Rogers launches social-media cyber security tool

Media | 03/15/2017 6:47 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. has rolled out a security tool aimed at helping businesses safeguard their social media accounts, the company said in a Wednesday press release. Social Media Security “monitors,...

Iristel asks CRTC to deny Northwestel’s review-and-vary

Media | 03/14/2017 8:09 pm EDT

The arguments made by BCE Inc. subsidiary Northwestel in its request to the CRTC to review and vary a decision setting rates for Northwestel’s Wholesale Connect service have already...

Video game streaming revenue to double by 2021: Juniper

Media | 03/14/2017 5:05 pm EDT

Global revenue from streaming e-sports and video game content will nearly double four years from now, according to Juniper Research, which projected total revenues from video game streaming...

Gov’t funds 26 projects using tech to improve public safety

telecom | 03/14/2017 3:33 pm EDT

Projects involving wireless technology, power grid and nuclear lab cyber security and the use of Internet connectivity to help first responders communicate are among 26 initiatives to receive federal government funding, according to a Tuesday press release. Up to $20 million in funding is available under a...

StatsCan, CRA outages ‘preventative’ measure: gov’t officials

telecom | 03/13/2017 9:00 pm EDT

OTTAWA — A known software vulnerability led the federal government to pull Statistics Canada and Canada Revenue Agency websites offline late last week, officials said Monday, calling the exercise a proactive approach to ensuring the safety of citizen’s information. “What we’re facing today is a worldwide issue with this version of the Apache Struts software,” John Glowacki, chief operating officer of Shared Service Canada, said during a press briefing....

Notice-and-notice effect on piracy unclear ahead of copyright review

Media | 03/13/2017 8:39 pm EDT

As the federal government gears up to review the Copyright Act later this year, information about the rate of piracy in Canada remains elusive, two full years since the implementation of the...

Privacy commish asks Canadian gov’t to push for U.S. privacy protection

telecom | 03/10/2017 8:54 pm EST

The federal privacy watchdog is asking the government to petition its counterparts in the United States to include Canada in a list of countries whose citizens are afforded protection for their...

Bell, Hamilton dispute over municipal access agreement continues

telecom | 03/10/2017 6:35 pm EST

The CRTC is asking for comment on an aspect of the municipal access agreement between BCE Inc. and Hamilton, Ont., following a five-year disagreement between the two parties. The commission...

Google bringing cloud services to Canada

telecom | 03/10/2017 4:50 pm EST

Alphabet Inc. said Thursday it is expanding its cloud platform reach by launching its first Canadian data service in Montreal. The Cloud Platform “consists of a set of physical assets, such as computers and...

CPC leadership contenders outline views on media, telecom issues

Media | 03/09/2017 9:51 pm EST

On May 27, members of the Conservative Party of Canada will select who will succeed former prime minister Stephen Harper as permanent leader of the party, relieving interim Opposition leader Rona...

Soccer league allowed to block servers in Kodi STB case: UK court

Media | 03/09/2017 9:10 pm EST

England’s biggest soccer league has been granted a court order to block computer servers that host and deliver content to a set-top box (STBs) application that allows users to watch its games...

VoLTE to overtake OTT voice apps by 2021: Juniper

Media | 03/09/2017 8:53 pm EST

The number of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscribers on 4G LTE mobile connections is expected to increase significantly and overtake over-the-top (OTT) applications over the next four years, according to Juniper Research. The...

Imposing taxes on foreign OTT could bring in $1B: report

Media | 03/09/2017 4:37 pm EST

Taxing foreign digital services such as Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Netflix Inc. could provide the federal...

Court orders $12.7M in damages in 1st digital lock rules case

Media | 03/08/2017 8:46 pm EST

A Federal Court judge ruled last week that a defendant must pay damages for selling products that allowed users to bypass another company’s technological protections, in the first such ruling in Canada. The case sets a precedent that will have a ripple effect on other industries, including media, according to McCarthy Tétrault LLP intellectual property lawyer Barry Sookman. In a case between Nintendo Co. Ltd. and a Waterloo-Ontario based company called Go Cyber Shopping (2005) Ltd., judge Douglas Campbell determined that Go Cyber violated Nintendo’s technological protection measures (TPMs), including its boot up security checks, encryption and scrambling technologies and the physical configuration of the game cards by allowing users to circumvent them and...

Pai nominated for second term

Media | 03/08/2017 6:16 pm EST

United States president Donald Trump has nominated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai for another five-year term at the helm of the regulator. Pai was first appointed as commissioner in 2012 and...

Karen Sheriff joins Bell board of directors

telecom | 03/08/2017 5:50 pm EST

Former Bell Aliant president Karen Sheriff has joined the BCE Inc. board of directors, the company said in a Wednesday press release. “We are delighted that Karen Sheriff has agreed to bring...

Federal budget coming March 22

Media | 03/07/2017 9:52 pm EST

The federal budget will be presented March 22, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Tuesday. Morneau will rise to give the budget speech at 4 p.m. that day in the House of Commons, marking the Liberal...

CRTC job postings extended

Media | 03/07/2017 7:51 pm EST

Four CRTC job postings have been extended for a second time, with prospective chairperson, vice-chairperson and regional commissioners having until March 15 to apply. The four jobs were first posted on the federal government’s appointment opportunities website in late January, with a deadline of Feb. 20. That deadline was pushed to March 6 and, on Tuesday, again extended...

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 would hold a referendum on whether to pursue a suitable offer for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. Alluding to the public not wanting its sale, Wall took it off the table. “They’re not interested in a referendum. They’re not interested in the potential sale of SaskTel,” he said as the legislature returned for spring,...

Corus to sell cookie data to advertisers

Media | 03/06/2017 10:11 pm EST

Corus Entertainment Inc. is now selling to advertisers users’ cookie data to better target audience members, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Corus said it’s the “first major Canadian...

Proposal would give Bell ‘significant and asymmetric powers’: small ISPs

telecom | 03/06/2017 8:59 pm EST

The CRTC should deny a proposal by BCE Inc. for a new regime governing traffic pumping that would allow telecoms to unilaterally put in place penalties that “inflict substantial...

Stingray acquires NatureVision

Media | 03/06/2017 8:42 pm EST

In a move that it says positions it as the “leading 4K content provider on TV,” Stingray Digital Group Inc. announced it purchased NatureVision TV, which specializes in nature programming. In a press...

Rogers moves to ‘rapid price deflation’ of 1GB Internet: Barclays

Media | 03/06/2017 5:18 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. is offering a cable and Internet package that includes speeds of 1 Gbps at a heavily discounted price in what Barclays Capital says is a surprising move. At $100 per...

Blais defends SimSub decision

Media | 03/03/2017 9:51 pm EST

Canada has one of the “world’s most open cultural markets” and the CRTC’s decision to ban simultaneous substitution during BCE Inc.’s broadcast of the National Football League’s...

Government consulting on non-geostationary satellite systems

telecom | 03/03/2017 9:28 pm EST

Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) is consulting on licence requirements for non-geostationary satellite orbit systems (NGSO). In a consultation document released Thursday, ISED...

Jay Forbes leaving MTS

Media | 03/03/2017 9:24 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s president and CEO will leave the company following the closing of its acquisition by BCE Inc. MTS said in a press release Friday that Jay Forbes will leave after the deal closes on March 17. The $3.9 billion acquisition received...

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...

John Boynton to helm Torstar

Media | 03/03/2017 7:14 pm EST

Former Rogers Communications Inc. senior official John Boynton is the new president and CEO of Torstar and publisher of its Toronto Star newspaper, the company announced Friday. As of March 31, Boynton replaces the retiring David Holland and will become the 125-year-old paper’s 10th publisher, Torstar said in a press release. Boynton spent 12 years at Rogers and was the executive vice-president and chief marketing officer when he left the company in 2014. Since his departure from Rogers, Boynton has served at the chief marketing officer of Aimia Inc.’s Americas Coalitions business, the release said, where he was “responsible for leading a team that transformed Aeroplan, resulting in improved revenues, advanced data capabilities for marketing clients and overall operating results.” John...

Canadian TV subscribers dip to 78 per cent

Media | 03/03/2017 6:34 pm EST

About half of Canadians who watch TV online are cord-cutters, but there are more of their ilk among those who have chosen to rely on over-the-air (OTA) transmission, according to the latest report from Media Technology Monitor...

Canadian fibre could be up for grabs if Zayo sold: analyst

telecom | 03/02/2017 9:45 pm EST

An American acquisition could create an opening in the Canadian fibre market, according to Desjardins Capital Markets. In a Thursday note, analyst Maher Yaghi highlighted the recent...

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...

FCC stays data security provisions in ISP privacy rules

telecom | 03/02/2017 5:33 pm EST

The United States’ telecom regulator is holding off on elements of privacy rules for Internet service providers (ISPs) adopted last year. In a Wednesday order, the Federal...

Attorney general defends investigation that led to Shoan dismissal

Media | 03/01/2017 10:14 pm EST

The Attorney General of Canada is arguing in a memorandum of fact and law that the CRTC investigation that led to the dismissal of former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan was “procedurally fair” with adequate evidence. The attorney general filed an appeal in October challenging a lower court’s decision to grant Shoan’s application for judicial review of the decision following that investigation, which limited his communications with commission staff after finding he harassed...

Lack of national broadband strategy pulls down Canadian ‘Internet inclusion’ ranking: study

telecom | 03/01/2017 9:29 pm EST

Canada ranks first for Internet affordability, but closer to the middle of the pack when it comes to individuals’ capacity to use the Internet, according to a new study...

CRTC rules against Sugar Mobile in roaming dispute with Rogers

telecom | 03/01/2017 9:21 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. doesn’t have to provide roaming services to Iristel Inc.’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Sugar Mobile, the CRTC said Wednesday in a...

Parm Sandhu joins Urban Communications

telecom | 03/01/2017 9:14 pm EST

Parm Sandhu was named vice-president of enterprise sales at Urban Communications Inc., the company announced Wednesday. In a press release, the Vancouver-based telecom said Sandhu “has managed large revenue...

YouTube launching TV subscription package

Media | 02/28/2017 10:15 pm EST

Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will be launching a live and on-demand TV service that will enable subscribers to watch more than 40 traditional TV channels online without the need for a subscription from a telecom provider, it...

Cost appeals filed by both parties in Voltage reverse class action

Media | 02/28/2017 8:10 pm EST

Appellant Voltage Pictures LLC is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to reverse a decision it made earlier this month forcing it to pay the court costs for the respondent if he wins his...

Patent infringement claim made against Shaw’s BlueSky TV

Media | 02/28/2017 5:27 pm EST

A Swiss corporation and two of its subsidiaries are alleging that Shaw Communications Inc.’s new IPTV service is infringing on a handful of its patents, according to a statement of claim...

Randy Lennox to head Bell Media as Mary Ann Turcke leaves for NFL

Media | 02/27/2017 9:29 pm EST

Randy Lennox has been named the new president of BCE Inc.’s media division following the departure of Mary Ann Turcke, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Bell Media...

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...

85% say account holder should approve wireless overages: survey

telecom | 02/27/2017 8:37 pm EST

Nearly 85 per cent of Canadians believe approval for additional costs in family phone plans should be made by those who pay the bills, not those who use the phone, according to a survey commissioned by the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC). Results from the survey, conducted by Access Research, were released Friday and highlights answers to areas of concern with the Wireless Code, established in 2013, and the focus of a recent CRTC review. The issue of having anyone approve additional costs on a shared plan was raised as a contributor to bill shock by groups such as...

CBC ‘dimmer star’ in media landscape, conservative event hears

Media | 02/27/2017 6:15 pm EST

OTTAWA — When talking about CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in the media landscape, the public broadcaster is a “pygmy amongst giants,” and more focus should be aimed at large...

Northwestel ‘gaming’ regulatory system with Part 1: SSi Micro

telecom | 02/23/2017 7:34 pm EST

SSi Micro Ltd. is claiming a BCE Inc. subsidiary is engaging in delay tactics with its recent request for the CRTC to revise a decision setting rates for its Wholesale Connect service,...

CRTC consulting on competitor quality of service regime

telecom | 02/23/2017 7:26 pm EST

The CRTC is asking for input on its competitor quality of service regime, used to monitor the services provided by incumbent telcos to smaller providers and ensure their quality is sufficient to...

Roam Mobility launches two new U.S. roaming plans

Media | 02/23/2017 6:38 pm EST

Otono Networks Inc.’s Roam Mobility is launching new monthly roaming plans for travellers in the United States. “With Roam Mobility, Canadians can get the highest value USA roaming plan with plenty of 4G LTE data, and...

‘Level playing field’ for digital services: C.D. Howe

Media | 02/23/2017 5:46 pm EST

The federal government should require foreign providers of digital services to remit tax on sales in the jurisdiction where the final customer is located, the C.D. Howe Institute said. In a report released Thursday containing suggestions for the federal government ahead of the release of the 2017 budget, C.D. Howe said the measure would increase annual revenue by about $200 million and “level the playing field for domestic and foreign providers of digital products and services in Canada.” The issue of taxing foreign digital services has been raised as...

Iristel to launch VoLTE

telecom | 02/22/2017 9:27 pm EST

Iristel Inc. plans to launch Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service in about two months, Iristel president Samer Bishay said in an email. The company will use technology from software company Metaswitch Networks Ltd., Metaswitch said in a press release Wednesday. “The Ice Wireless...

Larger fines needed to deter privacy breaches: B.C. privacy commish

Media | 02/22/2017 8:14 pm EST

OTTAWA — Fines levied against companies who breach privacy rules in Canada need to be increased to help prevent breaches in the future and to come in line with European Union data...

Verizon readying 5G field tests in 11 markets

Media | 02/22/2017 5:33 pm EST

Verizon Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it’s ready to test its 5G network, with services to 11 markets expected to start on a trial basis by the summer. In a press release, Verizon said it will pilot...

Canadian mobile speeds improve in int’l ranking: OpenSignal

telecom | 02/21/2017 10:51 pm EST

Canada now ranks 12th in the world when it comes to mobile data speeds, with average speeds of 20.26 Mbps, according to a new report from OpenSignal. It jumped two spots from 14th, with speeds at the...

CRTC should be updated for digital age, DigiCanCon consultation hears

Media | 02/21/2017 10:30 pm EST

The need to modernize the CRTC was one of the themes raised during Heritage Canada’s review of Canadian content in a digital age, according to a summary report released Tuesday....

Iristel, EBox, DHX among new lobby registrations

Media | 02/21/2017 9:54 pm EST

The start of the new year was marked by new registrations for new and not-so-new companies and groups in the federal lobbyists’ registry. Iristel Inc. registered to lobby the federal government as of Jan....

Bell phone activation policy violated Human Rights Act: tribunal

telecom | 02/21/2017 9:36 pm EST

BCE Inc. must pay $10,000 in compensation and put in place an accommodation policy for disabled customers who can’t come to a store to activate a new phone, the Canadian Human Rights...

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,...

Michael Neuman joins Telna-KnowRoaming

telecom | 02/17/2017 6:28 pm EST

Toronto-based KnowRoaming has appointed a former BCE Inc. executive as the executive chair of its Telna-KnowRoaming subsidiary. “This addition to the executive team will help Telna-KnowRoaming deliver on its mandate to become the global standard for 'SIM free' Multi-IMSI wireless networks, providing low cost, SIM-free connectivity for any wireless device to every wireless network, worldwide,” Thursday’s press release said. Telna-KnowRoaming’s technology enables equipment manufacturers “to provide network services without...

Privacy watchdog asks MPs for more power

Media | 02/17/2017 12:11 am EST

OTTAWA — Canadians expect the federal privacy commissioner to be able to make orders and levy fines against companies that break privacy rules, Daniel Therrien told members of Parliament studying the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) Thursday, noting that the current inability to do so erodes trust in a...

Péladeau’s return to Quebecor shouldn’t affect business: analysts

Media | 02/16/2017 10:20 pm EST

The man who led Quebecor Inc. for 14 years but left to join provincial politics will return as head of the company Thursday, though despite the change in leadership, analysts expect...

Canada needs a flexible federal smart city strategy, committee hears

telecom | 02/16/2017 9:29 pm EST

Canada is years behind other jurisdictions when it comes to government attention on the development of smart cities, Bill Hutchison, president of the i-Canada Alliance, an organization focused on the...

Carleton prof gets $600K for 5G research

Media | 02/16/2017 6:33 pm EST

A Carleton University professor has received a $600,000 federal grant to support research studying 5G networks, the school announced Wednesday. Richard Yu’s funding — a Strategic Partnership Grant from the...

Videotron introduces flat-rate roaming

telecom | 02/15/2017 8:50 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is introducing a new service for customers to avoid bill shock when roaming internationally. The Daily Traveller Pass will allow customers to pay a flat fee — at $6 per day travelling in the United States or $10 per day in more than 100 other countries — to relieve “phone bill surprise,” a Wednesday press release said. “With this new option, travellers will know in advance exactly how much it will cost them to use their cell phone away from home,” the press release said. “They can also...

Amazon launches new unified communications service

telecom | 02/15/2017 8:39 pm EST

Amazon.com Inc. announced Wednesday a new service that provides video, voice, chat and screen sharing for meetings, called Amazon Chime. The ecommerce giant’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) said in a...

Ontario interactive media companies set to expand: report

Media | 02/15/2017 8:22 pm EST

Interactive digital media companies in Ontario are set for “significant growth” within the next two years, according to a report commissioned by industry trade association Interactive...

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...

Government help necessary for connected car rollout: ISED

telecom | 02/14/2017 11:15 pm EST

OTTAWA — In order to roll out the infrastructure and technology necessary to make connected cars available across Canada, government funding will be needed, and it could be modeled after the...

Kurt Eby joins Pelmorex

Media | 02/14/2017 7:35 pm EST

Kurt Eby, former director of regulatory and government affairs for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), has taken a new role with Pelmorex Media Inc. According to his LinkedIn account, Eby left the CWTA after nearly five years for the Toronto-based position as...

Wireless Code review poses regulatory risk: Desjardins

telecom | 02/13/2017 8:41 pm EST

The CRTC’s review of the Wireless Code “generates regulatory risk across the industry,” with the biggest potential threat being mandating the separation of device costs from...

Trump, Trudeau commit to ‘further cooperation’ on cyber security

telecom | 02/13/2017 7:24 pm EST

The United States and Canada will continue co-operating on cyber security and the security of critical infrastructure, the two countries said in a joint statement Monday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Washington, D.C., for the first time since the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency. Given...

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...

Huawei invests $2.45M in research at Polytechnique Montréal

Media | 02/10/2017 8:10 pm EST

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. announced Friday the creation of the NSERC-Huawei Industrial Research Chair in Future Wireless Technologies at Polytechnique Montréal. Huawei will contribute $2.45 million, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will contribute the same amount, while Huawei “will also add a significant amount of in-kind contributions,” according to a press release. “These investments will help Polytechnique grow its current research and education efforts in the field of information...

Connected for Success reaches 13,000 households

Media | 02/10/2017 8:09 pm EST

More than 13,000 Canadian households have signed up for Rogers Communications Inc.’s Internet service for low-income housing residents, the company said Friday, in announcing a new community housing partner in...

Videotron offering ‘no downtime’ Internet for businesses

telecom | 02/10/2017 6:57 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron has launched an Internet service for its business customers that it says guarantees continuity of service 99.9 per cent of the time by combining its wireline and...

Highlight data as ‘key contract term’ in Wireless Code: CCTS

telecom | 02/09/2017 10:21 pm EST

The Wireless Code should be amended so that it codifies data as a “key contract term” in wireless contracts, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) argued...

Guillaume Sylvestre in charge of tech support at Videotron

telecom | 02/09/2017 9:58 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron has named Guillaume Sylvestre its new vice-president of technical operations for client service. He will be in charge of Videotron’s technical support teams, the company said in a French press release Thursday. His main mandate is to improve customer experience and take it to...

Telus profits slide as wireless segment continues to impress

telecom | 02/09/2017 9:35 pm EST

Like clockwork, Telus Corp. joined its competitors in reporting higher wireless numbers in its fourth quarter of 2016, but decreased profits due to restructuring costs tugged on the reigns.  As has been the case for all major carriers, Telus continued strong industry-wide postpaid wireless gains by adding 87,000 net new postpaid subscribers in the quarter, up 40.3 per cent from in the same period last year for total wireless subscribers of 8.6 million (up 1.5 per cent), with 1 million prepaid subscribers. Rogers Communications Inc. reported 93,000 new postpaid...

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...

5G to make up 0.2% of connections by 2021: Cisco

telecom | 02/08/2017 8:01 pm EST

Despite a projected 1,000-per-cent increase in 5G connections between 2020 and 2021, less than half a per cent of all devices and connections will have 5G capability in that same time period, according to a new Cisco Systems Inc....

Don’t divorce handset, service pricing: wireless providers

telecom | 02/07/2017 10:15 pm EST

GATINEAU, Que. — Changing the rules so that the cost of a wireless device is divorced from a monthly service payment on a customer’s bill would take a considerable amount of work to...

UAE-based news channel approved for distribution

Media | 02/07/2017 9:28 pm EST

The CRTC has approved an application by Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to add Sky News Arabia to the list of foreign channels authorized for distribution in Canada, the commission said Tuesday. The channel is a...

Appeal filed in Bell IPTV case

Media | 02/07/2017 9:09 pm EST

A lengthy legal battle between BCE Inc. and two companies that claim Bell infringed on their IPTV patent has been extended, one month after a Federal Court judge dismissed the case. MediaTube Corp. and NorthVu...

Most Canadians oppose ISP tax for CanCon: survey

Media | 02/07/2017 7:28 pm EST

According to a new survey commissioned by Internet advocacy group OpenMedia, while half of Canadians support creating a new revenue source for Canadian content, there is strong opposition to taxing Internet service and more...

Super Bowl viewership falls 39% on Bell channels

Media | 02/07/2017 7:06 pm EST

The CRTC’s decision to ban simultaneous substitution for the National Football League’s Super Bowl has had a significant effect on viewership, as BCE Inc.'s media division reported an audience drop-off of...

Wireless code hasn’t had expected effect on churn: PIAC

telecom | 02/06/2017 11:59 pm EST

GATINEAU, QUE. — The Wireless Code has been a positive development for consumers in the three years since its implementation, consumer groups said on the first day of the CRTC's hearing on...

U.S. tech companies oppose Trump travel ban

Media | 02/06/2017 6:09 pm EST

Almost 100 tech companies in the United States have filed a brief in a court case against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking entry of citizens from seven countries and all refugees into the United States. The document was filed Sunday and signed by 97 companies, including Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Spotify AB’s U.S. division, and Twitter Inc. It argued that the executive order “inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation and growth.” “It...

Joly says Canada leading international ‘conversation’ on OTT

Media | 02/06/2017 5:03 pm EST

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is leading the charge in pushing for the presence of “cultural diversity,” or domestic content, on foreign digital platforms like the over-the-top (OTT) service provided by Netflix Inc. — despite other countries already having regulations and tax...

FCC won’t take action against zero-rating: Pai

Media | 02/03/2017 10:19 pm EST

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday it won’t “focus on denying Americans free data” going forward, as it ended its investigation into zero-rated offerings. New chairman Ajit Pai said in...

CRTC revokes licences of 21 telecoms

telecom | 02/03/2017 9:50 pm EST

The CRTC has revoked basic international telecommunications services (BITS) licences of 21 small telecoms after they violated their licence conditions. The companies didn’t comply with annual reporting...

Canadian court orders another worldwide search result takedown

Media | 02/03/2017 9:17 pm EST

A Federal Court judge on Monday ordered a foreign website to be taken down and some of the content it published removed from search engines internationally due to a violation of Canadian...

Joly not afraid of change following cultural review

Media | 02/03/2017 1:36 am EST

OTTAWA — If Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly was clear about anything during a Thursday afternoon appearance at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) Prime Time in Ottawa conference, it was that the only constant in the country’s cultural toolkit was an adherence to a Canadian social contract. “We need to be clear in terms of where we want to go. And … we know that first of all we need to balance the social impact and the economic impact. And in terms of the social impact, we have a clear social contract in this country,” Joly said,...

Bell continues wireless trend, expects MTS to close end of Q1

Media | 02/02/2017 10:21 pm EST

BCE Inc. continued the industry-wide trend of strong wireless numbers, as its fourth quarter earnings report showed a surge in data usage over the year and a better view of when it...

Connect to Innovate deadline extended

telecom | 02/02/2017 10:00 pm EST

The federal government is extending the deadline for applications to be made to its new rural broadband program. During question period on Thursday, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, in response...

CRTC consulting on message relay services

Media | 02/02/2017 6:00 pm EST

The CRTC is collecting feedback on whether wireless service providers should be required to provide message relay service (MRS) for customers with a hearing or speech disability. In a notice of consultation posted to its...

New area codes determined for Nfld, QC

telecom | 02/02/2017 5:57 pm EST

Ten-digit dialling will officially roll out in Newfoundland and Labrador next summer after the CRTC approved a new area code for the province. Already served by 709, the province will add the 879 area code as of Nov. 24,...

Nuisance call deadline extended

telecom | 02/02/2017 5:55 pm EST

The CRTC has changed the deadline for interventions in its consultation on measures to reduce caller ID spoofing and other ways of managing nuisance calls. Originally set for Feb. 8, the new deadline for...

Bell asks CRTC for ‘holistic’ rules on traffic pumping

telecom | 02/01/2017 9:14 pm EST

BCE Inc. wants the CRTC to implement new rules governing traffic pumping, which would put the onus on any telecom accused of artificially inflating traffic to prove they’re not engaged in...

EU on verge of eliminating roaming charges

telecom | 02/01/2017 5:07 pm EST

The European Union is set to eliminate mobile roaming charges within its 28-member bloc by this summer, as EU negotiators came to an agreement Wednesday on wholesale prices that would eliminate the charges by June...

Defence costs at issue in Voltage reverse class action case

Media | 01/31/2017 11:06 pm EST

OTTAWA — Lawyers representing a defendant in a reverse class action case over a copyright infringement claim are asking a federal court judge to give their client an opportunity to recover costs...

Telecoms to challenge Calgary bylaw in court

telecom | 01/31/2017 8:45 pm EST

BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Telus Corp., and Zayo Group Holdings Inc. plan to challenge the constitutional validity of Calgary’s municipal rights-of-way bylaw. According to a letter sent from the CRTC to Calgary’s legal counsel on Jan. 26, the telecoms have advised the commission that they plan to file a challenge with the Alberta Court of Queens’ Bench in February. They asked the CRTC to suspend a process currently underway at the commission on the issue, or to extend the deadline for comments. Calgary filed...