TAGGED AS XPLORNET COMMUNICATIONS INC.
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 funding away from the Broadcast Participation Fund (BPF), the organization that helps bring consumer interests in front of the commission has filed its first registrations to lobby the regulator and the...
Millimetre wave spectrum set-asides harmful to 5G potential: telcos
telecom | 11/27/2017 5:51 pm EST
The issue of set-asides has resurfaced in replies to a consultation on millimetre wave spectrum (mmWave) for 5G, with telcos suggesting the technology is a new playground in...
Xplornet turns on LTE in Newfoundland communities
telecom | 11/16/2017 2:41 pm EST
Rural internet provider Xplornet Communications Inc. has expanded its fixed wireless network in...
For ‘acceptable’ internet, look beyond speed, House study told
telecom | 10/25/2017 5:35 pm EDT
As the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and...
Xplornet increases stake in Manitoba with NetSet buy
telecom | 10/23/2017 5:21 pm EDT
Rural internet service provider Xplornet Communications Inc. has announced the purchase of Brandon,...
Telus leads in end-of-summer lobbying activity
Media | 09/25/2017 5:31 pm EDT
Telus Corp. was far and away the busiest industry stakeholder when it came to...
Small providers, incumbents clash over WiFi-based MVNOs
telecom | 09/12/2017 5:54 pm EDT
Mandating wholesale roaming access to Wi-Fi-based mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) will encourage innovation and competition by providing Canadians with more wireless service options, some organizations and small providers told the CRTC, while incumbents argued such a mandate would actually...
Providers cautious as ISED eyes opportunistic spectrum access
telecom | 09/05/2017 3:29 pm EDT
Work is underway on technologies that could fundamentally change how...
Telecom, broadcasting lobbying hits July lag
Media | 08/16/2017 3:41 pm EDT
July lobbying activity was affected by the expected summer slowdown that comes with Parliament not...
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...
U.S. broadcasters look to resume retransmission row
Media | 07/21/2017 2:52 pm EDT
A group of American TV stations seems to be renewing its efforts to put compensation for signals...
CCSA leads lobbying after Hill visit
Media | 06/26/2017 2:55 pm EDT
Last month’s deluge of Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) members on Parliament Hill for the...
ViaSat-2 satellite launches
telecom | 06/02/2017 2:39 pm EDT
A recent satellite launch will lead to faster Internet speeds for rural and remote customers of Xplornet Communications Inc., the company announced Friday.
ViaSat Inc.’s...
ISED PS Lametti hot property for April lobbying
Media | 05/23/2017 3:30 pm EDT
The parliamentary secretary to the innovation minister was a popular target for lobbyists last month, as...
CCSA leads March lobbying pack
Media | 04/21/2017 8:39 pm EDT
The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) led the telecom field for lobbying the federal government in March, logging 15 communication reports for the month, according to the federal lobbyists’ registry. Those...
Regional telecom disruption on Competition Bureau’s radar: commissioner
Media | 04/05/2017 4:44 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau will be keeping an eye on how regional telecom providers can disrupt the incumbents’ hold on the market, the commissioner said Tuesday. In a speech to the Saskatchewan Economic Summit, John Pecman highlighted the recently approved acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc., which included the requirement that Bell divest part of its wireless operations to Telus Corp. and Xplornet Communications Inc. “The...
Facebook beefs up lobbying squad
Media | 03/21/2017 3:04 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. is increasing its government relations presence in Ottawa, with three new registrations filed with the lobbying commissioner’s office last month. According to the federal lobbyists’...
Bell-MTS deal receives final approval, includes Xplornet in ‘surprise twist’
Media | 02/15/2017 3:07 pm EST
The introduction of Xplornet Communications Inc. into Manitoba’s wireless market was a “surprise twist” to the story of BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion acquisition...
Xplornet buys YourLink for $28.79M
telecom | 01/10/2017 8:43 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. has purchased “all YourLink Internet services operations in Saskatchewan” from Vecima Networks Inc., the satellite Internet service provider (ISP) said Monday. YourLink offers...
EchoStar XIX satellite launches
telecom | 12/19/2016 7:21 pm EST
One of two new satellites on which Xplornet Communications Inc. has purchased capacity has launched successfully, the company said in a press release Monday. The EchoStar XIX is the “highest capacity broadband satellite...
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 potential developments in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The statement came during the third day of the week-long hearing into differential pricing practices by wireless and Internet service providers (ISP), including zero-rating, or not counting usage of some services against a consumer's data cap. Rogers was the only major company to come out opposed to the...
Wireless industry needs ‘stick’ to boost rural coverage: MP
Media | 10/27/2016 11:55 pm EDT
OTTAWA — While traditionally, government funding has been directed to boost fixed Internet service, perhaps there should be some public assistance for improving wireless coverage, a member of...
Xplornet goes national with VoIP home phone service
telecom | 06/08/2016 12:09 am EDT
Xplornet Communications Inc. said Tuesday it was introducing a new national home phone service, using voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) to reach rural Canadians. The $20-per-month service is a...
ISED approves spectrum transfers
telecom | 04/22/2016 7:17 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada has approved the transfer of 83 WCS spectrum licences from Xplornet Communications Inc. to Telus Corp. ISED said in a decision Thursday that though the transfer means...
New satellites to improve Internet access in North, companies say
telecom | 04/13/2016 9:21 pm EDT
As-yet-unlaunched satellites will make more Internet capacity available at a lower cost in rural and remote areas, satellite providers told the CRTC Wednesday, on the third day of its three-week...
Experts question feasibility of low-orbit satellites for Internet
telecom | 08/25/2015 7:24 pm EDT
Some of the world’s most well-known investors, including Richard Branson and Elon Musk, are betting that new projects that involve putting thousands of satellites into low orbit will bring the...
Federal government funds Internet upgrades in Man., N.B., Que.
telecom | 07/30/2015 4:52 pm EDT
Industry Canada announced it will provide funds to bring high-speed Internet services to homes in Manitoba, Quebec and New Brunswick. It said in a press release Wednesday that it would be providing...
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...
Xplornet CEO calls for 100% Internet penetration by 2020
telecom | 06/03/2015 5:24 pm EDT
TORONTO — Different government branches have their own goals for how many Canadians should have certain Internet speeds by certain dates; Xplornet Communications Inc. CEO Allison Lenehan raised...
Quebecor adds spectrum, still non-committal on national expansion
telecom | 05/12/2015 2:43 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. is still publicly sitting on the fence when it comes to expanding its wireless service throughout Canada despite bidding $187 million on 2500 MHz spectrum, including for licences outside Quebec, in an auction for which results were announced Tuesday. After Telus Corp., Quebecor was the second-biggest spender in the auction, acquiring 18 licences in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Industry Canada said the purchases increased Quebecor's spectrum holdings by 28 per...
Next spectrum auction seen as less substantial than previous sales
telecom | 04/13/2015 5:03 pm EDT
Canada's third wireless spectrum auction in a little more than a year is set to start Tuesday, and it is generally predicted to bring in far less money than the other two, though at least one...
AWS-3 auction set for March 3, consultation starts on 600 MHz
telecom | 12/18/2014 8:24 pm EST
Industry Canada on Thursday announced March 3 as the date for the beginning of the AWS-3 auction and proposed policy changes to make 600 MHz, AWS-4 and 3500 MHz spectrum available for mobile use in...
Xplornet claims to have fastest rural fixed-wireless Internet
telecom | 12/04/2014 3:31 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. on Wednesday announced 25 Mbps service on fixed-wireless Internet service in rural parts of New Brunswick, making its service the fastest among comparable products in...
Small ISPs positive, Xplornet critical of new 3500 MHz policy
telecom | 08/19/2014 9:34 pm EDT
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...
Xplornet investing $475M in satellites
telecom | 05/14/2014 8:07 pm EDT
Xplornet Communications Inc. is investing $475 million in two satellites that will enable it to add more capacity to its satellite Internet service, said company president Allison Lenehan. On Wednesday, the company announced it was committing $200 million to a lifetime lease for the Canadian capacity on Hughes Network Systems LLC's EchoStar XIX, two weeks after an announcement that it would make an investment in ViaSat Inc.'s ViaSat-2 satellite with “up to $275 million depending on options.” “We’re investing about $500 million in more broadband infrastructure...
Xplornet secures $158m in private financing
telecom | 10/28/2013 9:05 pm EDT
Rural broadband provider Xplornet Communications Inc. said it secured $158 million in private financing. The company, which offers satellite broadband services, said in a release Monday that the transaction will consist of $10 million in refinanced debt and $148 million in new debt. “The financing proceeds will be used to support...