TAGGED AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Frédéric Boulanger new ITAC chairman

telecom | 07/15/2016 5:36 pm EDT

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 ambitious targets for continued growth in our industry and ensure we continue our leadership role in advocating for increased digital adoption at all levels of government as well as ensuring the industry remains an exciting career choice for young people in Canada,” ITAC president and CEO Robert Watson said in the release. MacDonald will stay on the board, which will also have five new members joining this year: Carey Drader,...

Toronto to explore 911 texting

telecom | 07/15/2016 4:41 pm EDT

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...

Smartphones Wireless

FCC opens up spectrum for 5G

telecom | 07/15/2016 3:46 pm EDT

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...

Smartphones Spectrum Wireless

CCTS singles out Axsit refund breach, again

telecom | 07/14/2016 8:07 pm EDT

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...

Internet

Complaints, bill shock fell after Wireless Code: study

telecom | 07/14/2016 3:22 pm EDT

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...

CRTC Data charges Roaming

Michael Garbe new head of CNOC

telecom | 07/13/2016 4:35 pm EDT

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...

Internet

Telecoms’ TV revenues declined last year: CRTC

Media | 07/12/2016 9:01 pm EDT

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...

CRTC Iptv Satellite tv

Infrastructure, spectrum among obstacles for connected cars

telecom | 07/12/2016 8:41 pm EDT

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...

Internet Iot Spectrum

Telus boosting Montreal FTTP network

telecom | 07/12/2016 7:25 pm EDT

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...

Telus

Joly, Vennard respond to Shoan appeal, allegations of bias

telecom | 07/11/2016 7:51 pm EDT

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...

CRTC

Quebec online gambling law unconstitutional: PIAC

telecom | 07/11/2016 6:41 pm EDT

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...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

CRTC allows less CanCon for unprofitable radio station

telecom | 07/08/2016 8:35 pm EDT

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...

Cancon CRTC Radio

Impact of Alberta fires on Shaw, Telus $5M-$10M: Barclays

telecom | 07/08/2016 5:50 pm EDT

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...

Shaw Television Telus

Cogeco reports higher revenues, takes a hit from Peer 1

telecom | 07/07/2016 9:20 pm EDT

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...

Cable Internet Television

Rogers launches new cloud storage service

telecom | 07/07/2016 8:01 pm EDT

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...

Data centres Internet Rogers

Lindsay Gibson joins TextNow as COO

telecom | 07/07/2016 7:42 pm EDT

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....

Wifi Wireless

Bell, MTS promote investment ahead of acquisition approval

telecom | 07/07/2016 7:03 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced another feature of their proposed merger Thursday morning in Manitoba. As part of the promised $1 billion investment...

Internet Iptv Television

CCSA sued for wrongful dismissal after Townsend departure

telecom | 07/07/2016 6:05 pm EDT

The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) is facing a lawsuit from former president and CEO Alyson Townsend, who is accusing the organization of wrongful dismissal. In a statement of claim filed in...

Cable Internet Iptv

CNOC asks CRTC to refuse ‘very high’ wholesale rate increases

telecom | 07/07/2016 5:46 pm EDT

Small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are asking the CRTC not to approve wholesale rates proposed by large telecoms, given that many of them “are subject to very high and unjustifiable...

CRTC Internet

Ice Wireless can continue to roam until final decision

telecom | 07/07/2016 4:43 pm EDT

Sugar Mobile, an affiliate of Iristel Inc.-subsidiary Ice Wireless, can continue roaming on Rogers Communications Inc.’s network while the CRTC considers its final decision in a...

CRTC Roaming Rogers

Coalition asks for $484K in basic service proceeding

telecom | 07/06/2016 8:36 pm EDT

The Affordable Access Coalition, whose members include the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), is asking the CRTC to reimburse it $484,123 for participating in the basic telecom services hearing. The other members of the coalition are the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Canada, the National Pensioners Federation, the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of British Columbia and The Consumers’ Association of Canada. In its June 30 application, the coalition said that it “expects some parties to consider the final costs application...

CRTC

Rogers dropping Cuba from Roam Like Home service

telecom | 07/06/2016 5:28 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. is eliminating Cuba as a destination for its Roam Like Home service starting July 12. Andrew Garas, Rogers’ manager of media relations, said in an email Wednesday that the...

Roaming Wireless

NextRadio expands into Canada

telecom | 07/06/2016 3:31 pm EDT

NextRadio LLC is bringing its FM radio app across the border into Canada. The Indianapolis-based company said in a press release Wednesday that its app has been live in the Google Play store since the beginning of the...

Radio Smartphones Wireless

Shoan appeals dismissal from CRTC post

telecom | 07/06/2016 2:06 pm EDT

Fired CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan is asking the Federal Court to “urgently” intervene in the order-in-council issued last month that ended his appointment with the regulator. On Tuesday, lawyers for Shoan filed a...

CRTC

Wind faces short-term turbulence, long-term opportunity: Canaccord

telecom | 07/05/2016 9:07 pm EDT

Canaccord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said in a research note Tuesday that Shaw Communications Inc.’s Wind faces “volatility and uncertainty over the short run,” though it also has a “genuine and sizable long-term opportunity.” However, in notes issued ahead of...

Tech-product tariffs scrapped under new WTO agreement

telecom | 07/05/2016 7:32 pm EDT

Tariffs on 201 tech- and information-related products are on their way to being eliminated as the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) expanded Information Technology Agreement came into force on Canada Day, the federal international trade minister announced Monday. The agreement “will benefit Canadian exporters of many products, including...

SaskTel phasing out CDMA network next summer

telecom | 07/05/2016 7:27 pm EDT

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Tuesday that its Code division multiple access (CDMA) network is entering its last year. In a press release, SaskTel said CDMA-reliant devices would no longer...

Internet Sasktel Spectrum

Public WiFi users take risks with personal info: Norton

telecom | 07/05/2016 3:38 pm EDT

Canadians are some of the heaviest users of public WiFi, according to a new study by Symantec Corp.’s Norton, which also suggests that most public WiFi users “exhibit risky public...

Internet Wifi

CCTS calls out small telecom for not refunding customer

telecom | 07/05/2016 3:27 pm EDT

The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) has issued a press release reminding a small Ontario voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) provider that it must abide by its...

CRTC

More set-top box providers added to legal action

Media | 07/05/2016 2:57 pm EDT

Eleven more set-top box retailers will have to make their case to the Federal Court after being named as defendants in a legal fight against set-top boxes that can be used to circumvent paid TV subscriptions. On June 20, lawyers for BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron filed an amended statement of claim, adding the companies to the five originally named in the legal action, which started in May. A June 1 order by judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer temporarily banned the first five companies from selling the boxes...

Internet Ott Television

Public safety roaming rules cleared up

telecom | 07/04/2016 7:01 pm EDT

Canadian and U.S. regulators have clarified the rules regarding cross-border radio roaming for public safety agencies. A statement of intent between Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated rules of a 1952 agreement that allows “certain cross-border communications by mobile...

SaskTel flipping switch on FTTH in Weyburn

telecom | 07/04/2016 6:53 pm EDT

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Monday is ready to start connecting customers to its InfiNet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Weyburn. Some residential areas of the city, located south of...

FTTP/FTTH Internet Wireless

Facebook, AT&T defend differential pricing in CRTC review

Media | 06/30/2016 8:23 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc. have waded into the CRTC’s review of differential pricing practices, arguing that the commission should allow carriers to offer zero-rated services...

Bell CRTC Data charges

AT&T closes Quickplay deal

telecom | 06/30/2016 8:13 pm EDT

AT&T Inc. has finalized a deal to purchase a Canadian video-streaming platform, the company announced Tuesday. The American telecommunications company announced in May its intention to purchase...

Ott Television

Sirius fined for bad telemarketing

telecom | 06/30/2016 7:45 pm EDT

Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. had to cough up $650,000 after being investigated by the CRTC for breaking telemarketing rules, the regulator said Wednesday. “Further to an investigation, the CRTC’s Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer found that Sirius XM Canada hired telemarketers to conduct calls on its behalf,” the CRTC said in a press release. “The telemarketers in question made calls to Canadians who were registered on the company’s internal do not call list.” The penalty was the largest of six the CRTC imposed, as part of settlements...

CRTC Radio

First round of 600 MHz auction wraps up in U.S.

telecom | 06/30/2016 7:22 pm EDT

The first round of an auction in the United States to convert spectrum in the 600 MHz band from TV to wireless use has wrapped up, setting a price of $86.4 billion for 126 MHz of the frequency, the Federal Communications...

600 mhz Fcc Spectrum

Cyber security consultation to be ‘launched shortly’: ISED

telecom | 06/30/2016 5:34 pm EDT

The federal government will be moving forward with another consultation in the coming months, this time as it prepares to review cyber security measures. A briefing note prepared in advance of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Minister Navdeep Bains' spring meeting with BlackBerry Ltd.’s...

Rogers encouraging travellers to roam with their phones

telecom | 06/29/2016 9:59 pm EDT

The vast majority of Canadian travellers take their smartphones with them when they go on summer vacation, a survey by Rogers Communication Inc. suggests, as the company pushes its roaming...

Roaming Wireless

Advocacy groups take aim at data caps in zero-rating review

Media | 06/29/2016 6:45 pm EDT

Questions around telecoms’ usage of data caps should be at the centre of the CRTC’s proceeding on differential pricing practices, advocacy groups said in interventions, calling for the...

Bell Competition bureau CRTC

Localized cell signal jamming possible during presidential visits

telecom | 06/29/2016 6:42 pm EDT

A short, localized disruption of wireless service for those next to the presidential motorcade may not have been out of the question Wednesday, when U.S. president Barack Obama visted Ottawa for...

Smartphones Wireless

CCTS awareness low: survey

telecom | 06/29/2016 6:11 pm EDT

Awareness of the country’s telecommunications ombudsman is on par with other ombudsman agencies around the world, according to the results of a new survey by the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). Published Wednesday, the CCTS’ first public...

CRTC

CRTC rejects wholesale wireline policy review

telecom | 06/29/2016 5:49 pm EDT

The CRTC has denied three applications to review recent decisions relating to competitor access to infrastructure, according to notices posted on the regulator’s website on Wednesday. BCE Inc. had applied for review of last year’s wholesale high-speed access policy stemming from a review of wholesale wireline services...

Bell, MTS receive court approval for takeover

telecom | 06/29/2016 5:49 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have cleared yet another hurdle in their quest to combine, as the deal has now received court approval from the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, according to...

Bell Competition bureau CRTC

Videotron to begin offering gigabit service

telecom | 06/29/2016 3:31 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron said it will begin offering Internet download speeds of up to 940 Mbps to consumers and business costumers on July 13. The company said the roll out of its Hybrid Fibre Giga service, which will include unlimited data, will start in the Montreal-adjacent city of Laval, Que., and expand to the rest of its service area in the months following. Videotron began testing gigabit Internet service in Montreal last year. Videotron is following other companies that have recently upped their speed game: Groupe Maskatel LP announced its...

Internet Videotron

Telecom, media ‘safe haven’ after Brexit: Barclays

Media | 06/28/2016 9:46 pm EDT

Minimal exposure to the United Kingdom and Europe will leave the Canadian telecom and media industries relatively unscathed following the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union last week,...

Internet Ott Radio

CanCon review panel announcement draws mixed reaction

Media | 06/28/2016 9:19 pm EDT

Heritage Canada’s announcement of an expert advisory panel for its review of Canadian content in a digital age, which includes representatives from a number of broadcasters, was met with both praise and...

Cancon Cbc CRTC

Bains in favour of ‘private sector leadership’ on Internet governance

telecom | 06/27/2016 6:06 pm EDT

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told international counterparts at the OECD’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting that Canada “supports private sector leadership in the...

Internet

Shoan out as CRTC commissioner, appealing dismissal

telecom | 06/24/2016 8:08 pm EDT

In a “highly unusual” move, Raj Shoan, the CRTC commissioner representing Ontario, was removed from his post by the federal government on Friday, capping off a 14-month period of legal strife between Shoan and the...

Bell CRTC Fcc

OECD members commit to new digital initiatives

telecom | 06/24/2016 4:02 pm EDT

Ministers from 41 countries and the EU have committed to upholding certain initiatives to adjust to the new realities of a digital economy. Members at the OECD’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting held in Cancun, Mexico, vowed to “preserve an open Internet, close digital divides [and] promote digital skills,” according to a Thursday press release. The Ministerial Declaration includes commitments to increase access to broadband Internet, reduce barriers to investment in and adoption of digital tech, develop privacy and data protection strategies, encourage...

Internet Privacy Rural broadband

Intellectual property legislative changes cheered

telecom | 06/23/2016 9:00 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Changes to the country’s patent and trademark legislation will make it easier for Canadian companies to operate on a global stage, the head of an intellectual property professional organization...

Telus allowed to dismantle radio-phone service in B.C.

telecom | 06/23/2016 7:57 pm EDT

The CRTC has given Telus Corp. permission to get rid of its radio-phone service in British Columbia. Radio-phone service is used in remote areas without landlines, the CRTC noted in its...

CRTC Landline phones Telus

Shaw launches security service for small businesses

telecom | 06/23/2016 7:16 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. is now offering a network security service aimed at small and medium businesses. The company said in a press release Wednesday the SmartSecurity service will give businesses “the ability...

Internet Shaw

‘Separate silo’ approach to regulation wrong-footed in Internet age: report

telecom | 06/23/2016 7:08 pm EDT

Adjusting the existing legislation governing the telecommunications and broadcasting industries and putting more power in the hands of the CRTC could help address issues in Canada’s concentrated...

CRTC Internet Spectrum

MTS shareholders back Bell acquisition

telecom | 06/23/2016 4:25 pm EDT

The shareholders of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have nearly unanimously approved its acquisition by BCE Inc. Of the just over 43 million votes cast, 99.66 per cent were in favour of the acquisition, according to...

Bell Internet Iptv

Vice, V Media to launch French version of Viceland

telecom | 06/23/2016 4:17 pm EDT

Vice Media Inc. has teamed up with Groupe V Média Inc. to launch the Viceland TV channel in French Canada, the companies said in a Wednesday press release. The deal includes “the creation of a television...

Television

Mobile ads, music streaming to be a force in 2020: PwC

Media | 06/22/2016 9:31 pm EDT

Mobile advertising revenue and music streaming activity will see dramatic increases over the next four years, as technological innovation takes hold over traditional methods of media consumption,...

Advertising Internet Ott

Netflix hold on network traffic shrinks, but remains dominant: report

Media | 06/22/2016 8:58 pm EDT

Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service continued to lead peak period network traffic, but the percentage of traffic has declined since late 2015, according to a new Global Internet Phenomena...

Internet Netflix Ott

Impartiality, authority of CRTC chairman called into question in harassment review hearing

Media | 06/21/2016 11:19 pm EDT

TORONTO — A reasonable person could make the link between the comments that CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais made as a witness during a harassment investigation concerning a fellow commissioner and bias to his ultimate signing off on the finding of harassment, a federal court justice suggested Tuesday. Judge Russel Zinn pressed Gail Sinclair, the Canadian attorney general's representative, over her arguments that the investigation following a claim by a senior staff member...

CRTC

Axia looks south for fibre expansion

telecom | 06/21/2016 5:36 pm EDT

Axia NetMedia Corp. said it is looking to see if there is enough interest in the United States to extend its fibre network south. The Calgary-based company said in a Monday press release that it’s gathering...

Fibre optics Internet

SaskTel expands LTE network to reach nearly all residents

telecom | 06/21/2016 4:23 pm EDT

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is injecting $11.8 million to expand its LTE wireless network to include “nearly everyone in Saskatchewan.” “We anticipate that...

Sasktel Wireless

Bell mobile-TV appeal dismissed

Media | 06/20/2016 11:43 pm EDT

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the CRTC’s ban on BCE Inc.’s zero-rated mobile-TV plans, a year and a half after the commission ruled the company couldn’t exempt the service from data caps. In a...

Bell Net neutrality Ott

Wireless providers obligated to meet 911 standard: CRTC

telecom | 06/20/2016 9:09 pm EDT

All wireless service providers must provide the same basic level of 911 service, the CRTC said Monday. In a policy decision posted to its website, the regulator set out new rules stating that...

CRTC Wireless

Companies seeking injunction for Bell’s IPTV technology

telecom | 06/20/2016 9:08 pm EDT

Whether a patent encompasses technology used by BCE Inc.’s IPTV service will be a central issue as a patent case two-plus years in the making gets its date in court Tuesday. The Federal Court in Toronto was scheduled to hear the patent infringement case brought against Bell, and its Atlantic Canada arm Bell Aliant, by television providers MediaTube Corp. and NorthVu Inc. The statement of claim was initially filed on April 23, 2013. At issue is patent 477, which the plaintiffs allege to be theirs and under use by Bell in its IPTV products. The system...

Bell Bell aliant Copyright

Bell-MTS deal could pose regulatory risk for SaskTel: report

telecom | 06/20/2016 8:43 pm EDT

The biggest risk to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. in the wake of BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is the...

Bell Internet Mts

ISED puts hold on licensing non-geostationary satellite spectrum

telecom | 06/16/2016 7:52 pm EDT

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has put a moratorium on the licensing of satellite spectrum used by commercial non-geostationary satellites. It said in a notice on its...

Internet Spectrum

SCC decision backs Rogers, federal jurisdiction in telecom

telecom | 06/16/2016 5:39 pm EDT

A nearly nine-year spat between Rogers Communications Inc. and a Quebec municipality over the location of a wireless tower came to an end Thursday, with the Supreme Court of Canada handing the company...

Rogers Spectrum Wireless

Stingray Digital buys 4K TV channel

Media | 06/16/2016 5:24 pm EDT

Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired the Festival 4K television channel, which broadcasts live performances, including festivals, concerts and theatre productions, according to the press...

4k tv Music streaming Television

Broadcast licence renewal hearing set for November

telecom | 06/16/2016 3:56 pm EDT

The CRTC said Wednesday it will hold a public hearing to renew broadcast licences held by large ownership groups, including Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., Corus Entertainment...

Bell Corus CRTC

Club Illico announces 4K production

Media | 06/15/2016 4:56 pm EDT

Another Canadian company is joining the ultra-high-definition field, with Quebecor Inc. announcing its media division was producing its first 4K show. Videotron’s over-the-top (OTT) service Club Illico said in...

4k tv Internet Ott

Bernard Lord leaving CWTA

telecom | 06/15/2016 4:41 pm EDT

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) will be looking for a new president and CEO following the departure of Bernard Lord. As of Sept. 1, Lord, who has helmed the CWTA since the fall of 2008, will take on a new position as CEO of Medavie, the health company said in...

Wireless

Vancouver police should be transparent about stingrays: privacy advocates

telecom | 06/15/2016 4:22 pm EDT

A group of privacy and police accountability organizations is asking the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) to come clean about the use of stingrays after new information revealed the RCMP has been...

Privacy Wireless

Wall prefers SaskTel sale over public offering: report

telecom | 06/15/2016 4:04 pm EDT

Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall told reporters he would rather sell Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. than take the company public and sell shares on the open market, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Selling shares is what Manitoba did with Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in the 1990s, the article noted. Wall added he would hold a referendum in a sale scenario, and that he hasn’t received any takeover bids, Bloomberg said. Following the announcement that BCE Inc. wants to acquire MTS, SaskTel launched a third-party review....

Bell Internet Landline phones

CCSA president Alyson Townsend leaves post

telecom | 06/15/2016 3:26 pm EDT

Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) president and CEO Alyson Townsend has left the organization, vice-president of corporate and regulatory Chris Edwards confirmed Wednesday. Jenny Bosien, CCSA’s finance director,...

Cable Iptv Television

Tax, content requirements for foreign OTT not included in Heritage review

Media | 06/14/2016 10:08 pm EDT

When Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said “there will be no Netflix tax,” at the end of her department’s review of cultural institutions, that leaves both the taxation of...

Netflix Ott Television

CRTC partners with agencies in international effort to fight spam

telecom | 06/14/2016 10:06 pm EDT

The CRTC is partnering with 10 enforcement agencies from around the world to combat unlawful spam and unsolicited telecommunications. The regulator said in a press release Tuesday it signed...

CRTC

Innovation Agenda consultation to include digital infrastructure

telecom | 06/14/2016 9:12 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Creating an environment where Canada can compete in the digital world is a “key priority” for the government as it develops its much-touted Innovation Agenda, which...

CRTC Internet Rural broadband

U.S. court upholds FCC net neutrality rules

telecom | 06/14/2016 4:28 pm EDT

A U.S. appeals court has denied an industry appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. The court issued a decision Tuesday in favour of a framework the FCC imposed last year, which, among other stipulations, prevents Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking Internet traffic or giving priority to content from companies willing to pay to secure “fast lanes.” CTIA-The Wireless Association was among a number of U.S. industry groups challenging the rules in court. In a statement posted on the FCC...

Fcc Internet Net neutrality

Pre-loaded set-top boxes piracy, BDUs say as court orders temporary ban

Media | 06/13/2016 8:25 pm EDT

A trio of major telecom companies have received their first victory in a legal fight against companies selling set-top boxes allowing users to illegally access copyrighted material. On June 1, a...

Bell Copyright Ott

RCMP using ‘stingray’ tech for past decade: report

telecom | 06/10/2016 8:12 pm EDT

Newly released court documents suggest the RCMP have been using “stingray” surveillance technologies, or IMSI catchers, for at least 10 years, Motherboard and Vice News reported Friday....

Privacy Smartphones Wireless

ISPs should have to offer broadband to all, 71% of Canadians say

telecom | 06/10/2016 7:28 pm EDT

According to a new survey, 71 per cent of Canadians think the CRTC should force Internet service providers (ISPs) to build “the infrastructure necessary to ensure that every Canadian...

CRTC Internet Rural broadband

Telecom told it can’t name and shame subs with unpaid bills

telecom | 06/09/2016 8:25 pm EDT

The office of the privacy commissioner has forced a cable provider to censor the names of customers with overdue accounts it made public, according to an incident summary posted on its website...

Cable Privacy

Wearable adoption slow, app use declining: study

telecom | 06/09/2016 6:53 pm EDT

The adoption of wearable devices is sluggish in Canada, with only 10 per cent of Canadians indicating they own one, suggest the results of a new Catalyst study. “While the advent of wearables, particularly the Apple Watch,...

Apps Internet Wearables

Zero-rating hearing generational chance to end data caps: OpenMedia

telecom | 06/09/2016 5:21 pm EDT

Advocacy group OpenMedia is calling on the CRTC to end data caps, which it says are a result of a “broken telecom market,” ahead of a commission hearing on zero-rating. In a Tuesday press...

Internet Net neutrality

Privacy commish warns telecoms about transparency reporting, metadata

telecom | 06/09/2016 12:42 am EDT

TORONTO — Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien told a telecom industry audience Wednesday that companies should be prudent about the collection and use of metadata, and cautioned companies that...

Internet Privacy Smartphones

High-speed Internet project completed in NWT community

telecom | 06/08/2016 8:39 pm EDT

Broadband infrastructure improvements have been completed in the remote community of Nahanni Butte, N.W.T., the federal government said in a Wednesday press release. The project to replace a...

Internet Rural broadband Wireless

Shaw readies for network enhancements with price hike

telecom | 06/08/2016 7:48 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. will raise its rates starting Aug. 1, which will affect “select residential Internet, TV and phone plans,” the company said in a customer bulletin posted to its website. “Customers can expect to see a rate adjustment of [up to $5] for television, approximately $2-$3 for Internet and $1 for phone services depending on the services they subscribe to," Chethan Lakshman, Shaw’s vice-president of public relations and corporate communications, said in an email statement Wednesday. Shaw said it will notify customers in advance...

Internet Landline phones Shaw

Corus CFO Tom Peddie retiring, Telus’ John Gossling coming on

telecom | 06/08/2016 6:20 pm EDT

Tom Peddie, Corus Entertainment Inc.’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, has announced his retirement, the company said Wednesday. Peddie’s retirement, which is effective at the end of August, comes after 17 years with the company. “Tom is a very talented finance executive and...

Videotron’s Brouillette asks Liberals to keep 4th player policy for 600 MHz

telecom | 06/08/2016 6:20 pm EDT

TORONTO — The Liberal government should continue the previous Conservative government’s push for more competition in the wireless market in the upcoming 600 MHz auction, Manon Brouillette,...

CRTC Internet Spectrum

CRTC considers regulations after lost telephone service case

telecom | 06/08/2016 6:00 pm EDT

The CRTC said it might consider preventative regulations after a dispute involving two phone service providers resulted in lost telephone service for 27,000 Canadian phone number holders. On Jan. 15,...

Internet Landline phones Smartphones

Proxy advisors, Manitoba gov’t back Bell-MTS deal

telecom | 06/08/2016 5:50 pm EDT

An independent proxy advisory company has backed the takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc., MTS said in a Tuesday press release. International Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending...

Bell Internet Iptv

Industry execs blast Quebec Internet-blocking, call for CRTC involvement

Media | 06/08/2016 12:29 am EDT

TORONTO — Executives from Canada’s telecom companies took aim at a new bill by the Quebec government that would force Internet service providers (ISPs) to block some gambling websites Tuesday, saying the CRTC should take action on the issue. During a panel discussion at the Canadian Telecom Summit Tuesday, Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Telus Corp., said the Bill 74 measure to block certain gambling websites is “about as offensive to the net...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

Cogeco Connexion brings FTTH to Laurentides

telecom | 06/08/2016 12:13 am EDT

Cogeco Inc. announced it is making a $1.4-million investment in the Laurentides region of Quebec to expand its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network. In a Monday press release, Cogeco Connexion said the expansion would...

Cogeco FTTP/FTTH Internet

Xplornet goes national with VoIP home phone service

telecom | 06/08/2016 12:09 am EDT

Xplornet Communications Inc. said Tuesday it was introducing a new national home phone service, using voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) to reach rural Canadians. The $20-per-month service is a...

Internet Landline phones

MTS customers fear bill increases, unlimited data loss under Bell: poll

Media | 06/07/2016 6:48 pm EDT

Current Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. customers are concerned about the future of their bills if the proposed takeover by BCE Inc. is approved, suggest the results of a new poll...

Bell Internet Mts

Internet traffic in Canada to nearly triple by 2020: Cisco

telecom | 06/07/2016 6:47 pm EDT

Data released Tuesday by Cisco Systems Inc. shows Canadian Internet protocol (IP) traffic will double, and overall Internet traffic will nearly triple by 2020, aided by an increase in new...

Internet Iot Smartphones

Bell Media picks programmatic ad partner

Media | 06/07/2016 6:11 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has selected the New York-based Videology Inc. to provide software for its programmatic, or automated, TV and video advertising operation. According to the release, Videology’s technology will “look at...

Advertising Bell Television

Maskatel rolls out gigabit speed Internet in 3 Quebec towns

telecom | 06/07/2016 5:23 pm EDT

Groupe Maskatel LP announced Monday it was launching gigabit Internet in Saint-Guillaume and parts of Drummondville and Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., this summer. The three communities will...

Internet

Bernier calls for end of ‘control-freak’ CRTC’s role as telecom regulator

telecom | 06/07/2016 4:01 pm EDT

TORONTO — Conservative MP Maxime Bernier took aim at the CRTC and the previous government’s telecom and wireless policies Tuesday, calling for the commission to be phased out as a telecom regulator and the wireless sector to be opened to foreign competition. “As the industry evolves, the CRTC finds new...

Rogers offering gigabit Internet in Moncton

telecom | 06/07/2016 3:49 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday that its gigabit Internet is now available in neighbourhoods across Greater Moncton, N.B. “Increasing our digital infrastructure will help ensure businesses have the tools...

Internet Rogers

FCC’s Pai gives advice to CRTC on low-income Internet subsidies

telecom | 06/07/2016 12:05 am EDT

TORONTO — Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Ajit Pai said that if the CRTC establishes an income subsidy program for broadband, it should ensure the program has transparency, accountability and enforcement mechanisms. Speaking at the Canadian Telecom Summit conference Monday, Pai said the FCC’s Lifeline program, which provides subsidies for low-income individuals, has been subject “to a tremendous amount of waste, fraud and abuse.”...

CRTC Fcc Internet