry should cover technician service visits because its...
ISED OKs North Bay spectrum transfer to Bell
telecom | 10/15/2018 2:18 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has approved the transfer of an AWS-1 licence in North Bay, Ont. from Bragg Communications Inc. to BCE Inc. Though Bragg's Eastlink began rolling out service in other...
BDUs need to have STB data ready for Sept. 2019: CRTC
telecom | 08/03/2018 2:31 pm EDT
The CRTC renewed the licences of a slew of broadcasters in multiple decisions on Thursday, taking a hands-off approach to issues like pricing of standalone channels, but setting conditions of license for community programming,...
CRTC to hold sales practices hearing in October
telecom | 07/16/2018 1:57 pm EDT
The CRTC will question telecoms about their sales practices at an October hearing in Gatineau, Que., the regulator said Monday as it launched a consultation. The proceeding is in response to an order by the federal government...
Eastlink can’t stop serving new customers of small ISPs: CRTC
telecom | 05/18/2018 3:40 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink has to keep provisioning new...
Frontier-Eastlink tariff tiff could affect other ISPs, CNOC warns
telecom | 04/30/2018 5:13 pm EDT
A dispute between two internet service providers (ISPs) over the...
Dispute over reselling wholesale service to other ISPs in front of CRTC
Media | 04/23/2018 5:26 pm EDT
Frontier Networks Inc. is turning to the CRTC in a disagreement over whether the small telecom can resell wholesale internet service from Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, according to a CRTC...
ISP coalition stands up to proposed hydro pole price
Media | 03/22/2018 5:53 pm EDT
A coalition of internet service providers (ISPs) is taking the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to task over a proposal to significantly raise the cost of hydro pole installation across the province, which they say will inevitably lead...
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...
CRTC starts next steps on disaggregated regime expansion
Media | 03/12/2018 4:47 pm EDT
The CRTC is asking telecoms to provide information about demand for high-speed internet as the next step toward implementing the disaggregated wholesale regime in regions outside Ontario and Quebec. The regulator said in a letter dated March 5 that it has requested Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, Shaw Communications Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp., BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. provide demand-related information in all provinces they serve by April 4. The latter two will provide information outside Ontario and Quebec, as they already provide...
ISED expands AWS-1 coverage requirements, licence terms
telecom | 02/16/2018 4:49 pm EST
Innovation Canada is extending both licence terms and coverage requirements following a consultation on AWS-1 spectrum renewals, it said in a decision Friday. In 2008, ISED — then Industry...
Size of 600 MHz set-aside, licence areas points of contention
telecom | 11/21/2017 5:25 pm EST
While much of the debate around the upcoming 600 MHz spectrum auction has centered on implementing spectrum set-asides, issues like imposing a spectrum cap and the size of any set-aside, the ability...
Quebecor, Shaw to benefit from 600 MHz set-asides: analysts
telecom | 08/08/2017 3:27 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile will be the big winners if Innovation Canada goes ahead with its plans to set aside spectrum for smaller players in the...
Service restored after cut cable cripples Bell, Telus network
telecom | 08/04/2017 11:15 am EDT
A cut cable crippled the shared network of BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. in...
STB data measurement complex task, group says
Media | 06/30/2017 2:23 pm EDT
Activity by a working group tasked with studying the implementation of an audience measurement system via set-top boxes is slow, but steady, TV providers told the CRTC, with user privacy coming to bear as a top concern for those involved.
Broadcast distribution...
TMN Go to offer downloads
Media | 06/29/2017 3:58 pm EDT
TMN Go, the TV-everywhere service from BCE Inc.’s media division, will begin allowing viewers to download content for offline viewing.
The service will be available to...
Eastlink expanding gigabit Internet service
telecom | 06/19/2017 5:13 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink is making 1 GB Internet speeds more widely available and will target the consumer market. "For years, we have been providing Gigabit speeds and higher to our larger business customers...
‘Alternative video’ services more satisfying than pay TV: study
Media | 06/08/2017 3:10 pm EDT
Non-traditional TV subscribers, such as those who use over-the-top (OTT) services, are more satisfied than those with traditional pay-TV subscriptions, a new J.D. Power survey suggested. Customers...
Eastlink wireless service launches in St. John’s
telecom | 06/08/2017 12:42 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink has added wireless service to Newfoundland and Labrador, with the plans now available in the greater St. John’s area. In a Thursday press release, the company said customers can make the...
CRTC to review pick-and-pay rollout in Oct.
Media | 05/18/2017 5:07 pm EDT
The CRTC will hold a hearing on a number of broadcast distribution undertakings’ [BDUs] licence renewal...
Quality of service regime needed for wholesale Internet: CNOC
telecom | 04/27/2017 6:51 pm EDT
Small Internet service providers (ISPs) and advocacy groups are asking the CRTC to put in place protections regarding the quality of service they and their customers receive when buying wholesale...
Carriers made $37.7M from phone unlocking last year: CRTC
telecom | 03/02/2017 6:06 pm EST
The CRTC has released aggregate data that shows wireless service providers earned $37.7 million in revenue by unlocking phones last year. That’s up from $28.5 million in 2015 and $21.6 million...
Eastlink asks for review and vary, stay of interim wholesale rates
telecom | 01/20/2017 7:23 pm EST
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink is asking the CRTC to delay the imposition of lower wholesale high-speed access rates it put in place last year pending the outcome of a review-and-vary...
Pick-and-pay won’t tempt consumers to switch or subscribe: RBC
Media | 12/05/2016 6:26 pm EST
The pick-and-pay options launched by Canada’s TV providers last week aren’t likely to appeal to either current subscribers or those without traditional TV service, according RBC Capital Markets’ Drew McReynolds. McReynolds said in a note Friday that similarly “to the launch of skinny basic and the pricing of small packages, we believe à la carte pricing largely incentivizes households to keep existing packages.” TV providers were required to begin offering subscriptions to individual TV channels on Dec. 1, as part of...
CRTC should be flexible with zero-rating: Rogers
Media | 11/03/2016 12:08 am EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — While Rogers Communications Inc. said it generally does not support differential pricing practices (DPP), it suggested Wednesday that the regulator should stay flexible in its approach given...
Eastlink expanding rural N.S. broadband access
telecom | 08/25/2016 2:51 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink is investing $6.5 million to expand high-speed Internet services to rural Nova Scotia, the company announced Thursday. “We appreciate that when it comes to Internet in rural Nova...
Rogers’ OMNI application a ‘band-aid’ solution, critics say
Media | 08/18/2016 7:14 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposal for a new national ethnic programming service is neither innovative nor appropriate in today’s TV environment aimed at providing consumers more...
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...
Community TV complaints deferred: CACTUS
Media | 08/03/2016 7:05 pm EDT
The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) said Wednesday it’s unhappy with the CRTC’s decision to put off complaints about alleged broadcast distribution undertakings’ (BDUs) compliance issues until later this fall. In a press release, the association said almost 60 complaints made by CACTUS and community partners in early 2016 won’t be considered until the licence renewal proceedings later this year. The complaints against channels operated by Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, Cogeco Inc., Shaw...
Pick-and-pay drives customer satisfaction: J.D. Power
Media | 06/03/2016 3:26 pm EDT
A new J.D. Power survey has found customers who have a skinny-basic TV package with a pick-and-pay option are more satisfied than TV customers with other types of subscriptions. Satisfaction among skinny-basic customers was 761...
Eastlink expands wireless service to northern Ontario
telecom | 05/26/2016 9:22 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink announced Thursday that it is launching wireless service in Timmins, Ont., on June 1. “Customers stuck in a contract can make the switch right away as Eastlink...
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...
Ont. municipality still interested in Eastlink buyout: report
telecom | 02/06/2015 7:31 pm EST
The Municipality of Kincardine in southwestern Ontario is interested revisiting the issue of selling publicly owned Bruce Telecom to Eastlink-owner Bragg Communications Inc., according to a news...
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...
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...
‘Moving parts’ making spectrum auction predictions difficult: analyst
telecom | 01/23/2015 7:12 pm EST
Analysts are divided on how two upcoming spectrum auctions will change Canada’s wireless industry as the deadline for registration looms at the end of January. The upcoming AWS-3 and 2500 MHz auctions are taking place against a backdrop of uncertainty as carriers await a decision from the CRTC on wholesale wireless...
Eastlink no longer buying Bruce Telecom
telecom | 08/15/2014 5:34 pm EDT
Bragg Communications Inc., which operates Eastlink, won’t be buying Bruce Telecom, the Competition Bureau said Friday. The bureau said in a press release that it reviewed the proposed acquisition and concluded that had...
Bell asks for confidentiality in wholesale review
telecom | 07/15/2014 9:05 pm EDT
BCE Inc. has asked that some of its responses to questions about business arrangements with other carriers be kept confidential as part of the CRTC's review of the wholesale wireless market. The CRTC sent out a letter Monday to various parties with an interest in the review, informing them that Bell gave notice that such a request was coming on July 7, the date for which responses were due. In a letter sent to the CRTC July 11, Bell said it wished not to publicly disclose details surrounding revenues and expenses related to roaming and other wholesale services provided to Canadian...
Telecoms owe money for CRTC proceeding on cancellation notice
telecom | 07/03/2014 4:15 pm EDT
The CRTC said on Thursday both the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the DiversityCanada Foundation are owed costs they incurred to make submissions in a CRTC proceeding on whether wireline...
Industry Canada approves joint Rogers/MTS network
telecom | 05/23/2014 5:09 pm EDT
Industry Canada said Friday it approved a spectrum-sharing agreement between MTS Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. The companies announced the agreement a year ago, and The Wire Report reported at the time that the deal, which...
Rogers spends billions on spectrum, focuses on A, B pairings
telecom | 02/19/2014 10:45 pm EST
OTTAWA — More than half the money raised in the government’s 700 MHz auction of wireless spectrum came from Rogers Communications Inc., which invested heavily in two key blocks in regions...
Eastlink opens Nova Scotia data centre
telecom | 01/20/2014 7:48 pm EST
Eastlink has opened a data centre in Sambro, N.S., the company said in a release Monday. Eastlink (owned by Bragg Communications Inc.) said the Pennant Point Data Centre is currently operational and serving customers in Atlantic...
CRTC approves BCE purchase of Astral, applies new safeguards
Media | 06/27/2013 8:07 pm EDT
The CRTC approved BCE Inc.’s reworked application to purchase Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion, with conditions that raise the company’s contributions to Canadian broadcasting by $72 million and apply additional regulatory checks on BCE’s market power. The regulator said in a decision Thursday that it approved the deal while adding regulatory safeguards as conditions that will be put into BCE’s broadcast licences. The CRTC said it will hike BCE’s tangible benefits package related to the deal—which requires the company to commit to projects that benefit...
Bragg urges CRTC to deny Rogers’ ‘must offer’ request for The Score
Media | 02/22/2013 5:24 pm EST
Canada's broadcast regulator should remove The Score’s “must offer” licence designation given that the channel has benefitted from wide distribution for more than a decade, Bragg Communications Inc. said in a regulatory filing. “When one considers that The Score has been...
Eastlink to launch wireless service Friday
telecom | 02/13/2013 10:48 pm EST
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink subsidiary will launch its wireless network on Friday, Natalie MacDonald, vice-president of regulatory affairs at the company, said Tuesday. “We are excited to launch our service...