Bell announces Amazing Race exclusive for Fibe customers

Media | 08/31/2015 6:04 pm EDT

BCE Inc. said Monday that Fibe TV customers will have exclusive access to a spinoff series of The Amazing Race Canada. It said in a press release that The Amazing Race Canada Auditions will be...

Android Wear now compatible with iPhones

Media | 08/31/2015 4:54 pm EDT

Google Inc. said Monday that its Android Wear operating system for smartwatches can now work with Apple Inc.'s iPhones. Google said in a blog that LG Corp.'s Watch Urbane is the first device the iPhone-compliant version...

‘Wireless’ concept extends to charging

Media | 08/28/2015 6:49 pm EDT

Wireless charging creates advantages beyond not having to use cords when refuelling mobile devices with electricity, according one British researcher, though a Canadian technology expert says widespread adoption of such technology is far from certain. James Moar, a research analyst with Juniper Research Ltd. in the United Kingdom, said in a phone...

CenturyLink funded to expand rural Internet in U.S.

telecom | 08/28/2015 6:22 pm EDT

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday it will provide funding of about $506 million US a year to CenturyLink Inc. to deliver broadband Internet service to rural parts of the United States. The...

Bell, Telus only winners in residual spectrum auction

telecom | 08/27/2015 10:19 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. were the only companies that successfully bid for wireless spectrum in an auction that finished Thursday for licences that went unsold in previous competitions. Bell and Telus split the available AWS-3 licences, while the residual 700 MHz spectrum that was up for grabs went unsold — again. Telus spent $58.3 million on six licences covering Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while Bell is on the hook for $206,063 for nine licences in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut. The three unsold 700 MHz licences in this auction were all in the North. The...

Net-neutrality advocates cry foul over Videotron music service

Media | 08/27/2015 8:15 pm EDT

MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is giving itself an undue preference with a new service that allows its mobile customers to listen to music streaming without it counting against their...

Sprint offers free service to DirecTV customers

telecom | 08/27/2015 7:21 pm EDT

U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. is offering free service to customers of DirecTV, the satellite-TV provider that was recently purchased by AT&T, a competitor to Sprint in the mobile market. Sprint said in a press release...

Former Bell employee accused of insider trading

telecom | 08/27/2015 6:13 pm EDT

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Quebec’s financial market regulator, said Thursday that it has uncovered an illegal insider-trading scheme involving a former BCE Inc. employee that allowed this...

Corus channels permitted to end CBC affiliation

Media | 08/27/2015 4:13 pm EDT

Two Corus Entertainment Inc. television stations in Ontario have been permitted by the CRTC to disaffiliate themselves from CBC/Radio-Canada and instead operate with programming provided by BCE Inc.'s CTV network, starting...

Cogeco creates new Internet plans for Ont. community

telecom | 08/27/2015 3:19 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. announced Thursday that new residential and business Internet packages are now available in Lindsay, Ont. Both of the residential plans for Lindsay — a 130-kilometre drive northeast of downtown Toronto...

Harper promises $200M for fibre-based rural Internet

telecom | 08/27/2015 1:35 pm EDT

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday that, if re-elected, he will put another $200 million into fibre-based infrastructure for rural and remote locations currently lacking high-speed Internet. “Quite simply, there...

Bell Aliant jobs being outsourced to India: union

telecom | 08/26/2015 8:37 pm EDT

Jobs with BCE Inc.’s Bell Aliant operations in Atlantic Canada are being outsourced to India despite a commitment from Bell when it took full control of Aliant's operations last year to protect these jobs, according to a...

CRTC approves 2 radio acquisitions

telecom | 08/26/2015 4:46 pm EDT

The CRTC on Wednesday approved two separate applications for radio station acquisitions from Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Ltd. in Grand Prairie, Alta., and Media ClassiQ Inc. in Montreal and Quebec City. The regulator approved...

Smartphone shipments growth to slow, tablets to decline further: IDC

Media | 08/26/2015 3:24 pm EDT

New reports from International Data Corp. indicate that smartphone shipments will still grow but slow down from its previous expectations, while tablet shipments are expected to decline further than previously thought this year. IDC said Tuesday in one press release that smartphone shipments are expected to grow 10.4 per cent in 2015 to 1.44 billion units, lower than the previous expectation it had for an 11.3 per cent increase. IDC said this is largely the result of the sales growth in China...

Court rules against Videotron in Internet-cap lawsuit

telecom | 08/25/2015 8:16 pm EDT

The Superior Court of Quebec has ruled against Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron in a class action lawsuit over usage caps Videotron imposed on what it had billed as unlimited Internet plans. Quebec's Union des consommateurs...

CBS, Cablevision carriage agreement features streaming

Media | 08/25/2015 7:55 pm EDT

CBS Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. announced on Tuesday that CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services will be delivered to Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers as part of a...

Experts question feasibility of low-orbit satellites for Internet

telecom | 08/25/2015 7:24 pm EDT

Some of the world’s most well-known investors, including Richard Branson and Elon Musk, are betting that new projects that involve putting thousands of satellites into low orbit will bring the...

Videotron to launch new music service

telecom | 08/25/2015 3:17 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Tuesday it will be launching a new music service later this week. It said in a news release that a service called Unlimited Music will be “a Canadian first in mobile...

Privacy commish investigates Ashley Madison breach

Media | 08/24/2015 8:18 pm EDT

The federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner has started an investigation into a data breach of customers of Ashley Madison, the website that helps married people have affairs. Valerie Lawton, a spokeswoman for the privacy commissioner, said in an email that it has been in contact with the Toronto-based parent company of Ashley Madison, Avid Life Media Inc., to attempt to determine how the data breach occurred. Reports indicate a hacker group was able to leak data containing the information of millions of the website's customers. "Given that the company is based in Canada, and...

Instagram users more tech savvy: MTM

Media | 08/24/2015 5:56 pm EDT

A new report released Monday from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) says 85 per cent of Canadian users of Facebook Inc.’s photo and video-sharing app, Instagram, are younger than 50 and most are prone to owning new technology....

Internet transaction volume to rise 60% by 2018: Juniper

Media | 08/24/2015 2:48 pm EDT

Worldwide transactions using devices connected to the Internet will reach 125 billion annually in volume by 2018, a gain of 60 per cent over what's expected this year, Juniper Research Ltd. said...

Telus launches Business Connect in Quebec

telecom | 08/24/2015 2:00 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said Monday that it has launched in Quebec a service called Business Connect, an advanced cloud-communications business service, in partnership with RingCentral Inc. It said in a press release that the service was...

Oil decline could affect Shaw, Telus: analyst

Media | 08/24/2015 1:35 pm EDT

The plunge in oil prices could end up hurting telecommunications service providers like Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., which have a high proportion of their business operations in Alberta, according to a Bay Street...

Global smartphone sales growth slows

Media | 08/21/2015 7:17 pm EDT

Worldwide smartphone sales in this year's second quarter grew at their slowest rate since 2013, largely as a result of the first year-to-year decline on record for sales of smartphones in China, Gartner Inc. said Thursday....

Quebecor shuts down Zik music service

Media | 08/21/2015 6:17 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc. on Friday announced it has shut down its Zik music-streaming service, citing a pattern of consolidation in global industry for online music. "Despite the efforts of many independent sites around the world, many...

Wearables creating more data-driven workplace

Media | 08/21/2015 5:46 pm EDT

Wearables and tracking tags are being used more frequently in a wider variety of workplaces to collect statistics on employee productivity, health and satisfaction — tracking the performance of professional athletes, helping...

Radio licences renewed, musical amendments denied

Media | 08/21/2015 4:53 pm EDT

Two Alberta radio stations were granted licence renewals by the CRTC Friday, though both were denied requested changes to the makeup of the music they play. Harvard Broadcasting Inc.'s CKEA-FM in Edmonton was granted a...

Shomi’s open access doesn’t equal white flag for TV services: expert

Media | 08/20/2015 8:21 pm EDT

As of Thursday, any Canadian with Internet was able subscribe to Shomi without being a customer of other services from its owners, Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., though one industry observer said this does not mean these companies have given up on their TV services. Shomi announced Thursday in a press release that it is now available to all Canadians over the Internet. It's something that Shomi had already announced would happen some time this summer. Access to the service was previously restricted to those who subscribed to either TV or Internet service from Rogers or Shaw. "Today is an epic day for Canadian entertainment lovers as we deliver on the...

Cogeco’s U.S. footprint expands

telecom | 08/20/2015 4:36 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. said Thursday that its Atlantic Broadband subsidiary in the United States has closed its acquisition for the cable assets of MetroCast Communications of Connecticut from Harron Communications LP. The deal was announced in June for a price of $200 million US. Cogeco on Thursday reiterated in a press release that the acquisition gives...

Ontera approved for higher subsidies

telecom | 08/20/2015 3:57 pm EDT

The CRTC said Thursday it is has approved an application from BCE Inc.-owned Ontera to receive higher subsidies for serving high-cost areas, due to a change in its tax status. In an application made earlier this year, the phone-...

Gerry Vanderpost joins Distributel as CFO

telecom | 08/20/2015 3:08 pm EDT

Distributel Communications Ltd. on Thursday announced that it has hired Gerry Vanderpost as its chief financial officer. Vanderpost had been vice-president of financial at Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc., and joined...

Kik gets $50M US investment from Chinese company

Media | 08/19/2015 4:03 pm EDT

Canadian chat-app maker Kik Interactive Inc. said Tuesday that it has received a $50-million US investment from China's Tencent Holdings Ltd., maker of WeChat messaging app. Kik CEO Ted Livingston said in a blog post on the...

CRTC updates BDU requirements for ‘local availabilities’

Media | 08/19/2015 3:52 pm EDT

The CRTC indicated Wednesday that it has updated its policy regarding how TV service providers must use time allotted to them for promotional content on U.S. channels, otherwise known as "local availabilities." As the commission indicated it would do in March, as it revealed new regulations for video-on-demand services, the CRTC said in an online posting that 75 per cent of local availabilities each day must be provided to licensed Canadian channels "in an equitable manner and on a cost-recovery basis, to promote first-run, original Canadian programs." The CRTC said in its decision Wednesday that remaining 25 per cent of local availabilities can be used by the service...

As OTA leaves 600 MHz, stations set for ‘difficult transition’: expert

Media | 08/18/2015 8:34 pm EDT

Industry Canada will repurpose the 600 MHz spectrum band for mobile use and collaborate with the United States on the move, which means at least some over-the-air (OTA) television stations will have...

Vertical integration helps Canadian TV sector transition: analyst

Media | 08/18/2015 7:28 pm EDT

The tendency of major players in Canada's television industry to be involved in both content and distribution is helping the sector deal better with issues such as cord cutting and a declining...

Google releases new WiFi router

telecom | 08/18/2015 6:10 pm EDT

Google Inc., in partnership with TP-LINK Technologies Co. Ltd., announced Tuesday it is launching a new WiFi router that it says will provide faster and more efficient Internet connections. OnHub, the router that looks like a...

Shaw to stop offering old wholesale plans to new customers

telecom | 08/17/2015 6:46 pm EDT

The CRTC said Shaw Communications Inc. can stop offering four of its Internet plans to new wholesale customers. The decision, issued Monday, affects Shaw’s High Speed 10, Extreme Speed,...

More retailers join lawsuit against Bell: report

telecom | 08/17/2015 2:15 pm EDT

A lawsuit against BCE Inc.'s wireless unit by independent retailers has been expanded to include more companies, the Globe and Mail reported Monday. An article published online Sunday said Bell Mobility is being sued by what...

Braille smartwatch in development to give blind another option

Media | 08/14/2015 7:16 pm EDT

A South Korean company is aiming to provide blind people with the first-ever braille-display smartwatch this year, and a representative from the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB) says it...

Apple television service delayed: report

Media | 08/14/2015 4:57 pm EDT

Apple Inc.'s plans to offer live Internet-based television to residents of the United States have been delayed, said a report from Bloomberg on Friday. An article said sources have indicated talks are progressing slowly...

CRTC clarifies rules for suspension of wireless service

telecom | 08/14/2015 3:56 pm EDT

The CRTC on Friday clarified procedures carriers must follow when suspending the accounts of wireless customers in terms of the warnings that must be given. The commission said in an online posting...

Government approves all spectrum-auction applicants

telecom | 08/14/2015 2:20 pm EDT

Industry Canada has approved all six companies applying to take part in this month's residual spectrum auction, which deals with licences that went unsold in last year's 700 MHz sale and this year's AWS-3 auction. The federal department indicated on its website Thursday that BCE Inc., Telus Corp., Rogers Communications Inc., Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. and SSi Micro Ltd. are all considered qualified bidders for the sealed-bid auction that starts Aug. 25, with results due two days later. All six companies were identified as...

Bell to launch ‘fastest mobile technology’ in North America

telecom | 08/13/2015 8:13 pm EDT

BCE Inc. said Thursday that it's set to launch what it calls Tri-band LTE Advanced technology in some Canadian cities, which it says will be "the fastest mobile technology available" in North America. Bell said in a press release that this grade of network will be available in Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville,...

More small BDUs sanctioned with CRTC denial

Media | 08/13/2015 3:35 pm EDT

The CRTC has given two more companies permission to provide television services to small audiences, even though it has technically denied their applications for licences. The commission said Thursday it has rejected an...

Bell says non-refundable monthly payments are OK

telecom | 08/13/2015 2:15 pm EDT

BCE Inc. says in a filing with the CRTC that it is not violating regulations by requiring customers to pay for various services by the month in advance and not providing partial refunds if subscriptions are ended before the...

Uniserve confirms plans for IPTV service

Media | 08/12/2015 6:53 pm EDT

Uniserve Communications Corp. on Wednesday made note of a decision from the CRTC last month that set the stage for it and Atop Broadband Corp. to provide television-distribution services in British Columbia under a new exemption...

All incumbents sign up for next spectrum auction

telecom | 08/12/2015 4:34 pm EDT

Canada's three national wireless carriers and regional players have applied to be part of the next spectrum auction, one intended to deal with licences that went unsold in this year's AWS-3 auction and last year's sale of 700 MHz spectrum. A posting on Industry Canada's website, dated for Tuesday, showed BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. as applicants for the auction, which is scheduled to start Aug. 25. Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. and northern Internet service provider SSi Micro Ltd. were also listed....

OUTtv accuses Bell of undue preference

Media | 08/12/2015 4:05 pm EDT

OUTtv Network Inc. has accused BCE Inc. of an undue preference toward its company in a complaint that appeared on the CRTC's website Wednesday. The LGBT-oriented specialty channel said in a letter to the CRTC that it was...

Cord-cutting accelerated in first half of 2015: report

telecom | 08/12/2015 2:37 pm EDT

A report from Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. released Wednesday said Canada's publicly traded TV-service providers lost six times as many subscribers in the first half of 2015 than in the...

Quadruple screening on rise in English Canada: MTM

Media | 08/12/2015 1:33 pm EDT

A report released Wednesday shows that 27 per cent of anglophone Canadians surveyed have four different screens that connect to the Internet — a computer, smartphone, tablet and television. The study, from...

Videotron 4K box seen as cord-cutting prevention

Media | 08/11/2015 8:58 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Tuesday it will be releasing an ultra-high-definition (UHD) set-top-box for its customers, making it the first Canadian telecom provider to commercially release such technology. Videotron...

CNOC fights Eastlink on wholesale prices

telecom | 08/11/2015 6:58 pm EDT

The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), representing independent Internet service providers, has asked the CRTC to prevent Eastlink from changing the way it calculates wholesales costs for use of its network. CNOC said...

Canadian company plans niche OTT channels

Media | 08/11/2015 3:47 pm EDT

Toronto-based TableRock Media announced on Tuesday plans to launch niche Internet-based video channels for worldwide distribution, starting next year. The company said in a press release that it would create channels dedicated to...

Sprint provides free roaming in Canada, Mexico

telecom | 08/11/2015 2:45 pm EDT

U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. announced Monday free roaming in Canada, Mexico and other countries. Sprint said in a press release that under its Free Open World program, which customers can access at no additional cost,...

Netflix customers should voluntarily pay sales tax: report

Media | 08/10/2015 6:48 pm EDT

Canadian customers of Netflix Inc. are theoretically obliged to pay sales taxes on this service, even though Netflix does not collect the tax up front, the Toronto Star quoted a federal official as...

Darren Entwistle as Telus CEO is ‘less complicated’: analyst

telecom | 08/10/2015 6:18 pm EDT

After a little more than one year on the job, Telus Corp. announced Monday that Joe Natale has stepped down as president and CEO, and has been replaced by Darren Entwistle, who was Natale's predecessor in this job and has been the company's executive chairman ever since the previous changeover. In a press release, Telus listed Natale's reluctance to move to Western Canada for family reasons as a reason for the change, and said the decision was made following an "extensive review" by Telus' board of directors that concluded late Friday. Telus said that "the board determined that the company would be best served by having its chief executive officer reside in...

NFL granted status in Bell simsub case

Media | 08/10/2015 5:42 pm EDT

The Federal Court of Appeal has approved the National Football League as an intervener in the appeal BCE Inc. has made against the CRTC's decision to ban simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl, starting in 2017. An...

Bell launches gigabit Internet in Ont., Que.

telecom | 08/10/2015 1:44 pm EDT

BCE Inc. announced Monday it has completed the first phase of launching its Gigabit Fibe Internet service, which is now available to about 1.3 million homes across Quebec and Ontario. Bell said in the release that the new service...

CRTC denies 2 radio transmitter applications for Vancouver

telecom | 08/07/2015 4:00 pm EDT

The CRTC on Friday denied two separate applications requesting to add FM rebroadcasting transmitters in Vancouver for better radio transmission quality from Four Senses Entertainment Inc....

Data revenue bolsters Telus numbers

telecom | 08/07/2015 1:56 pm EDT

Telus Corp. on Friday reported a 5.1 per cent year-to-year revenue gain in its second quarter, boosted by more data-generated cash from both its wireless and wireline operations. The company said in a press release that operating...

Bell mobile-TV opponents call it OTT service

Media | 08/06/2015 8:36 pm EDT

Individuals fighting BCE Inc.’s appeal of a CRTC decision on its mobile-TV service in the Federal Court of Appeal have called it an “over-the-top” or OTT service, along the same lines of what Netflix Inc. offers. Ben Klass, David Ellis and Fenwick McKelvey made the categorization in a filing this week that argues why Bell should not be allowed to offer such a service to its mobile customers that bypasses regular data charges for a fee of $5 month, as the CRTC ruled in January. The filing argued that Bell was giving its own service an undue advantage with this...

CRTC’s hybrid-VOD category takes effect

Media | 08/06/2015 8:02 pm EDT

The CRTC on Thursday released final rules for a new category of video-on-demand (VOD) services in which operators can avoid regular broadcast regulations, even if the service is offered through a broadcast-distribution...

FCC expands unlicensed use of spectrum

telecom | 08/06/2015 7:27 pm EDT

The FCC announced Thursday it is adopting new rules to accommodate unlicensed use of devices in the 600 MHz spectrum bandwidth and TV broadcast bands, while protecting interruptions or interference it may cause with licensed TV...

Bell gigabit service to launch Monday

Media | 08/06/2015 2:52 pm EDT

BCE Inc. said Thursday that its gigabit Internet service will launch Monday for 1.3 million households in Ontario and Quebec. It added that it will be available to households in Atlantic Canada by the end of September, resulting...

Apple cuts off Wind’s iPhone supply: report

telecom | 08/05/2015 5:01 pm EDT

Apple Inc. has told Ingram Micro Inc. to stop selling used iPhones to Wind Mobile for distribution to the carriers' customers, the Globe and Mail reported. An article appearing online Tuesday night said Apple told Ingram, which distributes Apple products in Canada, that providing iPhones to Wind was a breach of the agreement between Apple and...

5G revenue predicted to surge between 2020 and 2025

Media | 08/05/2015 4:05 pm EDT

Global service revenue from 5G wireless connections will skyrocket from $100 million US in 2020 to $65 billion US in 2025, Juniper Research Ltd. said Wednesday. The British research company said in a press release that 2020 is...

Bell denied application to stop Fibernetics payments

telecom | 08/04/2015 4:26 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has been denied an application for relief on making "traffic imbalance payments" to Fibernetics Corp., a smaller provider of home-phone services. In its decision released Tuesday, the CRTC referred to...

CNOC protests wholesale-wireless ruling

telecom | 08/04/2015 3:21 pm EDT

The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) has filed an application that seeks to alter aspects of the CRTC's ruling this year on the wholesale-wireless market, specifically the lack of new regulations regarding mobile...

Wind sells Manitoba, Sask. AWS spectrum

telecom | 07/31/2015 7:37 pm EDT

Wind Mobile has sold its AWS spectrum in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., stating the company plans to focus on the Ontario, B.C. and Alberta...

CCTS orders Brama Telecom to refund customer after overbilling

telecom | 07/31/2015 7:25 pm EDT

The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) issued a decision Friday regarding a complaint made against Brama Telecom Inc., a Toronto-based company that provides wireless, Internet and TV services. CCTS said in the release that it ordered Brama to refund one of its customers after billing them eight times for its monthly service fees instead of twice. CCTS had also said in the release that Brama had made similar errors on two separate occasions, over charging customers for its services. CCTS had recommended that Brama “compensate the customer for the amount...

NFL says CRTC gave no notice Super Bowl SimSub was on the table

Media | 07/31/2015 5:58 pm EDT

The National Football League (NFL) said in court documents Tuesday that it did not participate in the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV review because the regulator did not give notice that it was...

Quebecor Q2 revenue increases from last year

telecom | 07/30/2015 9:08 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc. reported Thursday in its quarterly results a revenue increase, with $960.9 million in revenues, up from $893 million the previous year. President and CEO Pierre Dion said in the release the revenue increase was...

Federal government funds Internet upgrades in Man., N.B., Que.

telecom | 07/30/2015 4:52 pm EDT

Industry Canada announced it will provide funds to bring high-speed Internet services to homes in Manitoba, Quebec and New Brunswick. It said in a press release Wednesday that it would be providing...

MTS revenue, profits down

telecom | 07/30/2015 2:56 pm EDT

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. announced in its quarterly results a decrease in revenues, which totalled $398.3 million, compared to $403.3 the previous year. Net income was $10.4 million for the three months ending June 30, down from $28.8 million for the same period a year earlier. The...

Big carriers defend interim tariff terms

telecom | 07/29/2015 8:39 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. took issue with a complaint by small wireless carriers that their interim tariffs include “onerous” terms and conditions, arguing the Telecommunications Act requires tariffs to include detailed terms.   Telus said in its reply, dated Monday, that legislation specifies “the full terms and conditions whereby a regulated service will be made available must be set out in a tariff, meaning that the position of the [small carriers] as to what is to be included in the wireless carriers’ respective tariffs is contrary...

Federal government funding Internet service boost in N.L.

telecom | 07/28/2015 8:58 pm EDT

Industry Canada announced Monday in a press release it is funding high-speed Internet services for over 820 homes and 14 communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. It said that the federal government...

Shomi marketed directly to 7 BDUs, Rogers and Shaw say

telecom | 07/28/2015 8:17 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. told the CRTC that their streaming service, Shomi, became available to other telecoms the day it launched, and that the company reached out to...

Are ‘hybrid’ streaming services the future of TV?

Media | 07/27/2015 9:18 pm EDT

Streaming is often perceived as a competitor to the traditional TV system, but the introduction of a new service in the U.S. raises the possibility that instead of one replacing the other, the two could merge into a new hybrid...

Analyst Glen Campbell joins Wind

telecom | 07/27/2015 7:03 pm EDT

Wind Mobile has named a telecom analyst as its new chief commercial officer. Glen Campbell was previously head of Canada equity research and global coordinator for telecom services research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the...

CRTC denies bulk of Shaw’s request to reconsider wholesale rates

telecom | 07/27/2015 6:43 pm EDT

The CRTC has allowed Shaw Communications Inc. to raise the wholesale prices of one of its services, but denied most of the company’s application to reconsider the wholesale rates previously set...

CRTC extends deadline in French-language music review

telecom | 07/27/2015 6:00 pm EDT

The CRTC has extended the deadline in its review of the rules for French-language vocal music on the radio from Sept. 3 to Sept. 14. The regulator announced last week the review would re-examine the current framework in order...

Videotron testing gigabit Internet service

telecom | 07/27/2015 3:54 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron division has been testing a new gigabit Internet service in Montreal in a pilot project, the company said in a press release Monday. “Testing of the new service, which supports speeds of...

Northwestel to dismantle last of radio-phone service

telecom | 07/24/2015 8:29 pm EDT

Northwestel Inc. has been given permission to dismantle its "manual mobile service" sites in the last six locations where it still offers the service, effective October 31. The CRTC approved the request to end the...

CRTC postpones deadlines for CCTS review

telecom | 07/24/2015 7:43 pm EDT

The CRTC has pushed back the deadline for interventions in its review of the structure and mandate of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). The deadline for interventions has been moved from Aug. 4 to August 25. A public hearing will begin on Nov. 3, the regulator announced last month....

Government funds Internet network boost in Ontario, Sask.

telecom | 07/24/2015 7:13 pm EDT

Industry Canada announced this week in three press releases it is providing $3.15 million as part of a process to expand and improve Internet service to 11,000 homes in Southwestern Ontario, and...

FCC approves AT&T, DirecTV merger

telecom | 07/24/2015 7:11 pm EDT

The FCC announced Friday it has approved the merger of AT&T and cable- and satellite-TV provider DirecTV. FCC said in a press release that the terms of the merger between the largest U.S. telephone and Internet service...

New CRTC wholesale rules won’t change telco FTTH strategies: analysts

telecom | 07/23/2015 8:59 pm EDT

A day after the CRTC said it would mandate wholesale access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks by small ISPs, financial analysts said the move likely won’t have a significant impact on...

Rogers Q2 revenues up

Media | 07/23/2015 7:50 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said in its quarterly results that its revenues grew six per cent over the past year, from $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. “Wireless revenue increased as a result of greater smartphone sales, higher network revenue from the continued growth in data use by our...

CRTC calls for comments on simsub regulations

telecom | 07/23/2015 6:51 pm EDT

The CRTC is calling for comments regarding simultaneous substitution regulations. The regulator said in a notice of consultation Thursday that the comments would will help implement the policies it already made as part of its Let's Talk TV review. In January, the CRTC said it would prohibit the use of simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl, but would otherwise keep the practice in place. BCE Inc. is currently challenging that decision in court. Comments must be submitted by Sept. 11.  ...

CRTC consulting on ‘illegitimate’ telemarketing

telecom | 07/23/2015 4:57 pm EDT

The CRTC announced Thursday the launch of a public consultation on unsolicited telecommunications and illegitimate telemarketing calls. The commission said in a release that public information gathered from the consultation will be used to help develop guidelines for Canadians to manage and reduce unwanted calls and to...

‘Good day’ for small ISPs as CRTC mandates FTTH access

telecom | 07/22/2015 8:09 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — Small ISPs and advocacy groups praised a move by the CRTC Wednesday mandating wholesale access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks and allowing small Internet service providers...

Unions criticize Senate report on CBC

Media | 07/22/2015 4:37 pm EDT

The National Communications Federation (FNC-CSN) and the union representing Radio-Canada employees are criticising a recent report on the future of the CBC/Radio-Canada issued by the Senate’s transport and communications...

BlackBerry to buy AtHoc

Media | 07/22/2015 3:04 pm EDT

BlackBerry Inc. announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire AtHoc Inc., a software provider for secure networked crisis communication. The new platform will be integrated with BlackBerry’s existing secure system and will offer its enterprise customers safe, secure and mission-critical...

Canadian millennials most active on mobile devices: study

Media | 07/21/2015 9:05 pm EDT

Canadian millennials are more active on mobile devices than other demographics, while Canadians aged 35 and above still slightly prefer using a desktop, according to the new global mobile report by...

Rogers deploys spectrum it bought from Shaw

telecom | 07/21/2015 8:48 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday that it is now using the AWS spectrum it purchased from Shaw Communications Inc. a month ago. The company said in a press release that the deployment is allowing Rogers to double the speed...

TekSavvy files appeal for cost order in Voltage case

Media | 07/21/2015 4:40 pm EDT

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is appealing a cost award in a dispute over filesharing with Voltage Pictures LLC. TekSavvy initially said it would appeal the order in March, following a court decision that set the price Voltage must pay...

CRTC sets new rules for montoring children’s programming

Media | 07/21/2015 4:08 pm EDT

New rules for monitoring Canadian children’s and youth television programming have been put forward by the CRTC. The commission said Tuesday in a press release that beginning Sept. 1 television licensees must record and log their program target audience, as well report program expenses based on their target audience...

CBC should ‘explore alternative funding models’: Senate committee

Media | 07/20/2015 9:32 pm EDT

The Senate's transport and communications standing committee is recommending that CBC/Radio-Canada “explore alternative funding models and additional ways to generate revenue to minimize the Corporation’s dependence on government appropriations.” The committee issued a report Monday following a study it held into the future of Canada’s public broadcaster, which heard witnesses from the CBC, including president Hubert Lacroix, representatives from the...