Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is recalling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in multiple markets, including Canada, after reports that batteries were catching fire. In a statement posted to its website Friday, the company said there had been 35 cases reported globally as of Sept. 1. “In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue,” the statement said. The company has stopped sales of the device and will replace customers’ existing devices with new ones, it added. Koh Dong-jin,...
The CRTC is looking for input on a preliminary view it’s taken regarding the legality of blocking of Internet content, as it considers how to deal with a complaint about a Quebec law mandating blocking of illegal gambling websites. In a letter Thursday, the CRTC said it holds a preliminary view that section 36 of the Telecommunications Act “prohibits the blocking by Canadian carriers of access by end-users to specific websites on the Internet, whether or not this blocking is the result” of the Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) of service providers. It said...
BCE Inc. owns the country’s fastest mobile speeds for a second consecutive year, helped by partnerships agreements with other companies, according to a report released Wednesday by PCMag.com. With an average of 59.72...
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has put out guidelines that clarify its rules on net neutrality, including zero-rating. The guidelines will serve as...
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. shareholders approved a move to take the company private Tuesday, the company said in a press release. “With these shareholder approvals in place, we will continue to work to...
The CRTC said Tuesday that it wants input on Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s application to transfer its broadcast distribution licences to BCE Inc. as part of the proposed acquisition of MTS by...
Martine Ouellet, who is currently running for leadership of Quebec’s Parti Quebecois, says that she would consider nationalizing Internet infrastructure in the province if telecoms don’t improve service and cut prices. The Canadian Press reported Monday that Ouellet said that users should pay one reduced rate for Internet access, which would be even lower for low-income individuals, and that Quebecers should have 1 GB speeds. "If there is a lack of co-operation, I am...
Telecom service providers should look towards improving video quality across their networks if they want to increase customer loyalty, according to a new joint report from Huawei Technologies Co....
Canadian producer-distributor Nelvana, which is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., has inked a deal with a Walt Disney Co. subsidiary licensing international broadcast and on-demand rights for a new animated series...
Gigabit-speed Internet will be introduced to Northern Manitoba under a BCE Inc.-owned Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., the companies announced Monday. The improvement in Churchill,...
BCE Inc. subsidiary Northwestel Inc. can stop offering “destandardized” wireline Internet packages, the CRTC has ruled. In a decision posted Monday, the regulator approved...
BCE Inc. customers can now take advantage of the “world’s first fully wireless [Internet protocol TV] service,” the company said Monday. In a press release, Bell said a wireless 4K Whole Home PVR was...
BCE Inc. has “unclean hands” in its effort to have the Wholesale Code overturned by the federal Appeal Court while simultaneously applying to have removed certain conditions of...
The CRTC has approved one but rejected another application on number portability. On Friday, the regulator released its decision on an application by Telus Corp. to “establish a special location porting zone (LPZ)...
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall took the conversation about a possible sale of the provincially owned telecommunications provider another step forward by suggesting that the province would put an offer, if received, to the public,...
A parliamentary secretary has apologized after sending a letter of support for BCE Inc.’s licence renewal application, the Canadian Press reported Thursday. Kate Young, Liberal representative for a London, Ont. riding and parliamentary secretary to Transport Minister Marc Garneau, told CP that she “did not take into consideration the implications” of her role as a public office holder and that she “sincerely apologize[s] for any inappropriate actions” on her part. The federal ethics commissioner previously issued instructions and scolded...
A new technology that allows telecoms to get speeds of hundreds of gigabits through existing copper loops is making headway in Canada, where companies are testing it out and deployment is likely to...
Emerging boutique fibre companies are forcing the incumbents to boost speeds to match competition as fixed and mobile speeds increased significantly over the year, according to a report by Speedtest,...
Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink is investing $6.5 million to expand high-speed Internet services to rural Nova Scotia, the company announced Thursday. “We appreciate that when it comes to Internet in rural Nova...
Some companies are adding more selection to their cable TV packages by going the theme-pack route in preparation for the mandatory full pick-and-pay rules coming into effect this winter. The CRTC...
Ice Wireless, a subsidiary of Iristel Inc., said it is rolling out a HSPA/LTE network in 14 northern Quebec communities. A Tuesday press release from Tecore Networks, which supplies mobile network infrastructure, said the U.S.-based company’s Network-in-a-Box platform was picked by Iristel for the rollout. “The new HSPA/LTE network will greatly improve telecommunications in a region that has long been underserved due to its remote locations along the Arctic coastline of Canada,” the release said. In an email, Ice Wireless and Iristel CEO Samer Bishay said...
Cogeco Inc. said Monday it appointed Luc Noiseux as the company’s new senior vice president and chief technology and strategy officer. Noiseux, whose appointment was effective Monday, joined the company...
The Ontario Superior Court last week threw out a lawsuit involving allegations that an analyst tipped off a competing fund manager about the strategy behind its Wind Mobile acquisition. On...
The CRTC is requesting comment on whether regulatory measures are required to prevent service interruptions after a dispute between two telecommunications providers in January. In a notice of consultation posted to its...
Asian mobile phone manufacturers helped drive global smartphone sales to a 4.3 per cent year-over-year increase in the second quarter of 2016, despite slowing overall sales, according to data released by Gartner...
Canadian wireless users have access to 3G or 4G networks 93.16 per cent of the time, placing the country in the 10th spot for 3G/4G availability, according to a new OpenSignal report. In its Global State of Mobile Networks...
OTTAWA — The federal minister of public safety indicated Wednesday a willingness to engage with a freshly passed resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) calling for a...
The former president and CEO of Verizon Communications Inc.’s wireless division has signed on with the board of directors of a Canadian mobile satellite provider. Dan Mead, who recently retired from Verizon, is joining...
BCE Inc. flanker brand Virgin Mobile is rolling out home Internet in Ontario, the company announced Tuesday. In a press release, Virgin said eligible Ontario residents can sign up for one of two plans: a $50-per-month,...
The deployment of fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks will be an important step for improving affordability of communications services in the long-term, according to a report commissioned by the CRTC. “In the longer term, technological and business process innovations that reduce costs and improve quality appear to be critical for enhancing affordability of access to products and services that are now considered necessities,” the report read. Entitled “Affordability of Communications Services,” the report, which was completed in March by...
The federal government has launched public consultations in support of its review of cyber security, Public Safety Canada announced Tuesday. In a press release, the department said it will be collecting...
A Toronto condominium complex already served by three telecom service providers has to make room for one more, the CRTC has ruled. In a decision posted Monday, the commission said the owners of the three subject...
Quebec’s highest court has ruled that a class-action lawsuit against wireless carriers over international roaming charges can proceed. In a Wednesday decision, Quebec Court of Appeals...
The head of Cogeco Inc.’s Canadian division is retiring after more than 17 years with the company, the company announced Friday. Louise St-Pierre, Cogeco Connexion president and CEO, will step down as...
The significant number of new postpaid wireless customers reported by service providers in the second quarter of 2016 can partly be explained by the aggressive push toward handset subsidies as new phones enter the market and drive demand, according to analysts. Wireless providers reported new postpaid accounts in the second quarter that blew away analyst expectations, with a year-over-year increase of 35,000 among the incumbents. Rogers Communications Inc. reported 65,000 net new postpaid wireless subscribers in the quarter, compared to 14,000 in just the previous quarter, while BCE Inc. saw 70,000 for the quarter compared to 61,000 in the same period last year. Telus...
Canadians continue to pay among the highest prices internationally for wireless and broadband Internet services, according to a new report comparing telecom service prices released Thursday by the CRTC. The ninth annual...
The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) has taken what it described as the “drastic step” of terminating the membership of Alberta-based VOIS Inc. in its organization. In...
Rogers Communications Inc. should not be able to charge for the release of the personal information of a customer accused of violating the copyright of Voltage Pictures LLC, the film production company said in new...
The Canadian government is keeping an eye on how its Australian counterpart is handling security risks to the country’s telecom networks. “Canada can learn from Australia’s experience” in reforming its...
The CRTC has suspended all deadlines in a Part 1 application by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) that challenges the constitutionality of a Quebec law forcing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block some online...
BCE Inc. announced Monday it is buying out its fellow investors in Q9 Networks Inc., a data centre operator in which it currently holds a 35.4-per-cent stake, in a move that analysts...
Telus Corp. could face increasing broadband pricing competition in western Canada as competitors undercut their prices, according to Barclay’s Capital. "We are beginning to see signs of the broadband price war spreading from Ontario to Telus' footprint in western Canada," analyst Phillip Huang said...
The CRTC has determined that a hands-off approach to regulating roaming rates on GSM networks until it approves a final set of guidelines would not put smaller carriers in a negotiating disadvantage with larger ones. The...
The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) said in a press release Friday that Axsit Corp. has been sold and has addressed the non-compliance issues CCTS made public in recent weeks. In July, CCTS twice called out Axsit for its failure to refund a customer. On Friday, CCTS said Axsit has refunded the customer, addressed other non-compliance issues, and been sold to WiMac Tel, which operates in both Canada and the United States. “WiMac Tel has also undertaken to make the changes necessary to bring Axsit into compliance...
The Canadian government could end up fighting a war on two fronts over the previous government’s drive to have four national wireless carriers. According to a notice on the Global Affairs...
Telus Corp.’s revenues in the three months ended June 30 were up 1.5 per cent to $3.15 billion, compared to $3.1 billion a year earlier, the company reported Friday. It said in a...
Some subscribers are climbing Internet service tiers not necessarily for increased speed, but to obtain unlimited bandwidth, George Cope, BCE Inc.’s president and chief executive officer,...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said it made improvements to its post-paid wireless churn for the third consecutive quarter, though its total wireless subscribers were still down from a year ago,...
Quebecor Inc.’s revenues increased in the second quarter compared to a year earlier with the company reporting $992.5 million in revenues, up $28.7 million, or three per cent, over that time. President and CEO Pierre Dion said in a press release Thursday the increase reflected a “solid performance” in its telecommunications segment. Telecom revenues were up by $38.9 million to $780.4 million, the company reported, while sports and entertainment revenues were also up by $4.6 million to $6.7 million. According to Quebecor, that boost mostly came from revenue generated from events at Videotron Centre, naming rights and Gestev, which is the “official imprint for all shows and events produced by Quebecor.” Revenues in media fell...
Iristel Inc.’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Sugar Mobile announced Wednesday it has partnered with an American WiFi-based service to leverage existing WiFi customers who might want some access to cellular...
Telus Corp. would be the “logical buyer” of Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., according to Barclays Capital. Ahead of Telus’s second-quarter earnings report Friday, analyst Phillip Huang...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is upgrading its high speed Internet service in northern Saskatchewan. The provincial government-owned telecom provider is partnering with the...
MONTREAL — In recent years, Canadians have gained the ability to keep track of data contributing to their health — from steps walked to their heart rate to calories burned — in a way that would have been...
Canada is still at the bottom of the Organization for Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) countries with fibre connections, but among those making the greatest strides to close the gap....
Over the course of the past year, several Canadian telecoms have introduced systems that allow small businesses to use their mobile phones with landline functionality, a move that highlights a shift away from landline services in...
The federal government is appealing a federal court judge’s decision to lift a confidentiality order keeping the identities of CRTC employees involved in a harassment case against a former...
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains took questions from Twitter Inc.’s Toronto office Friday afternoon, in a question-and-answer session during...
An American association representing wireless service providers is asking for the United States federal court to rehear and re-evaluate June’s decision upholding the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules. In a Friday court filing, CTIA-The Wireless Association asked the U.S. appeals court for a full-bench review of the policy levied by the FCC last year that includes provisions against Internet Service Providers (ISPs) blocking or throttling Internet traffic. In a statement posted to the FCC website, commission chairman Tom Wheeler said...
BCE Inc. and Nokia Corp. have completed a trial of 5G technology, which they say is the first such initiative in Canada. “Conducted at Bell's Wireless Innovation Centre in Mississauga, the trial...
The federal government is spending $4.2 million to bring high-speed Internet to Manitoba’s First Nations communities. In a Thursday press release, Carolyn Bennett, Minister of...
The CRTC will be holding a public hearing as part of its review of the wireless code governing the conduct of service providers, the regulator announced Thursday. Scheduled to begin Feb. 6, 2017, in Gatineau,...
Payphone service providers will have to abide by rules previously set out by the CRTC governing how Canadians who don’t use cash to make calls should be informed about long-distance charges. In a decision made...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Thursday its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service is now available in some residential areas of the southeastern city of Estevan. The new connections will give residents the ability to sign up for SaskTel’s InfiNet service, the company said in a press release, which offers download speeds of up to 260 Mbps. Estevan’s connection is part of a $670-million fibre deployment program SaskTel has ongoing throughout the province....
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has filed a court challenge to a Quebec law that would force telecoms to block some illegal gambling websites, telling the court...
The federal and Ontario governments are investing up to $180 million into a new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network designed to connect about 300 southwestern Ontario communities to high-speed Internet, officials announced Tuesday,...
Four months after issuing its annotated guide to the CRTC’s wireless code, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) has put out one for the regulator’s...
A CRTC directive that service providers must offer pro-rated refunds to customers who cancel their wireless contracts based on the number of days left in a month’s billing cycle effectively abolishes the monthly contract,...
Rogers Communications Inc. is expanding a program that provides affordable Internet service to residents of non-profit housing in New Brunswick. The Connected for Success program, which debuted in Toronto...
Verizon Communications Inc. will acquire Yahoo Inc.’s core Internet business, roughly seven months after initial reports hinted at Verizon’s interest in the company. It’s a cash deal worth approximately $4.83 billion US that will see the California-based...
The Ontario government should be playing a major role in developing the province’s broadband infrastructure, according to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. In an open letter to Premier Kathleen...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s second-quarter earnings may have foreshadowed a turnaround for cable in 2017, after the company reported its best second-quarter for Internet subscribers in eight years, according to...
Statistics Canada is testing sending questionnaires to Canadians' cell phones via text message to combat low response rates to surveys, according to a media report. On Friday, The Canadian Press reported that documents it received under the Access to Information Act indicated the stats agency was concerned about the “deteriorating quality of data” due to an “alarming drop” in response rate to surveys. A senior StatsCan official told CP the agency has tested texting people to “connect with Canadians who more and more are eschewing land lines for mobile...
A trio of telecom companies are doubling down on their assertion that preloaded set-top box retailers are complicit in TV piracy, according to new court documents filed in their ongoing fight to...
Rogers Communications Inc. made it clear that Internet speeds are a key focus for the company on a conference call Thursday, stating Rogers' strategy is to get consumers to a baseline 100 Mbps service in order to encourage future scaling to its gigabit service. “We need to focus on the need for...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it’s installing additional equipment on towers in rural areas around seven Saskatchewan communities that will relieve...
Subscription video-on-demand service (SVOD) revenues will double by 2021, as broadcasters and TV network providers look to enter the market amid a trend in cord cutting and shaving, according to a new report. Juniper Research...
Rogers Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that it will offer small businesses a service that eliminates the need for landline phones by bringing landline features to mobile. Rogers Unison will allow businesses to connect their “entire business and team” regardless of their location without employees having to be at their desks, according to a Tuesday press release. “We spent a lot of time integrating a cloud communications system right into the middle of our mobile network, and that’s allowing us to…do all the features and...
OpenMedia announced Tuesday the appointment of Laura Tribe as its new executive director. According a letter posted on the advocacy group’s website from board chair Phillip Djwa, Tribe was selected to helm the...
Telus Corp. will begin offering 4K programming for its Optik TV customers, the company announced Tuesday. In a press release, Telus said it is the “first and currently, the only carrier in Western Canada to offer” the ultra-high-definition programming. The service is...
Two large wholesale Internet service providers (ISPs) are asking the CRTC to dismiss the Canadian Network Operators Consortium’s (CNOC) request to decline interim approval of wholesale rate...
Though the success of Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Pokémon Go mobile game could be the tip of the iceberg for augmented-reality applications, experts said they don’t expect wireless companies to make any major shifts in...
A group of ethnic programming services is asking the CRTC to consider a proposal by Rogers Communications Inc. for a national OMNI channel separately from its licence renewal hearing. In a...
On Friday, Shaw Communications Inc. released Wind Mobile’s first quarterly results since it acquired the wireless company earlier this year, which showed revenues of $132 million for the...
The Nova Scotian government is asking service providers for ideas on how to improve rural Internet connectivity in the short term. On Thursday, the province issued a request for information, seeking ideas “from the marketplace on what solutions could be implemented prior to March 31, 2017 and September 30,...
The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) said in a press release Friday that Macadamian Technologies president Frédéric Boulanger will be its new chairman of the board, replacing Softchoice president and CEO David MacDonald. “As ITAC’s Chair, Fred will continue to set...
The city of Toronto will be asking its police force to look into the possibility of accepting emergency 911 text messages. Toronto’s city council voted Thursday afternoon in favour of the motion brought forward by Coun. Norm Kelly. Kelly’s motion was made to follow in the vein of other American cities that are looking into the practice “in the wake of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida,” said his notice of motion. Toronto Police Services should be following their lead “in an attempt to be proactive,” it said, adding that “there are situations in which making voice calls would attract unwanted attention and texting would provide a safe alternative.” Similar services are already available for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired residents. The CRTC is in the...
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened up 10.85 GHz of spectrum for the next generation of wireless networks, or 5G, the United States regulator said Thursday. That includes 3.85 GHz of licenced spectrum and...
The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) has issued a second press release in as many weeks regarding Axsit Corp.’s failure to refund a customer. On July 5, CCTS said in a...
The Wireless Code has proved effective in the two years since its implementation, suggest the results of a CRTC-commissioned study, which reported a decline in wireless complaints as well as...
Michael Garbe is taking over as chairman and CEO of the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), while former president and chairman Bill Sandiford and former treasurer Kevin Blumberg will stay with the organization in...
The television distribution revenues reported by Canada’s telecommunications companies have fallen for the first time in a decade, driven by a decline in satellite subscribers. Numbers released by the CRTC Tuesday showed that telecoms — including cable, IPTV and satellite providers — saw a 0.13-per-cent decrease in revenues last year, from $8.93 billion in 2014 to $8.92 billion in 2015. That’s the first such decline reported by the CRTC since at least 2006. While cable and IPTV companies’ revenues grew 1.7 per cent between 2014 and 2015, to $6.6...
Traffic on the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to skyrocket over the coming years, and though vehicles will be part of that network, there are still a number of challenges, including...
Telus Corp. said it is investing $111 million in infrastructure in the greater Montreal area to expand its fibre-to-the-premise network to more than 4,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable by the end of the year. “Our...
A CRTC commissioner is refuting allegations of inappropriate conduct and racism levied by a former colleague, Raj Shoan, the recently fired representative for Ontario. Included in documents filed...
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is asking the CRTC to deem as unconstitutional a Quebec law compelling Internet service providers (ISPs) to block certain online gambling websites. In a new Part 1 application...
The CRTC has approved a transfer of ownership for CKJN-FM in Haldimand County, Ont. from Vista Radio Ltd. to Durham Radio Inc. In a decision Friday, it also said it approved...
Barclays analyst Phillip Huang said in a research note Friday that he estimates Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. lost about one month of cable revenues as a result of...
Cogeco Inc. reported higher overall revenues for the third quarter, but a write-down on its Peer 1 business pulled on the reins. The Montreal-based company reported its earnings for Q3, which...
Rogers Communications Inc. has introduced a new data cloud storage service for businesses, the company said in a press release Thursday. The Rogers Public Cloud “gives customers access to computing and storage space in...
Waterloo, Ont.-based TextNow announced Thursday former BlackBerry Inc. executive Lindsay Gibson was joining the company as chief operating officer. The company, which provides WiFi-based wireless service in the United States starting at less than $20 per month, said Gibson “will assume leadership for all TextNow operations including oversight of the entire customer experience lifecycle encompassing customer care, fulfillment, billing and IT.” Gibson spent 16 years with BlackBerry, most recently as vice-president of manufacturing and supply chain....
