The federal government’s fall economic update includes a faster way for telecoms to recover a bigger portion of their investment costs in fibre deployment, which it hopes will spur broadband connectivity in rural areas. The Accelerated Investment Incentive will allow telecoms, among other “capital-intensive sectors,” to make a larger upfront tax deduction for depreciation of asset investments up to three-times the normal rate in their first year of deployment. The measure was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday as part of the government’s fall economic update. “It is expected...
Cogeco Inc. has a new senior vice-president of public affairs and communications, the telecom announced Tuesday, following the retirement of René Guimond.
Marie-Hélène Labrie will replace Guimond, who Cogeco spokeswoman Nancy Bouffard confirmed is retiring from the position and Cogeco. Guimond was appointed to the position eight years ago and has held other roles at the company since 2005.
“René wishes to devote more time to personal projects and will serve...
The federal government is looking for a contractor to crowdsource measurements of mobile phone spectrum performance in Canada – results that could affect government licensing strategies. A new...
The CRTC is asking for input on a draft version of a new code governing internet service providers (ISPs)...
Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan has filed a lawsuit against the federal...
As CEO Manon Brouillette wrapped up her last quarterly results with...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media is suing Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron for copyright and trademark infringement after a licencing agreement between the two companies expired.
Bell said in a statement of claim filed in Federal Court Friday that Videotron has continued to offer...
TORONTO — Remote communities looking to build internet as an essential...
Manitoba customers of Xplornet Communications Inc.’s upcoming mobile service will be allowed to...
BCE Inc. reported its wireless average revenue per user (ARPU) dipped in its third quarter results...
An organization representing Canada’s electricity providers has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC asking for changes to wireless regulations it says are necessary for the roll out of smart electrical grids. The...
GATINEAU –– BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. defended their sales tactics Friday after a week...
Rogers Communications Inc. top brass say they expect to see enough...
The government should combine the Heritage and Innovation ministries, and...
Manon Brouillette, who has been at the helm of Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron for the past five years, is leaving the company in what National Bank...
Iristel Inc. has acquired Télécommunications de l’Est (TDE), a small Quebec telecom that provides service to industries operating in remote areas with limited cellular service, such as forestry and mining. Iristel CEO Samer Bishay said in a press release Thursday that much of TDE’s infrastructure overlaps with that of I-Mobileca Inc., a small provider of machine-to-machine communications Iristel bought in May. Iristel said at the time it would use I-Mobileca’s spectrum in eastern Quebec and northern Ontario to launch wireless service in those areas. “Cellular connectivity has...
Internet service providers (ISPs) in rural and remote communities are trying to keep up with the appetite...
TeraGo Inc. will repurpose spectrum it bought nearly a decade ago for a 5G fixed wireless trial in the Greater Toronto Area, the company said Thursday. It bought the 24 GHz spectrum in 2010, aiming to use it for a backhaul...
The Canadian government took part in a coordinated international effort...
BCE Inc.’s head of regulatory, Mirko Bibic, has been named its new chief operating officer.
Bell said in a press release Thursday that in his new role, Bibic will “lead...
The upcoming departure of Telus Corp.’s president of consumer and small business, Dave Fuller, shouldn’t disrupt the company, according to Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang.
In a research note Tuesday, Huang said despite Fuller’s plans to leave the company in...
A CRTC decision outlining how its $750 million fund for rural broadband will be administered “looks quite encouraging,” according to the president of the Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium (CNOC). Matt Stein said in a...
The Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA) has filed a review-and-vary application with the CRTC, asking the regulator to bring back its landline subsidy. When the commission announced its $750 million...
The CRTC revealed Thursday the details of the $750 million rural broadband fund that’s been in the works for nearly two years, prompting criticism from some groups concerned about what they say are...
Representatives from BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. described a favourable relationship with regulators at a CIBC investors conference Wednesday, where they also addressed competition between...
OTTAWA — The expert panel in charge of reviewing Canada’s...
OTTAWA — Those in charge of the wireless emergency alert system...
The federal government spent at least $190,600 on late-payment fees and...
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) should change...
OTTAWA -- Officials from Canada’s cyber-spy agency defended the security of Canada’s telecommunications systems and allowing Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd equipment to operate on them, as MPs pressed whether Canada should follow other Five Eyes allies and restrict the Chinese company’s technology. Communications Security Establishment (CSE) officials insisted Thursday afternoon that taking a "holistic" approach to ensuring security across “heterogeneous networks” is more important than the particular devices vendors are selling, comments that come amid an emerging political...
The Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium (CNOC) told a House of Commons committee reviewing the Copyright Act that small internet service providers would like to see “some tweaking” to the notice-and-notice regime.
That...
OTTAWA -- Lawmakers need to make net neutrality a major priority and...
BCE Inc.’s Northwestel says it will begin providing internet service at speeds three times as fast as...
Global telecoms that have deployed internet of things (IoT) in the home are not seeing the desired profitability from their investments, suggesting those ventures in Canada may suffer a similar fate, according to a review by Desjardins Capital Markets. “While we expect Canadian telcos to be more vocal about the...
Facebook Inc. is facing another class action suit in Ontario over how it handles user privacy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal – this time,...
Sugar Mobile, an affiliate of Iristel Inc.-subsidiary Ice Wireless, can continue roaming on Rogers Communications Inc.’s network while the CRTC considers its final decision in a...
TORONTO — Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien told a telecom industry audience Wednesday that companies should be prudent about the collection and use of metadata, and cautioned companies that...
The Competition Bureau is asking for comment on BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion bid to buy Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., it said in a press release Tuesday. It made a form available on its website that both consumers and...
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...
GATINEAU, Que. — The ongoing basic services hearing may be the “last, best chance” for the CRTC and the stakeholders appearing before its five-person panel to formulate some...
Rogers Communications Inc. reported a two-per-cent increase in revenue in the first quarter, which rose from $3.18 billion to $3.25 billion. The company said in a Monday press release the increase...
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has had an encryption key for BlackBerry Inc.’s devices since 2010, Vice News reported Wednesday. The report was based on court documents that show “law enforcement...
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...
OTTAWA — Other major Internet service providers may be compelled to follow in the footsteps of Rogers Communications Inc. and offer cheap Internet packages for low-income earners, according to experts looking ahead to next week’s CRTC basic telecom services hearing. On Thursday, Rogers announced the expansion of its Connected for Success program, which makes a $9.99-per-month Internet service available for those living in rent-geared-to-income housing in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. During a launch event in Ottawa, Rogers chief customer officer Deepak...
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has upheld a previous dismissal of a lawsuit against BCE Inc. over expiry dates on its prepaid wireless services. Launched in 2012, the...
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a labeling program for broadband services, similar to nutrition labels found on food products. “The consumer broadband labels will provide consumers with more...
The Competition Bureau has updated its Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines, as part of what it said in a Thursday press release would be an annual review. It said the updated guidelines clarify “the Bureau’s...
The CRTC issued Thursday a new approach to how the rates small companies pay large telecoms for wholesale Internet services are set, stating that “current wholesale [high-speed access] service rates are likely not just and...
Allowing Sugar Mobile to continue roaming on Rogers Communications Inc.’s network would be a “backdoor means” to mandated mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access, and “a recipe to destroy any appetite for facilities-based competition,” Telus Corp. said. The company waded into an ongoing dispute between Sugar Mobile — an affiliate of Ice Wireless, an Iristel Inc. subsidiary — and Rogers, in which final interventions were due...
The number of subscribers leaving the Canadian TV system appears to be accelerating, as Canada’s publicly traded telecom companies lost five times more TV subscribers in 2015 than a year earlier. They reported having...
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...
The CRTC said Friday that more than 25,000 Canadians have completed a questionnaire on the future of broadband as part of its basic telecom services review. The deadline to complete the survey, which includes topics...
Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. told the CRTC that Rogers has the right to disconnect Ice Wireless from its network because its affiliate Sugar Mobile is selling service outside of Ice...
As it takes ownership of Wind Mobile, Shaw Communications Inc. will continue positioning Wind as a cheaper option compared to the big three national wireless carriers, according to the company’s chief operating officer....
BCE Inc. reported net earnings of $542 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, down 8.8 per cent from the same time a year earlier. It said Thursday that final quarter revenues were up 1.4 per cent to $5.60 billion,...
Wind Mobile announced Thursday it has completed its network infrastructure upgrades in Vancouver and has begun a similar expansion in Calgary. The company said in a press release that...
According to the Conference Board of Canada, high debt levels and weak job prospects will make it difficult for Canadians to increase spending on telecom services in 2016, limiting industry growth. A...
