TAGGED AS SASKATCHEWAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS HOLDING CORP.
NFL Sunday Ticket returns to broadcast TV with Dazn partnership
Media | 10/11/2017 6:16 pm EDT
Perform Group’s over-the-top (OTT) sports service Dazn is partnering with Shaw Communications Inc. and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. to broadcast some of its football content previously available exclusively online.
On Oct. 7, Dazn announced on Twitter...
SaskTel updating rural wireless towers
telecom | 09/01/2017 5:27 pm EDT
Rural wireless towers in Saskatchewan are being upgraded to increase their LTE capacity, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. said in Friday press release.
The upgrade to the 35 towers, which includes adding LTE network carriers, will cost about $4 million,...
Hargrave in as new SaskTel minister
telecom | 08/30/2017 4:24 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. has a new minister responsible for the Crown telecom...
TBayTel asks for 1-year extension for Wireless Code changes
telecom | 08/22/2017 12:56 pm EDT
The CRTC is seeking comment on whether it should grant regional...
SaskTel launches smart-home service
telecom | 08/21/2017 5:29 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Co. has rolled out a connected-home service, allowing customers...
Transparency reporting in Canada: still opaque?
telecom | 07/31/2017 4:15 pm EDT
Without an Edward Snowden-like scandal, exposing inappropriate government access of citizens’ personal...
Deny TerreStar ask for more spectrum, telecoms tell ISED
telecom | 07/26/2017 3:17 pm EDT
TerreStar Solutions Inc. is asking Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada to hand it more spectrum so it can effectively deploy its current AWS-4 holdings and begin work on a new national fixed wireless and satellite service, a request that some telecoms...
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...
SaskTel CEO leaving company July 1
telecom | 06/29/2017 2:38 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s president and CEO, Ron Styles, will...
SaskTel to boost Internet speeds in indigenous communities
telecom | 06/20/2017 2:56 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. will improve Internet service...
Sask. to cost Internet improvements: report
telecom | 06/08/2017 4:50 pm EDT
The Saskatchewan government will appoint someone to investigate the cost of expanding Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s Internet coverage, Premier Brad Wall was reported as saying this week, according to CTV News....
‘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...
Telus, Videotron lead in wireless network quality: study
telecom | 05/26/2017 3:52 pm EDT
Telus Corp. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron had the fewest reported problems on their networks in certain regions of the country, according to a new study by J.D. Power. Released Thursday, the...
Partial sale would bring benefits to SaskTel: Desjardins
telecom | 05/08/2017 6:53 pm EDT
The sale of a stake in Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. would help the crown corporation when it comes to adopting new technologies, according to Desjardins Capital Markets...
Big three haven’t met with minister about SaskTel sale: report
Media | 05/03/2017 9:41 pm EDT
Canada’s big three wireless providers have not spoken with the minister for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. about the potential partial sale of the company, even though last week he said he met with a major telecom, according to a Tuesday Regina Leader-Post report. SaskTel Minister Dustin...
SaskTel minister confirms discussions about partial sale
telecom | 05/01/2017 8:22 pm EDT
Saskatchewan's minister for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said last week the government met with a major Canadian telecom company to discuss a partial sale of the province's telecom company, but no formal offer was made, according to a Regina Leader-Post report. Minister Dustin Duncan told a legislative committee on Wednesday that his chief of staff met with the unidentified potential suitor's representative and told them about Bill 40, which opens the door for 49 per cent of SaskTel to be sold off to private investors without privatizing the...
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...
Telecoms bond over stirring proposals to shake up call spoofing
telecom | 03/03/2017 7:18 pm EST
Technologies identified by the CRTC as potential tools to combat spoofed and nuisance calls have promise, but barriers to their deployment mean they’re not likely to be put in place any time...
SaskTel says it’s ‘concerned’ by end of local voice subsidy
telecom | 02/13/2017 6:09 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday that it is concerned about the CRTC’s December decision to eliminate the local voice subsidy in favour of a...
Eliminate locked phones in Canada, Freedom Mobile tells CRTC
telecom | 02/08/2017 10:05 pm EST
In a departure from the positions of its fellow wireless providers, Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile suggested Wednesday the CRTC should forbid carriers from charging...
Trump raising concerns about Internet traffic passing U.S.: advocates
telecom | 01/30/2017 9:21 pm EST
In November 2016, a group of Internet experts met in Toronto to discuss how to address the issue of Canadian Internet traffic travelling to the United States, which some say raises data privacy concerns that have now been amplified with the election of U.S. president Donald Trump. The two-day meeting was the first of its kind and was intended to determine what a national organization of Internet exchanges (IX) would look like, Ryan Hill, communications manager at the Canadian Internet...
SaskTel opens Saskatoon data centre
telecom | 01/26/2017 9:00 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. said Thursday that its newest data centre is now operational. The 24,000-square-foot Tier III facility, first announced in 2015, “significantly...
Sasktel boosting Internet offerings in 4 communities
telecom | 11/16/2016 7:18 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is upgrading Internet speeds in some communities and will begin offering higher-speed service to another in Saskatchewan. In one of two press releases Wednesday, the...
Sasktel ties for fastest LTE speeds in the world: OpenSignal
telecom | 11/10/2016 9:29 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.’s LTE download speeds are among the fastest in the world, according to a new OpenSignal Inc. report. “In the fourth quarter, Singapore had...
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...
Wireless Code could use tweaks, providers tell CRTC
telecom | 10/04/2016 8:55 pm EDT
While the general consensus among the industry’s biggest players is that the Wireless Code has been an effective tool over the past three years, it could do with few upgrades, according to submissions made to the CRTC’s review of the regulation. Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. argued a return to three-year contracts is in...
Union-backed ads call for SaskTel status quo
telecom | 09/09/2016 4:25 pm EDT
A union representing Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. employees has launched an advertising campaign calling for Premier Brad Wall to abandon any idea of selling the telecom. In a press release Thursday,...
Bell has fastest wireless network again: report
telecom | 08/31/2016 8:51 pm EDT
BCE Inc. owns the country’s fastest mobile speeds for a second consecutive year, helped by partnerships agreements with other companies, according to a report released Wednesday by PCMag.com. With an average of 59.72...
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...
FTTH rollout crucial for affordability in long-term: report
telecom | 08/16/2016 5:13 pm EDT
The deployment of fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks will be an important step for improving affordability of communications services in the long-term, according to a report commissioned by the CRTC. “In the longer term, technological and business process innovations that reduce costs and improve quality appear to be critical for enhancing affordability of access to products and services that are now considered necessities,” the report read. Entitled “Affordability of Communications Services,” the report, which was completed in March 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...
SaskTel sale to Telus ‘logical’: Barclays
telecom | 08/03/2016 8:28 pm EDT
Telus Corp. would be the “logical buyer” of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., according to Barclays Capital. Ahead of Telus’s second-quarter earnings report Friday, analyst Phillip Huang...
SaskTel connects Estevan to FTTH
telecom | 07/28/2016 7:04 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Thursday its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service is now available in some residential areas of the southeastern city of Estevan. The new connections will give...
SaskTel to improve Internet service in 7 communities
telecom | 07/20/2016 4:46 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it’s installing additional equipment on towers in rural areas around seven Saskatchewan communities that will relieve...
SaskTel phasing out CDMA network next summer
telecom | 07/05/2016 7:27 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Tuesday that its Code division multiple access (CDMA) network is entering its last year. In a press release, SaskTel said CDMA-reliant devices would no longer function after July 5, 2017, and that it would be transitioning existing customers to its 4G and 4G LTE network. “By shutting down the CDMA network, we can repurpose spectrum so we can continue to add capacity to our 4G and 4G LTE network province-wide and resources can be refocused towards emerging technologies, products, and services,” Ron Styles,...
SaskTel flipping switch on FTTH in Weyburn
telecom | 07/04/2016 6:53 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday is ready to start connecting customers to its InfiNet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Weyburn. Some residential areas of the city, located south of...
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...
Wall prefers SaskTel sale over public offering: report
telecom | 06/15/2016 4:04 pm EDT
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall told reporters he would rather sell Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. than take the company public and sell shares on the open market, Bloomberg...
SaskTel enhancing wireless coverage on Highway 18
telecom | 06/03/2016 6:44 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is updating its wireless network along a 130-kilometre stretch of highway, the company announced Wednesday. A $2.1-million investment into Highway 18 from the south-eastern...
SaskTel chooses company to conduct review
telecom | 05/27/2016 6:13 pm EDT
Toronto-based consulting company Mark H. Goldberg and Associates Inc. will conduct the third-party review of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., the company announced Friday. The review, launched in...
SaskTel announces capital investment plan
telecom | 05/16/2016 8:17 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday it was making a more-than-$1.4-billion capital investment over the next five years to upgrade its systems and networks. Of that investment, $331 million is allotted...
Big-box wireless customers ‘high risk’: study
telecom | 05/13/2016 8:43 pm EDT
Consumers who shop at big-box stores are more likely to purchase unlocked phones and are more likely to switch wireless providers, according to results of a study released Thursday. Half of the customers who buy phones from...
SaskTel embarking on review in wake of Bell-MTS deal
telecom | 05/06/2016 8:00 pm EDT
Faced with the prospect of becoming “an island in Western Canada” at the conclusion of the proposed Manitoba Telcom Services Inc. sale, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is...
SaskTel upgrades networks in northeast
telecom | 04/25/2016 9:41 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a press release Monday it plans to complete, by the end of June, a three-year, $30-million project to rebuild the backhaul network in the northeastern part of the province. “As part of this project SaskTel is building a fibre optics line from La Ronge to Points North that will serve as the backbone infrastructure that will significantly increase the bandwidth available throughout the region,” the release said. It added the company is “also investing approximately $10 million in additional upgrades that...
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...
Robert Watson taking over as ITAC president, CEO
Media | 04/13/2016 4:48 pm EDT
Former Saskatchewan Telecommunications Inc. CEO Robert Watson has been tapped to lead the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the group said in a Wednesday press release. Watson will take over as president and CEO of the industry association on April 18. After five years in the position, outgoing president and...
SaskTel expands Internet service in three communities
Media | 04/07/2016 6:07 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is expanding Internet service in three rural towns in Saskatchewan, it said in a press release Thursday. Download speeds of 5 Mbps will available in Craven, Sask.,...
SaskTel says 1,000 customers hit by phishing scam
telecom | 02/26/2016 9:46 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a release Friday that it was recently the target of a “large phishing attack.” It said it estimates the attack affected about 1,000 customers. The...
SaskTel launches skinny-basic package
Media | 02/02/2016 5:40 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. launched its skinny-basic TV package Monday, priced at the $25 maximum mandated by the CRTC, SaskTel spokeswoman Michelle Englot said in an email. Customers can pay extra for additional features and add-ons, according to the company’s website. It doesn’t include any of the major U.S. conventional TV networks, a decision SaskTel announced in January. As of March this year, all TV service providers have to offer customers a basic package at no more than $25 per month, following a ruling the CRTC made last year....
SaskTel won’t include U.S. 4+1 in skinny basic
Media | 01/20/2016 8:17 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Wednesday it will not include the major U.S. conventional TV networks in its skinny-basic television package, which becomes mandatory in March. The CRTC ruled last year that TV-service providers would, as of March this year, have to offer customers a basic package at no more than $25 a month. It said...
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...
SaskTel partners with University of Regina to deploy wireless technology
Media | 01/11/2016 2:49 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday it has partnered with the University of Regina to deploy new wireless technology manufactured by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. It said in...
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....
Bell’s claim FTTH investment at risk is ‘fear-mongering’: CNOC
telecom | 01/05/2016 9:48 pm EST
Small Internet service providers (ISPs) are asking the government to reject an appeal, filed by BCE Inc., of a CRTC decision that mandated access by smaller competitors to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)...
Future CraveTV prices unclear for non-Bell customers
telecom | 12/08/2015 9:56 pm EST
Subscribers to BCE Inc.’s TV services will pay more for CraveTV starting in February, though the company isn’t saying how much customers who get the streaming service through other TV-service providers, or those...
SaskTel expands fibre-to-the-home
telecom | 11/27/2015 4:45 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Friday it will be deploying its InfiNet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in residential areas of two cities in Saskatchewan by next year. SaskTel said in a press release...
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...
SaskTel reduces roaming rates
Media | 11/24/2015 5:08 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Tuesday it is introducing new roaming rates and five new roaming add-on plans for customers traveling outside of Canada. It said in a press release that the new rates, part of the Roam and Relax Travel plan, will take effect Nov. 26 and will automatically be added to customers’ plans when they travel across the border. Data and voice rates will be seven cents per MB and seven cents per minute when traveling to the U.S., and data rates will fall from $15 per MB to $1 per MB when travelling to Mexico, Netherlands, Australia, Portugal, Bermuda and Costa Rica, SaskTel said in the release. SaskTel also said that it will add five new add-on plans that are subscription-based for customers who require “additional voice or data coverage while traveling for extended amounts of...
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...
SaskTel boosts Internet speeds in 10 communities
telecom | 11/19/2015 4:22 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Thursday that it will introduce its high speed advanced Internet service plan to 10 rural communities in Saskatchewan. It said in a press release that Codette, Davidson,...
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...
CRTC denies application to implement wireless alerting system
telecom | 10/28/2015 5:35 pm EDT
The CRTC denied Wednesday an application from Bruce Power requesting the immediate implementation of an emergency alerting system by wireless service providers, but announced that it will launch a...
SaskTel boosting high speed Internet in 8 communities
telecom | 10/26/2015 4:40 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday that it will deploy high speed Internet service in eight rural communities in Saskatchewan. It said in a press release that plans with speeds up to 5 Mbps will be offered in Craven, Good Spirit Lake and Madge Lake. It added that plans with speeds up to 10 Mbps will be offered in Riverhurst, Frobisher, St. Benedict, Minton and Alvena. The release added that by the end of 2016, 19 other communities in Saskatchewan will also have high speed advanced Internet service, which includes Davidson, Waldheim, Ogema, Frontier, Loon Lake,...
SaskTel deploys AWS-1 spectrum, increases LTE capacity
telecom | 10/19/2015 4:13 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday that it has successfully deployed a block of AWS-1 spectrum, increasing the capacity and speed of its 4G LTE network in nine locations in...
SaskTel to construct data centre in Saskatoon
Media | 10/05/2015 5:15 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. announced Monday it has started construction of a new data centre in Saskatoon. It said in the press release that the data entre has met the Tier III certification requirements from...
SaskTel expands wireless service in northern Saskatchewan
telecom | 09/24/2015 7:17 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Thursday two new cell towers serving the communities of Wollaston Lake and Fond-du-Lac First Nation, both located in northern Saskatchewan, are...
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...
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...
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...
Government funds Internet network boost in Ontario, Sask.
telecom | 07/24/2015 7:13 pm EDT
Industry Canada announced this week in three press releases it is providing $3.15 million as part of a process to expand and improve Internet service to 11,000 homes in Southwestern Ontario, and...
Telecom leaders sell IoT services to increasingly savvy market
telecom | 06/29/2015 8:14 pm EDT
Over the past year, there has been a key change in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, as customers have become more aware of the technology and what it can do for them, according to officials from Canadian telecom companies. Eric Simmons, general manager of Rogers Communications Inc.'s machine-to-machine (M2M) division, said he's noticed more customers coming in with fully developed ideas about how they want to harness the technology to improve their business. "A lot of the conversations we've had in the past were helping to explain the industry, helping to explain what...
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...
SaskTel announces M2M management portal
telecom | 06/24/2015 4:21 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Wednesday it has launched a machine-to-machine (M2M) management centre, which is an online portal for its business customers to control and monitor devices linked to an M2M...
Set-asides, caps at issue in upcoming auction of unsold spectrum
telecom | 06/22/2015 8:41 pm EDT
Large wireless carriers are arguing for the elimination of set-asides and spectrum caps in the upcoming auction of unsold AWS-3 and 700 MHz spectrum, while smaller competitors say those measures...
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.,...
SaskTel boosts wireless network capacity in 10 communities
telecom | 06/19/2015 4:44 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a press release Friday it is expanding the capacity of its wireless network in 10 Saskatchewan rural communities. The company will boost the network in Candle Lake, Carlyle, Cochin, Greenwater Lake, Kerrobert, Kindersley, Lloydminster, Manitou Beach, Nipawin and Turtle Lake, it said. “SaskTel will be adding a network carrier in these 10 communities which will enhance the current tower capacity by 20 per cent to 100 per cent,” it said....
Who to lobby on spectrum: Policy Map
telecom | 06/12/2015 2:33 pm EDT
With demand for wireless spectrum on the rise, policy around the finite natural resource in Canada has emerged as a major government file over the last decade. Two spectrum auctions have already taken place this year, so far...
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...
Rising wholesale Internet rates have reached ‘critical status’: CNOC
telecom | 05/04/2015 8:30 pm EDT
The rates large telecom companies charge small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to access their wireline networks have reached extreme levels and are eroding competition “with every passing day,” according to a CRTC application filed by the Canadian Networks Operators Consortium (CNOC). “The amount of...
SaskTel launches new enterprise Internet service
telecom | 04/30/2015 8:20 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said in a press release Thursday it has launched a new Internet service for its business customers with speeds of up to 10 Gbps per second. The Saskatchewan-government owned company...
SaskTel launches mobile-payment capabilities
Media | 04/24/2015 7:03 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday it has launched mobile-payment capabilities for wireless customers who bank with Toronto Dominion Bank and have certain devices. SaskTel said the current service works...
SaskTel brings fibre to Swift Current
telecom | 04/21/2015 4:07 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Tuesday that it has officially launched its fibre-to-the-home Internet service in Swift Current, Sask. SaskTel said in a press release that some customers have already been...
SaskTel plans $313M in capital spending this year
telecom | 04/10/2015 6:14 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday it plans to make about $313 million in capital expenditures in its home province this year, including $177 million on what it calls its "core Saskatchewan...
SaskTel extends LTE to 62 rural communities
telecom | 04/07/2015 3:24 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday that it has extended LTE coverage to 62 more rural communities in the province on the 850 MHz band. SaskTel said in a press release it is approximately doubling the...
SaskTel introducing ‘simplified’ bills in May
telecom | 03/23/2015 8:20 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Monday it has launched a new billing system for its wireless customers. The new system presents SaskTel customers with a bill that is more “streamlined” and “simplified,” the company said in a press release. Now, users who hit $50 in data overage or $100 in international data charges will receive a text notification, the company said, that allows them to suspend their data service for the remainder of the bill cycle. The company will also offer spending limits, which set a maximum balance per device for monthly overages. Customers will see the changes on bills in the May cycle, the company said....
Wind spectrum sale to SaskTel prevented: report
telecom | 03/13/2015 2:54 pm EDT
A proposed sale of spectrum in Saskatchewan from Wind Mobile to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. was cancelled because of a negative reaction by federal government officials, the Financial Post reported. An article...
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...
CRTC says public proceeding on new powers to levy fines not ‘appropriate’
telecom | 02/04/2015 4:56 pm EST
A public proceeding regarding new CRTC powers to impose monetary penalties on telecommunications companies would “not be appropriate,” given “the fact that further guidance will be...
CRTC gives SaskTel pass on flood-related problems
telecom | 01/30/2015 4:40 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.'s network problems following floods in the company's home province last summer will not result in it owing rebates to companies like BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. that rely on its network, the CRTC said Friday. A decision on the CRTC website said SaskTel had applied for an exclusion from a quality of service assessment for July 2014, which is a mechanism that requires incumbents that provide network access to resellers to meet certain standards, or provide rebates back to companies that use their network. The CRTC said SaskTel argued that...
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...
Glentel purchase could help Bell, Rogers avoid competition: analysts
telecom | 01/05/2015 9:53 pm EST
A deal announced Christmas Eve to split the ownership of wireless retailer Glentel Inc. between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. will help the incumbent carriers stave off competition from a...
SaskTel expands higher-speed rural Internet
telecom | 11/28/2014 6:00 pm EST
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Friday it has expanded its High Speed Fusion Internet service for rural and remote communities to 25 additional locations. It said in a press release that this fixed-wireless,...
Bell to buy Glentel retail chain
telecom | 11/28/2014 3:47 pm EST
BCE Inc. said Friday it has reached a deal to buy mobile products retail chain Glentel Inc. for $670 million. The companies said in a press release that the price would be paid in cash and stock, and also includes the assumption...
Cogeco, SaskTel warn against mandatory wholesale on fibre connections
telecom | 11/27/2014 9:19 pm EST
GATINEAU, Que. — Two Canadian Internet service providers told the CRTC on Thursday that opening up fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks to wholesale access could hurt the “fragile”...
CRTC approves enhanced 911 applications
telecom | 10/03/2014 7:49 pm EDT
The CRTC has approved applications from Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., Telus Corp., Bell Aliant and BCE Inc. regarding enhanced 911 services. The regulator said in separate...
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...
SaskTel releases transparency report
telecom | 10/01/2014 5:06 pm EDT
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. on Wednesday joined other telecom providers in releasing a transparency report, which showed that it received 11,857 requests for information last year from government agencies and...
TekSavvy asks CRTC for help to launch TV service
Media | 09/16/2014 9:15 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — Independent ISP TekSavvySolutions Inc. told the CRTC Tuesday it is considering becoming a TV distributor, on the same day that it announced a “partnership” with Hastings Cable Vision Ltd., an eastern Ontario cable provider. TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault said his customers watch “a lot of television,” that more than half of the traffic carried by the company is streaming video, and that the company needs to get into the broadcast-distribution business “because it’s what our customers want.” “But at the same time, our ability...