TAGGED AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

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 Parliament mused Thursday as the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association (CWTA) appeared in front of parliamentarians. “Since the ’90s the funding always goes to broadband. There’s never been a single, significant program from the federal government to cover cell service. So it’s a message I’m putting out there—it’s not your decision; it...

Internet Netflix Rogers

FCC approves ISP privacy rules

telecom | 10/27/2016 5:38 pm EDT

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a proposed set of new rules Internet service providers (ISPs) must follow when handling customer information. In a Thursday press release, the United States telecom regulator said it is adopting rules that “ensure broadband customers have meaningful choice, greater transparency and strong security protections for their personal information collected by ISPs.” Among the new requirements are that ISPs must require opt-in consent from customers to share data such as precise geo-location, web browsing history and app usage history. In response to the approval, U.S. think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) issued a press release expressing disappointment in the FCC’s vote. “The privacy framework established...

Fcc Internet Privacy

Court order gives OPP cell numbers for ‘new investigation technique’

telecom | 10/26/2016 9:29 pm EDT

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said it has obtained the cell phone numbers of potential witnesses of a homicide through a court-processed production order. In a news release Wednesday, the...

Privacy Wireless

End of dial-up leaving some B.C. residents without Internet: MP

telecom | 10/26/2016 9:06 pm EDT

Telus Corp. is working with customers who will be affected by the cessation of dial-up Internet service as of Nov. 16, the company said, after an NDP member of Parliament said she had...

Internet Rural broadband

Canadians’ data usage increased 40% last year, CRTC says

telecom | 10/26/2016 8:39 pm EDT

Data usage by Canadians on both wireline and wireless networks rose significantly last year, hitting 104 GB per month for residential Internet and almost 1 GB for wireless subscribers, the CRTC said...

CRTC Internet Wireless

Google halting fibre rollout amid changes

telecom | 10/26/2016 4:47 pm EDT

Alphabet Inc. announced it will pause its fibre rollout to potential cities amid changes that have claimed its broadband division’s CEO. Craig Barratt, CEO of Google Access, announced on the company’s fibre...

Fibre optics Google Internet

Telcos unlikely to fully deploy FTTH: Desjardins

telecom | 10/25/2016 10:08 pm EDT

High fibre costs and advancements in technology are among the reasons Canadian telcos are unlikely to expand their fibre-to-the-home [FTTH] footprint beyond 60 per cent coverage, according to Desjardins Capital Markets. In a Tuesday note, analyst Maher Yaghi said the telcos (identified as BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in the note) are unlikely to exceed the 60 per cent threshold because the cost per home covered by FTTH “increases exponentially as the percentage of coverage increases.” Additionally, the...

Bell FTTP/FTTH Internet

For the first time in 10 years, broadcast sector revenues fall: CRTC

Media | 10/25/2016 9:35 pm EDT

The broadcasting sector saw its first overall revenue decrease in the previous decade last year, while traditional TV viewership among youth continued to fall, according to numbers reported by the...

CRTC Radio Sports content

CBC execs talk digital shift, competition at Heritage committee

Media | 10/25/2016 9:34 pm EDT

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada has prioritized a shift to digital platforms to reach all Canadians, but ensuring they are able to access those platforms isn’t part of the public...

Cbc Internet Radio

Blais can name panels: Federal Court of Appeal

Media | 10/24/2016 9:33 pm EDT

TORONTO — A panel of Federal Court of Appeal justices dismissed an application from former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan challenging the authority of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais to name commissioners to panels. Following a...

Bell CRTC Rogers

Steven Harroun named CRTC’s chief compliance, enforcement officer

Media | 10/24/2016 9:24 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday Steven Harroun is its new chief compliance and enforcement officer, effective Nov. 14. “Steven’s extensive experience at the Commission and as our representative...

CRTC

AT&T, Time Warner deal shows VI trending in opposite directions: analyst

Media | 10/24/2016 9:18 pm EDT

A potential merger between AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. highlights a move by United States-based companies toward vertical integration, just as developments in Canada...

Bell Corus Internet

Freeland says ball in E.U.’s court as future of CETA remains uncertain

telecom | 10/24/2016 9:03 pm EDT

Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland told reporters Monday that the decision last week to end discussions with the European Union over the Canada-European Union...

Tpp

Wind’s reduced Ont. focus message to government: Huang

telecom | 10/24/2016 5:24 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. is putting less emphasis on growing subscribers for Wind in Ontario in favour of boosting its wireless network in Western Canada, according to Barclays analyst...

Bell Lte Rogers

Millennials spend 30 hours a week online: MTM

Media | 10/21/2016 9:02 pm EDT

Anglophone millennials spend more than 30 hours a week on the Internet, and about four-fifths of that generation watch TV online, according the latest report from Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. The...

Internet Ott Smartphones

Cyberattack cripples sites of major Internet companies

telecom | 10/21/2016 8:03 pm EDT

A Friday morning denial of service (DDoS) attack has taken down or slowed the websites of some of the Internet’s biggest companies, according to reports. The attack targeted Internet services provider Dyn DNS and claimed sites including social networks Reddit Inc. and Twitter Inc., e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc. and the music-streaming service from Spotify AB, according to a report by Reuters. The report said it’s unclear who is responsible. Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. said on its support account on Twitter that the...

Internet

Federal appeal court to reconsider Bell prepaid lawsuit

telecom | 10/21/2016 5:10 pm EDT

The Ontario Court of Appeal has been ordered to reconsider a class-action lawsuit against BCE Inc. involving the expiration of prepaid account contracts. The Supreme Court of Canada...

Bell Wireless

CRTC tells 3 exempt stations to stop operating

telecom | 10/20/2016 9:26 pm EDT

The CRTC has issued mandatory orders to stop three radio stations, operating under its exempt licensing rules, from broadcasting in British Columbia. South Asian Broadcasting Corporation Inc., licensee of commercial ethnic radio...

CRTC Radio

CRTC not twiddling thumbs as industry changes: Blais

Media | 10/20/2016 8:21 pm EDT

OTTAWA — On the same day that a new report was released arguing the CRTC’s role and authority should be reduced in response to technological change, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais defended the relevance of the...

Cbc Competition bureau CRTC

Government should have cyber security czar, senators hear

telecom | 10/19/2016 8:43 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Canada should have a federal “cyber czar” focused on the issue of cyber security, Peter Sloly, the former deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service and an executive...

Internet Iot Privacy

T-Mobile dinged $48M for ‘unlimited’ data claims

telecom | 10/19/2016 5:02 pm EDT

T-Mobile US Inc. has been ordered to pay a $48-million settlement following an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into its advertised “unlimited” data plans. In press release Wednesday, the FCC’s enforcement bureau said T-Mobile’s policy allowed “it to slow down data speeds when T-Mobile or [flanker brand] MetroPCS customers on so-called ‘unlimited’ pans exceed a monthly data threshold.” According to the FCC, the company’s policy “rendered data services ‘unusable’ for many hours each...

Data charges Fcc Wireless

Some concern about delay in Natale start date: analysts

Media | 10/18/2016 9:38 pm EDT

It could be mid-2017 before former Telus Corp. head Joe Natale takes over as CEO at Rogers Communications Inc., according to financial analysts, some of whom said Tuesday that...

Internet Roaming Rogers

Rogers profit down 53% after Shomi write-down

telecom | 10/17/2016 9:43 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. reported increased third-quarter revenues but lower net profits, in light of cutting its over-the-top (OTT) service Shomi last month. For the three-month period ended September 30, the company...

Apple Internet Rogers

Analysts optimistic about Natale at Rogers after Laurence’s surprise exit

Media | 10/17/2016 9:37 pm EDT

In an unexpected move, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced Guy Laurence is no longer CEO of the company and will be replaced by former Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale, a choice...

Data charges Ott Roaming

Telus launches low-cost Internet program

telecom | 10/17/2016 9:35 pm EDT

Telus Corp. has launched a pilot program intended to make Internet service affordable for single-parent families on government assistance. The company said in a Friday press release the Telus Internet for Good...

Internet

Cavoukian launches international privacy organization

Media | 10/17/2016 4:19 pm EDT

Ann Cavoukian, executive director of the Privacy and Big Data Institute at Ryerson University, is founding an international privacy organization, according to a press release Monday. The International Council on...

Privacy Telus

VMedia pulls CTV from OTT service as ‘sign of good faith’

Media | 10/14/2016 9:29 pm EDT

VMedia Inc. said in a court document it has removed BCE Inc.’s CTV channels from its over-the-top (OTT) skinny basic service pending the resolution of a legal dispute between the two...

Bell Internet Ott

CRTC says no more radio stations for Sudbury, Ont.

Media | 10/14/2016 8:02 pm EDT

The Sudbury, Ont. radio market can’t sustain any more stations, the CRTC said yesterday, citing high unemployment, no projected population growth in the next few years, and below-average profitability of the city’s...

CRTC Radio

Canada needs to get on the digital wave or get left behind: Cisco rep

telecom | 10/14/2016 8:00 pm EDT

TORONTO — Most Canadian businesses are not prepared for the next wave of digital innovation and there needs to be a collaborative effort to help them adapt, a Cisco Systems...

Internet Iot Wearables

Yahoo breach could jeopardize sale, Verizon says

Media | 10/14/2016 7:12 pm EDT

The breach of millions of Yahoo Inc. email accounts revealed in late September could affect the acquisition of the company by Verizon Communications Inc., Reuters reported. The news service quoted Verizon general counsel Craig Silliman as saying Thursday that the breach could trigger a clause in the acquisition deal that would allow Verizon to withdraw. “I think we have a reasonable basis to believe right now that the impact is material and we're looking to Yahoo to demonstrate to us the full impact. If they believe that it's...

Internet Privacy

New Native FM radio station in B.C. approved

Media | 10/14/2016 5:54 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved a new Native FM radio station in Campbell River, British Columbia, the regulator said in a decision Friday. The station will operate at the 100.7 FM band and will broadcast each week 106 hours of...

CRTC Radio

SuperBowl simsub ban shouldn’t be delayed, AG says

Media | 10/13/2016 9:06 pm EDT

BCE Inc. hasn’t demonstrated enough evidence that a court should postpone the implementation of the CRTC’s decision to eliminate simultaneous substitution for the National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl,...

Bell CRTC Sports content

Indie ISPs have less restrictive data caps: OpenMedia report

telecom | 10/13/2016 7:05 pm EDT

A new report from OpenMedia says that when it comes to residential wireline Internet service, small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) “have less restrictive data caps and more regions with...

Data charges Internet

Bains identifies priorities for Innovation Agenda

Media | 10/12/2016 9:23 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Wednesday three areas have stood out so far in its Innovation Agenda consultations—talent, the need to work on emerging technologies, and investments in...

Innovation Internet

National strategy on IoT needed: analyst

telecom | 10/12/2016 9:15 pm EDT

TORONTO — A national strategy on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, involving businesses, academia and the government, should be developed in Canada to help the country compete, a conference heard Wednesday. Currently, Canada does not have a true national strategy for IoT, whereas the United States and the United Kingdom have invested in such initiatives, Isabel Chapman, principal analyst at the U.K.-based Machina Research, said on a panel discussing the competitive landscape in Canada at the annual Connected Plus conference in Toronto. “We have so many companies here and it...

Internet Iot Wireless

Some Corus talk radio stations streaming on Apple Music

Media | 10/12/2016 7:23 pm EDT

Corus Entertainment Inc. is making seven of its news talk radio stations available for free internationally on Apple Inc.’s Apple Music streaming service. The company said in...

Apple Bell Corus

Rogers Unison expands to bigger businesses

telecom | 10/12/2016 6:38 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. is expanding a service aimed at businesses that brings landline features to mobile. The company, which launched Rogers Unison for small businesses earlier this year, said in a press release Wednesday it...

Landline phones Rogers Wireless

Telus selling food-safety IoT service

telecom | 10/12/2016 6:26 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said it would sell an Internet of Things (IoT) service that monitors the temperature of food in transit, on a monthly billing basis. The company said in a press release Tuesday that it’s offering...

Internet Iot Telus

Trump consulting with Eisenach on telecom policy: reports

telecom | 10/11/2016 9:28 pm EDT

United States presidential candidate Donald Trump is looking to consultant Jeffrey Eisenach for advice on telecom policy, according to media reports. Politico reported last week, citing...

Bell CRTC Fcc

Samsung stops sales, production of Note 7

telecom | 10/11/2016 6:59 pm EDT

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has stopped sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The company said in a statement Tuesday it is “working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently...

Samsung Smartphones Wireless

Wholesale rate decision could lead to focus on flanker brands, analysts say

telecom | 10/07/2016 8:17 pm EDT

In the days after the CRTC issued a decision that lowered wholesale wireline Internet rates proposed by large Internet Service Providers (ISPs), financial analysts said the large telecoms could...

Bell CRTC Internet

FCC proposes privacy rules for ISPs

telecom | 10/07/2016 7:21 pm EDT

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has outlined a set of potential new rules governing how Internet service providers (ISPs) deal with the privacy of consumer information. According to information about the proposed...

Fcc Internet Privacy

iHeartRadio launches in Canada

Media | 10/07/2016 4:56 pm EDT

iHeartMedia Inc.'s free digital radio and music streaming service is now available in Canada, according to a press release from BCE Inc.’s media division. The free app, iHeartRadio, is available on a preview basis...

Apps Bell Cogeco

Rogers intros wireless data controls ahead of Wireless Code review

telecom | 10/06/2016 10:38 pm EDT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Guy Laurence said Thursday the company will eliminate an “irritant” among its customers by giving them the ability to manage their wireless data, but said such services shouldn’t be mandated by the Wireless Code. The service, announced at a lunch with media at Rogers' headquarters at One Mount Pleasant in Toronto, would allow customers to individually manage users in their data bucket on Share Everything plans....

CRTC Data charges Rogers

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...

Bell Cogeco CRTC

Improve Internet access to help news media, committee hears

Media | 10/06/2016 6:44 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Raising the level of broadband Internet service for Canadians would go far in levelling the playing field for both media producers and consumers, a House of Commons committee...

Internet Ott Radio

Privacy commish in contact with Rogers, Yahoo about breach

telecom | 10/06/2016 6:43 pm EDT

The federal privacy commissioner’s office said it has been in touch with Rogers Communications Inc. and Yahoo Inc. regarding the breach of millions of Yahoo email accounts...

Internet Privacy Rogers

Telus takes heat for backing carbon plan

telecom | 10/05/2016 8:52 pm EDT

Telus Corp. issued an apology Wednesday after a Tuesday night social media post linking the company to support for the federal government’s recently announced carbon-pricing plan generated backlash...

Telus

Rogers gigabit Internet rollout mostly completed

telecom | 10/04/2016 8:55 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday its gigabit Internet service is now available in St. John’s, N.L. The move follows a similar expansion in New Brunswick this summer. Rogers added in a press release that “more than 3.5 million homes across Canada are now Gigabit-ready” following its announcement that it would begin offering 1 GB Internet service a year ago. The company said at the time that it planned to expand the 1 GB service across its cable footprint of more than four million homes in Ontario and Atlantic Canada...

Internet Rogers

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...

Court says Cogeco can’t claim ‘best Internet’

telecom | 10/04/2016 8:45 pm EDT

An Ontario Superior Court judge has granted an injunction requested by BCE Inc. forbidding Cogeco Inc. from claiming that it has the “best Internet experience in your neighbourhood.” In a Sept. 26...

Bell Cogeco CRTC

Bell asks for injunction against VMedia OTT service

Media | 10/04/2016 8:24 pm EDT

BCE Inc. is asking the Ontario Superior Court to grant an interim and permanent injunction to stop VMedia Inc. from delivering Bell's CTV channels on its over-the-top (OTT) service. VMedia began offering the...

Bell Copyright Internet

5G trials reach nearly 30 Gbps: Telus

telecom | 10/04/2016 4:44 pm EDT

New 5G tests by Telus Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. revealed that the next generation of wireless technology has hit speeds that are 200 times faster than the current LTE standard. The speed tests,...

5g Telus Wireless

VMedia fighting to keep CTV, CTV2 on OTT service

Media | 10/03/2016 9:25 pm EDT

VMedia Inc. is asking an Ontario court to step in and declare that its recently launched over-the-top (OTT) streaming television service is not infringing copyright, as claimed by BCE Inc., which wants the provider to...

Bell Copyright Ott

Satellite service restored after outage

telecom | 10/03/2016 8:09 pm EDT

Telecom services affected by a satellite outage in have been restored after an “anomaly” powered down communications Sunday night. Ottawa-based Telesat Holdings Inc., which operates the affected Anik F2...

Internet Wireless

Reddit reaction to differential pricing overwhelmingly critical

Media | 09/30/2016 8:07 pm EDT

Users of Reddit Inc.’s website have largely railed against differential pricing in a discussion initated by the CRTC, with an overwhelming number of comments on the social platform expressing...

CRTC Data charges Internet

Study confirms most ISPs deliver advertised speeds

telecom | 09/29/2016 9:17 pm EDT

The final results of a CRTC study of broadband Internet service confirm its preliminary conclusions from March, which found that the majority of broadband wireline Internet services sold to Canadian homes meet or exceed their...

CRTC Internet

CraveTV profitability still uncertain after Shomi exit: Desjardins

Media | 09/29/2016 8:49 pm EDT

While CraveTV should have an easier time competing in the over-the-top (OTT) space now that Shomi will cease operation, Netflix Inc.’s offering still leaves doubt about the profitability of BCE Inc.’s service, says a Desjardins analyst. “We believe Netflix’s strength derives from its large library of self-produced content, which BCE cannot replicate —hence, long-term, we continue to question the profitability of the CraveTV service,” despite...

Bell Netflix Ott

Open infrastructure category to include digital: ITAC

telecom | 09/29/2016 7:37 pm EDT

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) is recommending that telecommunications networks be included in the federal government’s definition of infrastructure to help spur their expansion and development....

Internet Wireless

Piracy lawsuit launched over Cell sharing

Media | 09/28/2016 9:45 pm EDT

An American film production company is looking to identify 12 Canadians it says infringed its copyright by file-sharing its content. In a statement of claim filed with the federal court on Tuesday, Cell Film Holdings LLC said it...

CRTC launches video relay service, will keep an eye on data usage

telecom | 09/28/2016 9:18 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — The first national video relay service (VRS) for hearing-impaired Canadians launched Wednesday, with the CRTC and companies involved in the project saying they’ll...

CRTC Internet Wireless

NDP’s Nantel digging for CanCon consult details

telecom | 09/28/2016 7:27 pm EDT

The department of Canadian Heritage will have to disclose who sat down with Minister Mélanie Joly as she fleshed out the consultation plan for her Canadian content review, following a query by NDP MP Pierre Nantel....

Cancon Television

BlackBerry to outsource all hardware development

telecom | 09/28/2016 7:14 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. will “end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners,” the company said in a press release Wednesday. It also said that it signed a licensing agreement with Indonesia’s BB Merah Putih, a joint venture led by an affiliate of Indonesia’s largest wireless carrier, Telekomunikasi Indonesia. In a blog post Wednesday, Ralph Pini, chief operating officer and general manager of BlackBerry’s mobility solutions, said that Indonesia has historically been the biggest market for BlackBerry devices. The...

Blackberry Smartphones Wireless

Iristel to roll out ehealth project

telecom | 09/27/2016 9:30 pm EDT

Iristel Inc. and its subsidiary Ice Wireless are rolling out a northern ehealth initiative in partnership with an Ontario-based health products company. In a Tuesday press release, Iristel said that it was teaming...

Wireless

Privacy commish looking for transparency compliance ‘in coming months’

telecom | 09/27/2016 6:26 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Companies who are not already proactively complying with the federal government’s transparency reporting rules are running out of time before the Office of the Privacy...

Facebook Privacy

Rogers buying two Ontario radio stations

telecom | 09/27/2016 6:04 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Monday the company is buying Tillsonburg Broadcasting Company Ltd., which operates the Country 107.3 and Easy 101 radio stations in southwestern Ontario. "Continuing to...

CRTC Radio Rogers

As Shomi shuts down, experts point to strong competition in OTT

Media | 09/26/2016 9:55 pm EDT

Shomi, the joint Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. over-the-top (OTT) video service, will shut down on Nov. 30, the service...

Bell Internet Netflix

CRTC doesn’t need disconnection heads up, interveners say

telecom | 09/26/2016 7:09 pm EDT

New regulations that would require telecom companies to tell the CRTC if they’re going to disconnect another company from their network are unnecessary, according to the majority of interveners who submitted feedback to the CRTC’s call for comments on disconnection practices. Most contracts between carriers or...

Shaw best-positioned carrier, regardless of Liberal policy: Barclays

telecom | 09/26/2016 6:47 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. is “the one player in the industry who is very well positioned” regardless of the direction the Liberal government takes on wireless policy,...

700 mhz Lte Quebecor

Telecoms among least-trusted Canadian companies: report

telecom | 09/26/2016 5:21 pm EDT

In a University of Victoria study ranking Canadians’ trust of various brands, all the telecom providers included were at the bottom of the list. The Gustavson Brand Trust Index,...

Bell Rogers Shaw

Differing opinions on how to guide differential pricing, interventions show

telecom | 09/23/2016 8:09 pm EDT

Even among those who support differential pricing practices such as zero rating and sponsoring data, there isn’t a consensus as to how they should be regulated by CRTC, according to additional...

Bell Cogeco CRTC

Class action targets automatic service price adjustment

Media | 09/23/2016 7:20 pm EDT

Lawyers are asking a Quebec court to allow a class action lawsuit against companies that they allege are violating the province’s consumer protection laws by requiring customers to take the initiative to cancel services after fixed promotional periods. The suit, filed in July, stems from several instances where consumers, after purchasing a service with a fixed free or reduced price period, were automatically charged the regular price after the end of the period even if they did not want to renew the service, after they didn’t notify the company that they intended to cancel. At...

Bell Netflix Quebecor

Some TNW customers may be disconnected in Nov., CRTC warns

telecom | 09/23/2016 7:15 pm EDT

The CRTC has issued a consumer alert letting customers of Téliphone Navigata Westel Communications Inc. (TNW) know they may be disconnected in November. It said in...

CRTC Landline phones Telus

Ottawa U study uses mystery shoppers to test Wireless Code

telecom | 09/23/2016 6:24 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Researchers at the University of Ottawa say the preliminary results of a small mystery shopper test found some wireless providers are leaving some potential customers ill-informed about...

CRTC Smartphones Wireless

CRTC to hold Edmonton radio hearing Sept. 17

Media | 09/23/2016 5:40 pm EDT

The CRTC will consider 11 applications for radio stations in the Edmonton area next week. It will hold a four-day hearing starting Sept. 27, the commission said in a press release Friday. The hearing will consider...

CRTC Radio

Most health devices don’t explain personal info collection: OPC

telecom | 09/22/2016 10:45 pm EDT

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said Thursday that 62 per cent of the health devices it examined as part of a global sweep didn’t “adequately explain how personal...

Apps Iot Privacy

Quebecor in ‘no rush’ to get rid of 700MHz spectrum: Pruneau

telecom | 09/22/2016 10:26 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s chief financial officer Jean-François Pruneau said Thursday the company is content to wait to sell the 700 MHz spectrum it picked up in 2014 and never deployed, given its value continues to grow with time. He said he’s been in “discussions with all the parties,” both incumbents and new entrants, about the seven licences in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia on which the company spent $233.3 million in 2014. It has since declined to expand into those areas. “My job is to create as deep a...

600 mhz 700 mhz Bell

Bell asks for stay of Super Bowl simsub decision in new appeal

Media | 09/21/2016 9:28 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has filed a new motion petitioning the Federal Court of Appeal to hear its case against the CRTC decision banning simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl. In a notice of motion...

Bell CRTC Sports content

Data consumption, competitive pressures headline investor conference

Media | 09/21/2016 9:17 pm EDT

Canada’s biggest telcos told investors Wednesday that they are seeing growth in wireless data usage on the first of a two-day conference hosted by CIBC World Markets. BCE Inc....

Bell Cogeco Corus

FTTH decision should improve competition: Desjardins

telecom | 09/21/2016 5:57 pm EDT

Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi said that the CRTC’s plan for wholesale access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks should theoretically “create an environment in which ISPs have better control over...

CRTC FTTP/FTTH Internet

Jeffrey Elliott takes over as Interactive Ontario chair

Media | 09/21/2016 3:59 pm EDT

Jeffrey Elliott, TableRock Media CEO, is the new chairman of Interactive Ontario, the association announced Tuesday. Elliott, a long-time member of the board of directors, was elected...

Gaming Internet Television

Low skinny basic take-up result of content-hungry consumers: Cope

telecom | 09/20/2016 10:12 pm EDT

Adoption of skinny-basic television has been low because consumers demand more content, BCE Inc. president and CEO George Cope told an investors’ conference on Tuesday. “Subscriptions for...

Bell Iptv Ott

FTTH access plan ‘consistent’ but ‘disappointing’: indie ISPs

telecom | 09/20/2016 9:52 pm EDT

The CRTC has missed an opportunity to foster innovation among telecom competitors as it moves forward in the implementation of mandated wholesale access by smaller Internet service providers (ISPs) to...

CRTC Fibre optics FTTP/FTTH

Videotron announces testing as 5G gains momentum in Canada

telecom | 09/20/2016 9:46 pm EDT

MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron said Tuesday it will begin to test 5G technologies as part of a new project, in a move that appears to be part of an increasing push...

5g Lte Smartphones

Wireline competition, pick-and-pay could pressure telecoms in 2017: Canaccord

telecom | 09/20/2016 3:46 pm EDT

Certain events leading into 2017 could spell increased pressure on telecommunications companies, but there’s “not much to be excited about” otherwise, according to Canaccord Genuity....

Internet Iptv Lte

CRTC taking to Reddit to ask about differential pricing

Media | 09/19/2016 8:22 pm EDT

The CRTC will host a public discussion on differential pricing practices for Internet data plans on Reddit Inc.’s website, the regulator said Monday. The commission said in a notice it will host the discussion forum on the /r/Canada subreddit “to encourage individuals who might not otherwise participate in this proceeding to share their points of view.” The topic will run from 9 a.m. EST on Sept. 26 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 30. A public hearing will be held on Oct. 31 in Gatineau. The commission said it will try to...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

CCSA board responds to wrongful dismissal suit

telecom | 09/19/2016 8:05 pm EDT

The former CEO of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) could not have been wrongfully dismissed since her employment contract was already up, the board of directors argued in court documents responding to a lawsuit by Alyson...

Cable Internet Iptv

New iPhone driving discounts for older models: Barclays

telecom | 09/19/2016 7:56 pm EDT

Carriers are capitalizing on demand for Apple Inc.’s new iPhone with heavy discounts on older models, according to Barclays Capital. Despite a $400 price tag for the 32GB iPhone on a two-year...

Apple Smartphones Telus

Advocacy groups, telecoms agree with CRTC on website blocking

telecom | 09/19/2016 6:54 pm EDT

Reponses filed with the CRTC last week by consumer, advocacy and industry groups indicate that all parties support the CRTC’s preliminary view on Quebec’s Bill 74, which would block access...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

Innovation, cybersecurity, CanCon on agenda as Parliament resumes

Media | 09/19/2016 2:54 pm EDT

After 13 weeks off from the Parliament Hill routine, MPs returned en masse to Ottawa Monday for the start of the House of Commons’ fall session, where the stage is set for forward...

Cancon Internet Rural broadband

Canada 66th for mobile broadband subscriptions: ITU

telecom | 09/15/2016 7:58 pm EDT

Canada’s position among countries with mobile broadband subscriptions dropped last year, going from the 47th spot in 2014 to 66th place in 2015, according to a new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report. In its 2016 State of Broadband report published Thursday, the United Nations agency for information and communications technologies put Canada’s rate of 56.32 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants directly below that of Bhutan (56.41 subscribers) and miles away from Finland’s 144.05 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. The United States was 13th at 109.23...

Internet Wireless

Telecom affordability a growing gap for low-income Canadians: report

telecom | 09/15/2016 6:41 pm EDT

The digital divide for low-income Canadians will continue to grow unless there’s a national plan to address making communications services affordable and available for that demographic, said a...

CRTC Internet Wireless

Rogers logging in to Twitter for customer care

telecom | 09/15/2016 6:40 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. is taking to Twitter Inc.’s social media service to allow its customers to connect with its support representatives. The partnership, announced in a Thursday press...

Internet Rogers Smartphones

CIRA launches municipal Internet testing program

telecom | 09/15/2016 4:41 pm EDT

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) said it has its first two participants for a national program that will measure the quality of local Internet. Citizens of the Annapolis Valley, N.S., and Stratford, Ont., will...

Internet

Demand for faster upload speeds growing: analysts

Media | 09/14/2016 9:20 pm EDT

The need for upload speed is growing among Canadian consumers and businesses, though it’s too early to tell whether there’s real demand for symmetrical Internet plans that some companies have begun offering, according...

Internet Iot Ott

Telus launches cloud services for lawyers

telecom | 09/13/2016 9:16 pm EDT

Telus Corp. has joined forces with a legal software provider to help those who work in the profession modernize their practices, the company said. In a Tuesday press release Telus said it was collaborating with the...

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Competition watchdog dings Comwave for misleading ads

telecom | 09/13/2016 7:47 pm EDT

Toronto-based Comwave Networks Inc. will fork out $360,000 for misleading ads that represented its Internet and home phone services as “unlimited,” the Competition Bureau said Tuesday. In a press...

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Wireline data caps have no legitimate purpose, Netflix tells FCC

Media | 09/12/2016 7:00 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. argued that data caps are an “unnecessary constraint on advanced telecommunications capability” in a filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)....

Data charges Fcc Internet

Telus to offer free WiFi in some Toronto cabs

telecom | 09/12/2016 5:17 pm EDT

Telus Corp. will offer free WiFi to customers of Toronto taxi company Associated Toronto Taxicab Co-operative Ltd., following a similar partnership with a cab company in Vancouver established last year. Telus said in a press...

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Federal court denies Shoan temporary return to CRTC post

Media | 09/09/2016 10:34 pm EDT

Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan won’t be reinstated while awaiting appeal of the order-in-council that removed him from his position, a Federal Court judge ruled Friday. According to Justice Anne Mactavish’s reasons for decision, Shoan, who asked the court for a stay of his termination until the appeal is decided, didn’t satisfy all three elements required for the temporary reinstatement. Those three elements were that there was a serious issue to be tried in the appeal, he would suffer irreparable harm in the interim, and that the balance of convenience...

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