TAGGED AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

New FCC rules create Internet ‘fast lanes’

Media | 04/24/2014 4:39 pm EDT

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday proposed new net-neutrality rules that would allow Internet service providers to charge content providers for faster and more reliable connections to end users. Under the proposed rules, ISPs would be allowed to charge a “commercially reasonable” fee to content providers, such as streaming services, that pay to maintain acceptable flows of traffic over the ISP’s network, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a blog on the commission’s website. The FCC has the power to determine what is and isn’t commercially reasonable, and to prevent “unjust discrimination,” Wheeler said. He denied that the changes would result in price increases for consumers and cited “misinformation” in media...

Verizon numbers up on wireless growth

telecom | 04/24/2014 3:05 pm EDT

Verizon Communications Inc. said earnings and revenue were up in the first quarter largely on strength from the wireless side of the business. The company’s financial figures released Thursday showed revenue was up 4.8 per cent from a year earlier to $30.82 billion US for the three months ended March 31. Net income was $6 billion US for that period, up from $4.86 billion US a year earlier. Verizon said in a press release the results included the impact of taking full ownership of Verizon Wireless in February. Wireless revenue for the quarter was $20.88 billion US, a gain of 6.9 per...

Internet Landline phones Television

AT&T reports fastest revenue growth in years

telecom | 04/23/2014 8:25 pm EDT

AT&T on Tuesday said its first quarter featured its strongest year-to-year revenue growth in more than two years. The U.S. telecommunications company said in a press release that revenue in the three months ended March 31 was...

Internet Landline phones Tablets

U.S. watchdog approves Facebook purchase of Oculus

Media | 04/23/2014 7:31 pm EDT

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Facebook Inc. has been given the go-ahead to purchase virtual-reality technology maker Oculus VR Inc. Facebook announced its intention last month to buy the company, which is...

Facebook Wearables

Rogers’ Phil Lind to retire at year’s end

Media | 04/22/2014 8:41 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Phil Lind, the company’s executive vice-president of regulatory affairs, is retiring after this year. In an email to The Wire Report, Rogers spokeswoman Jennifer Kett said Lind has been with...

Cable Internet Rogers

SaskTel expands fixed wireless LTE

telecom | 04/22/2014 8:41 pm EDT

SaskTel is making its fixed-wireless, fourth-generation LTE service available on its remaining 43 wireless broadband Internet (WBBI) towers, the company said in a release Monday. Last year, the company made its SaskTel High Speed...

Internet Wireless

Telus-Mobilicity deal to test government powers: expert

telecom | 04/22/2014 8:35 pm EDT

The $350-million bid by Telus Corp. for Mobilicity could set up a test of Industry Canada’s regulatory power over the sale of wireless spectrum and competition within the wireless industry, according to one expert. The deal, announced late Thursday night, is the third attempt by Telus to buy the new entrant carrier, which entered bankruptcy protection in September. Two previous attempts have been stymied by Industry Canada, which blocked the deals citing spectrum-transfer rules that prevented Mobilicity from giving up its AWS spectrum to one of the big three incumbent carriers. The...

700 mhz Mobilicity Spectrum

CRTC establishes video relay service

telecom | 04/22/2014 7:41 pm EDT

The CRTC said Tuesday that it will establish a video relay service for users of American Sign Language and Langue des signes québécoise. Last year, the commission held a consultation on whether video sign language...

CRTC Internet Landline phones

Internet access still an issue in rural areas: MTM

telecom | 04/22/2014 6:10 pm EDT

People living outside of Canada’s urban areas still have trouble, in some cases, accessing broadband Internet, according to survey results released Tuesday by Media Technology Monitor. Data taken late last year showed 74...

CRTC Internet

Eastern Ontario gets better Internet service

telecom | 04/22/2014 3:42 pm EDT

Infrastructure Canada said Tuesday that about 40,000 residences and businesses in rural areas and small communities outside of Ottawa now have access to better Internet service. It said in a press release a new fibre-optic...

Internet

Rogers’ quarterly financials show decline

Media | 04/22/2014 2:58 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. took a hit in this year’s first quarter in both revenue and profit numbers, according to results released Monday. The company said it had $3.02 billion in operating revenue for the three months...

Cable Data charges Internet

Mobilicity reaches acquisition deal with Telus

telecom | 04/18/2014 1:08 pm EDT

Mobilicity announced late Thursday night that it has reached a deal to be purchased by Telus Corp. for $350 million. Mobilicity, which has been under bankruptcy protection since September last year, said in a press release the transaction would need the approval of the Ontario Superior Court, the federal Competition Bureau, Industry Canada and...

Telecom industry looking for growth in health care

telecom | 04/17/2014 8:56 pm EDT

The announcement this week by BlackBerry Ltd. that it would invest in a U.S.-based health-care technology company is the latest effort by a company in Canada’s wireless sector to look to the health-care market in an attempt...

Telus Wireless

Rogers gets going on 700 MHz deployment

telecom | 04/17/2014 6:58 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Thursday it has deployed its new 700 MHz spectrum in parts of Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Rogers said the launch of the spectrum means customers in these locations will have an easier time...

700 mhz Bell Rogers

Rogers paid almost $40 million to CEOs last year

Media | 04/17/2014 4:47 pm EDT

The incoming and outgoing CEOs of Rogers Communications Inc. racked up almost $40 million in total compensation last year, according to an information circular filed ahead of its annual general meeting next week. That included a...

Cable Internet Wireless

MTS to add another location to fibre network

telecom | 04/17/2014 3:20 pm EDT

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Thursday it will expand its fibre-to-the-home network to Oakbank, Man., about 30 kilometres east of downtown Winnipeg, later this year. Expanding its MTS FiON network will give residents of Oakbank access this its Ultimate TV service and “ultra fast” Internet service with download speeds of up to 250 Mbps, the company said in a press release. Since 2010 MTS has brought fibre-to-the-home to parts of Winnipeg and Brandon, as well as 12 smaller communities in Manitoba, the company said....

Internet Iptv

Twitter ramping up app advertising

Media | 04/17/2014 2:48 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. said Thursday it is opening up more opportunities for developers to promote their mobile applications to Twitter users, and up to a billion others not on the social network through a mobile-ad exchange. The company...

Smartphones Wireless

Canadian TV subs to start rising again in 2015: study

Media | 04/16/2014 9:27 pm EDT

The number of Canadian TV subscribers will fall 0.31 per cent this year, and then begin increasing in 2015 at an average rate of 0.25 per cent annually until 2019, according to a new study by research company Strategy Analytics....

Cable Iptv Satellite tv

Former BlackBerry boss ranked third-highest paid wireless exec

telecom | 04/16/2014 7:44 pm EDT

Former BlackBerry Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins was the third-highest paid executive in 2013 among wireless companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, according to the website FierceWireless. Based on...

Wireless

Google working on smartphone with replaceable parts

telecom | 04/16/2014 6:25 pm EDT

Google Inc. on Wednesday finished a two-day developer conference about its plans for a smartphone with replaceable parts. An article published Tuesday on the PCWorld website said the phone, dubbed Project Ara, will have removable...

Google Smartphones Wifi

Cogeco boosts residential Internet speeds

telecom | 04/16/2014 5:44 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. on Wednesday said it was boosting speeds on certain residential Internet packages in both Ontario and Quebec. It said in a press release the upload speed for its Express 10 package will increase to as much as 2 Mbps from 1.5 in both provinces. According to Cogeco's website, that package’s download speed will remain the same, at 10 Mbps. Cogeco’s Ultimate 30 package in Ontario will increase to a download speed of as much as 55 Mbps from 30, and its name has changed to Ultimate 55. A comparable product offered in Quebec, called Ultimate 40, is also being...

Cogeco Internet

Game of Thrones sets filesharing record: report

Media | 04/16/2014 4:34 pm EDT

The most recent episode of Game of Thrones set a new record this week for having a single file shared by the greatest number of people simultaneously on BitTorrent, according to a report. A website called TorrentFreak said...

CRTC approves new telco-service subsidy procedures

telecom | 04/16/2014 3:49 pm EDT

The CRTC on Wednesday said it had approved new procedures in the operation of the National Contribution Fund, including a provision that requires recipients to file monthly reports. The fund was established in the 1990s. It...

CRTC Landline phones

Twitter purchase signals growing importance of data tracking

Media | 04/15/2014 7:48 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. said Tuesday it is acquiring social media analytics provider Gnip Inc., a move one analyst said could cause trouble for other companies that analyze and monetize the social...

Internet Privacy

Telus looking to fill 360 jobs

telecom | 04/15/2014 6:56 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said on Twitter Tuesday it is hiring for 360 jobs. The company included a link to its website where it listed the jobs available. There are open positions in regions across the country. Many of jobs are in sales....

Iptv Landline phones Telus

Scientists dismiss study downplaying wireless health effects

telecom | 04/15/2014 6:23 pm EDT

Two scientists are criticizing a report released this month that downplayed the potential health risks to humans from wireless radiation. A release from a group called Canadians for Safe Technology...

Wireless

CBC chief discussed cable tax to support network

Media | 04/15/2014 5:31 pm EDT

Hubert Lacroix, CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, discussed at last week’s town hall meeting the possibility of having a levy attached to bills of cable- and satellite-TV customers and using that money to support the network. The...

Cbc Television

Jury out on what Digital Privacy Act does to privacy, copyright

Media | 04/15/2014 5:09 pm EDT

The Digital Privacy Act, the government’s most recent attempt to update the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), has experts disagreeing about the effect it...

BlackBerry plans collaboration with health-tech company

telecom | 04/15/2014 3:57 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Tuesday said it had made an investment in and was planning to collaborate with a heath-technology company in the United States. The Canadian smartphone maker did not disclose the...

Privacy Smartphones

CIRA adds feature to combat ‘domain hijacking’

Media | 04/15/2014 3:25 pm EDT

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which manages the dot-ca domain, on Tuesday announced a “registry lock” to combat incidents of “domain hijacking.” CIRA said in a press release its new feature would make sure “a domain name is locked at the registry level,” which would ensure that any redirection, information alteration or ownership changes of a website would need verification through CIRA and the website’s registrar. The organization said in its release: “Domain hijacking is not a theoretical scenario. In the last year...

Internet Privacy

Rogers offers new overseas roaming packages

telecom | 04/15/2014 2:35 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. on Tuesday announced some new overseas roaming deals, including a data-only plan for $9.99 a day. Raj Doshi, Rogers’ senior vice-president of products, said in a press release: “Our...

Data charges Roaming Wireless

Shaw reorganizes with units for consumers, businesses

Media | 04/14/2014 9:20 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. said Monday it is reorganizing the company’s telecommunications businesses into two units that will focus on either consumer or business services. It said in a press release it would consolidate its...

Cable Internet Landline phones

Telus protests TBayTel’s wholesale rate hike

telecom | 04/14/2014 3:51 pm EDT

Telus Corp. is asking to CRTC to side in its favour over a proposed retroactive rate hike it said TBayTel is trying to impose for access to TBayTel's digital network in northern Ontario. Telus said TBayTel sent it a letter on...

Internet Wireless

‘Small risk’ of Heartbleed to BBM users on Android, iOS

telecom | 04/14/2014 2:37 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that there is an “extremely small” risk to the security of BBM communications from the Heartbleed bug on devices powered by Apple Inc.’s iOS software or...

Privacy Smartphones Wireless

Rising wireless prices mean lower subscription growth: analyst

telecom | 04/14/2014 2:01 pm EDT

Many Canadians are being turned off by the higher wireless prices rolled out by the incumbents over the past nine months, according to Scotiabank analyst Jeff Fan. In a research note Monday, Fan said he was downgrading expectations for Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. to the sector average, from outperform, because of a mature and satured wireless market and “the market's inability to absorb higher wireless prices.” Fan said in the note that subscriber growth will slow in 2014 as it did in the second half of 2013 when prices rose following the implementation of the...

Rogers Smartphones Telus

Telus ordered to pay back text charges: report

telecom | 04/11/2014 7:00 pm EDT

Telus Corp. has been ordered by a Quebec court to pay back $2.6 million in charges it applied to customers in that province for incoming texts, the Canadian Press reported Friday. The Quebec Superior Court found that Telus...

Wireless

Canada needs stronger IP defences: Balsillie

telecom | 04/11/2014 6:07 pm EDT

Canadian companies need to build their capacity for defending patents and asserting intellectual property rights in order to build more technology success stories like the company he founded, Research in Motion...

Blackberry Copyright

CRTC forcing sale of Montreal-area radio station

Media | 04/11/2014 5:47 pm EDT

The CRTC is forcing the owner of a Quebec radio station to sell its broadcasting licence within the next 90 days or have it revoked after years of ignoring the regulator’s orders. CJMS Saint-Constant, an AM country station...

CRTC Radio

Facebook hands over data on half of government requests

telecom | 04/11/2014 4:33 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. received 174 requests for information from the Canadian government regarding 217 accounts between July and December of last year, the company said in its second Global Government...

Privacy

Rogers releases mobile wallet application

telecom | 04/11/2014 4:00 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. launched an application called the "suretap wallet" on Friday that allows customers to make payments using Rogers’ prepaid MasterCard and gift cards from select merchants. “With...

Rogers Wireless

CRTC denies new radio licence in Cobalt, Ont.

Media | 04/10/2014 8:11 pm EDT

The CRTC said Thursday that it had denied a licence for a new commercial radio station in Cobalt, Ont., a town about 500 kilometres north of Toronto, because of the effect it could have on another radio station in the area. The...

CRTC Radio

Acquisition helps boost Cogeco Cable numbers

telecom | 04/10/2014 3:06 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. on Wednesday reported higher second-quarter numbers for both profit and revenue, helped along by an acquisition that took effect about a year earlier. The company said in a press release that revenue for the...

Cable Internet Landline phones

Shaw earnings rise, TV subs decline

Media | 04/10/2014 2:34 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc.’s second quarter earnings released Thursday showed gains in both overall revenue and profit, though a decline in TV subscribers was noted, as was a dip in revenue from its media business. The...

Cable Internet Satellite tv

Telus turns internal transformation into consulting business

telecom | 04/09/2014 9:04 pm EDT

Telus Corp. is branching out into management consulting. On Wednesday, the company announced the launch of Telus Transformation Office, an operation in which the company said it will apply lessons learned from a seven-year corporate makeover to helping other organizations with employee engagement and overall performance. Daniel Pontefract, who holds the title of “chief envisioner” at Telus, and was previously its head of learning and collaboration, said in a phone interview on Wednesday the company wants to share what it has learned. “We’ve seen, from an...

Telus Wireless

CRTC reports fewer throttling complaints

telecom | 04/09/2014 6:18 pm EDT

The CRTC said it received fewer complaints about Internet traffic management practices, otherwise known as throttling, in the first three months of 2014 than the three months before that. The commission said on its website...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

Bell, CBC denied relief on local-programming quotas

Media | 04/09/2014 5:18 pm EDT

The CRTC on Wednesday said it had denied requests by both BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division and CBC/Radio-Canada to calculate local-programing hours for their conventional TV stations differently. Both are generally required...

Bell Cbc CRTC

China approves Nokia-Microsoft cellphone sale

telecom | 04/09/2014 2:52 pm EDT

Nokia Corp. said Wednesday that authorities in China have approved its deal to sell Microsoft Corp. most of its devices-and-services business, which includes cellphones and patents. Nokia said it has now received the required...

Wireless

Air Canada to expand WiFi capacity

telecom | 04/09/2014 2:21 pm EDT

Air Canada said Wednesday that it would begin equipping the rest of its North American fleet with WiFi capabilities next month. The airline said in a press release it already has two planes equipped with WiFi. Subject to a final...

Internet Wifi

VMedia offers cloudy version of IPTV

Media | 04/08/2014 11:01 pm EDT

George Burger wants to give Canadians a more streamlined television experience, yet analysts say the high-tech Internet-protocol TV offerings from his VMedia Inc. might have limited appeal. The IPTV service from VMedia now includes a cloud-based PVR, the company announced last week. Through a proprietary set-top box that includes traditional broadcast and cable channels as well as over-the-top content such as that from Netflix Inc., VMedia offers a “smooth, seamless interface" for watching multiple streams of content through one interface, Burger, director of VMedia, said in a...

Digital Privacy Act tabled in Senate

Media | 04/08/2014 7:33 pm EDT

The federal government on Tuesday announced it has introduced the new Digital Privacy Act in the Senate, which, among other things, proposes fining companies up to $100,000 for not informing Canadians when their personal data is...

Internet Privacy

Anglos more likely to cut cords than francophones: study

telecom | 04/08/2014 2:55 pm EDT

Anglophone Canadian are more likely than francophones to be considering cutting the cord from paid-television services, and the availability of pick-and-pay services in Quebec could be a factor, said...

Ott Television

TV cord cutting on the rise: report

Media | 04/07/2014 9:17 pm EDT

An annual report from Convergence Consulting Group Ltd. says Canadians are increasingly moving away from television subscriptions, and the trend is accelerating this year. The report’s summary, on the company’s...

Ott Television

CRTC approves third-language niche channels

Media | 04/07/2014 7:54 pm EDT

The CRTC announced Monday it has approved national broadcast licences for two third-language niche television channels from the same company. Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. was granted a licence for a channel called South Asian Food...

CRTC Television

Ontario wireless code comes into effect

telecom | 04/07/2014 7:33 pm EDT

A provincial consumer protection bill covering wireless services in Ontario that echoes the federal wireless code is now in force. The provincial government said in a press release last week that the Wireless Services Agreement...

Wireless

Rogers offers deep mobile discount in Quebec

telecom | 04/07/2014 7:02 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. slashed its prices by more than 40 per cent on one of its wireless plans in Quebec after the recent announcement that Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron would begin offering the Apple Inc.’s...

Apple Rogers Videotron

Wearables bring together techies in Toronto

telecom | 04/07/2014 6:48 pm EDT

There are a few hundred people in Toronto who are, in a manner of speaking, wearing their passion and belief in the potential of wearable technology on their sleeves. A group, comprised largely of people in related professional...

Google Smartphones Wearables

U.S. warns EU on Europe-only data network

telecom | 04/07/2014 4:03 pm EDT

The United States warned the European Union (EU) on Friday that its plans for a European communications network that would bypass connections to the United States could violate international trade laws, according to a report from...

Internet Privacy

CRTC questions service providers in mobile-TV case

Media | 04/04/2014 6:41 pm EDT

The CRTC has sent out a series of questions to be answered by telecommunications service providers at the centre of a complaint over undue preference in providing mobile-TV services for flat fees. In a questionnaire sent Friday, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. were asked questions such as: how their mobile-TV services differ for people that subscribe to their TV services versus those that subscribe just to their mobile services; how the costs of providing the service are recovered through the $5 monthly starting fee that all three companies implement; and details about...

Television Wireless

Telus closes financing to repay auction debt

telecom | 04/04/2014 6:14 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said Friday it has closed a $1-billion offering of senior unsecured notes, which it said in a press release “will be used to repay bank indebtedness incurred to pay for the 700 MHz spectrum licences and for...

700 mhz Spectrum Wireless

Government’s long-awaited digital strategy ‘nothing new’: analyst

Media | 04/04/2014 1:55 pm EDT

A document released by Industry Minister James Moore Friday that outlines the government’s long-promised digital strategy includes “nothing new and nothing bold,” according to...

Wind reports subscriber base at 700,000

telecom | 04/03/2014 8:52 pm EDT

Wind Mobile said Thursday that its subscriber numbers have hit 700,000, as it also announced what it called a “plethora” of new unlimited mobile plans. That subscriber figure is a jump of more than 50,000 from the...

Data charges Wireless

Bell Aliant, Bell exempted from wireline services regulation

telecom | 04/03/2014 7:50 pm EDT

The CRTC will exempt BCE Inc. and Bell Aliant Inc. (in which BCE Inc. has 44 per cent stake) from regulation of its local residential wireline services in its territories in Ontario, Quebec and...

CRTC Landline phones

CRTC consulting on DHX-Bell deal

telecom | 04/03/2014 6:56 pm EDT

The CRTC said Thursday it is consulting on an application by DHX Media Ltd. to acquire four former Astral Media Inc. children’s TV channels from BCE Inc. DHX announced last November that it had reached a $170-million deal with BCE’s Bell Media subsidiary to acquire Family Channel, Disney XD and the English- and French-language versions of Disney Junior. BCE said at the time that the deal was part of regulatory requirements that it divest some broadcasting assets as a condition of its acquisition of Astral. The deadline for interventions is May 8....

CRTC Television

EU votes to enshrine net neutrality, end roaming charges

telecom | 04/03/2014 3:32 pm EDT

The European Union voted on Thursday to end roaming charges by December 2015 and enshrine net neutrality in all 28 member nations as part of its efforts to build a “connected continent,”...

Internet Net neutrality Roaming

CRTC’s consumer focus not at odds with industry: Blais

Media | 04/02/2014 9:14 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — The reviews the CRTC will be holding over the coming year, which include proceedings covering wholesale access to wireless and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks, the future of...

CRTC Internet Net neutrality

Canadians replacing PCs with mobile phones for browsing: ComScore

telecom | 04/02/2014 3:37 pm EDT

Canadians are among the most active Internet users in the world and are replacing traditional desktop computers with mobile phones for consuming online content, according to a new report from consumer...

Internet Smartphones Wireless

Cisco announces educational, health network for North

Media | 04/02/2014 2:41 pm EDT

Cisco Systems Inc. announced Wednesday it is investing $1.6 million in a video network to bring educational and health services to Canada’s North. The project is called Connected North, and uses high-definition, two-way video, along with other technology, Cisco said in a press release. Cisco said that a pilot project that began in September...

BlackBerry won’t renew contract with T-Mobile

telecom | 04/02/2014 1:58 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said in a release issued late Tuesday that it will not renew T-Mobile US Inc.’s licence to sell BlackBerry products after it expires on April 25. BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in the release:...

Blackberry Smartphones Wireless

Videotron launches Illico iPhone streaming app

Media | 04/01/2014 7:38 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron unit said Thursday it has launched a new app that allows users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 or 5 access content through its Illico program for online video content. It noted in a press release...

Ott Television Wireless

Low risk from radio frequencies, more study needed: panel

telecom | 04/01/2014 5:11 pm EDT

An expert panel that reviewed Health Canada regulations that limit human exposure to radio-frequency energy resulting from wireless communications, such as WiFi or mobile phones, said in a report...

Wireless

Wholesale roaming rate caps detailed by government

telecom | 03/31/2014 7:07 pm EDT

The government has released details of its plans for a clamp down on the domestic roaming rates Canada’s carriers charge one another for the privilege of moving between networks. New-entrant wireless providers, such as Wind...

Roaming Wireless

Darren Entwistle leaves Telus ‘in good hands’

telecom | 03/31/2014 7:07 pm EDT

The man who led Telus Corp.’s evolution from a Western Canada-focused home-phone services provider to what one analyst called “arguably the most successful wireless carrier in North America” is stepping down as CEO. The company said in a press release Monday that Darren Entwistle will leave his post as president and CEO of Telus on May 8, the date of Telus’ annual general meeting, and be replaced by Joe Natale, who is currently chief commercial officer and executive vice-president. Entwistle was appointed CEO of Telus in 2000, coming over from Cable & Wireless UK...

Iptv Landline phones Telus

U.S. judge bars sales of iPhone case with physical keyboard

telecom | 03/31/2014 6:43 pm EDT

A U.S. district judge has ordered Typo Products LLC to stop selling its case for Apple Inc.'s iPhone that includes a physical keyboard for typing on the device while a lawsuit against Typo by...

Apple Blackberry Smartphones

CRTC denies request to change robocall rules

telecom | 03/31/2014 4:54 pm EDT

The CRTC has denied a request by the Canadian Marketing Association to allow automated calling devices to be used to make calls without express consent in cases where there is an existing business relationship. The commission...

CRTC

Bell reduces costs for Japan roaming

telecom | 03/28/2014 8:27 pm EDT

BCE Inc. is reducing the cost of its wireless roaming plans for customers in Japan, the company announced on Friday. The company said the cost of pay-per-use roaming in Japan has dropped by a third, to $2 a minute for voice...

Bell

Ice Wireless upgrades mobile network in Yellowknife

telecom | 03/28/2014 7:22 pm EDT

Ice Wireless, a subsidiary of Iristel Inc., said Friday it has upgraded its mobile network in Yellowknife to HSPA+ and called it “the most advanced 3G network in Northern Canada.” The carrier said in a news release...

Smartphones Tablets Wireless

Public Mobile name not going anywhere: Telus

telecom | 03/28/2014 4:52 pm EDT

The Public Mobile brand will remain active for the foreseeable future despite a move to abandon the network its customers are using, a Telus Corp. spokesman said Friday. “The brand continues and the name continues,” said Telus’ Shawn Hall in a phone interview. “The rate plans, largely, continue as they have been. What really is changing is the network. And customers will, once they make the transition, immediately start enjoying a national network with much faster data speeds.” Public Mobile’s network coverage was previously confined to the areas in and...

Public mobile Spectrum Telus

Analyst questions Videotron wireless-plan pricing

telecom | 03/28/2014 4:11 pm EDT

A telecom-industry analyst is questioning whether Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron can maintain its relatively low wireless-plan rates given the subsidies it must now pay to offer the iPhone to its customers. Canaccord Genuity...

Apple Smartphones Wireless

BlackBerry’s hardware business shrinking proportionally

Media | 03/28/2014 3:12 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd.’s fourth-quarter earnings show the company is a getting smaller proportion of its revenue from hardware and a bigger slice from services. Results released in a press release...

Blackberry Smartphones

Internet hasn’t killed the radio star: CRTC

Media | 03/27/2014 9:14 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The CRTC’s head of broadcasting says radio revenue does not appear to be suffering as a result of competition from Internet-based streaming services. Scott Hutton, the commission’s executive director of...

BlackBerry receives U.S. military certification

telecom | 03/27/2014 7:36 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. has received an exclusive security certification from the U.S. military, the company announced on Thursday. The Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker said in a release it earned the Full Operational Capability...

Blackberry Smartphones

Online video watched by 3 in 4 anglo adults: MTM

Media | 03/27/2014 7:03 pm EDT

More than three out of every four anglophone Canadian adults are consumers of online video, according to report released Thursday. Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said 76 per cent of respondents in...

Internet Ott Television

Crack down on free online services: PIAC

Media | 03/27/2014 3:47 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is calling on governments to do more to protect people from companies that offer so-called free online services. In a press release issued Wednesday, it said consumers have little...

Facebook Google Internet

Rivals must collaborate on ‘TV everywhere’ offerings: Bell exec

Media | 03/26/2014 8:19 pm EDT

As Canadian television providers have rolled out their TV-everywhere strategies, aimed at fighting off over-the-top (OTT) competition by making content easier to access online, customers can be...

Bell Copyright Internet

Virtual reality ‘the next social and communications platform’: Facebook

Media | 03/26/2014 6:31 pm EDT

Facebook Inc., in announcing the purchase of a pioneering virtual reality company, said this kind of immersive technology is "a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications...

Facebook Wearables

Government accessed personal telecom info more than 18,000 times in year

telecom | 03/26/2014 6:27 pm EDT

Canada’s telecommunications companies handed over personal information from their subscribers, including call records and website visits, more than 18,000 times between April 2012 and March 2013, the government revealed on Tuesday. The vast majority of the requests came from the Canada Border Services Agency, according to a government response to a request from NDP MP Charmaine Borg, yet the true number might be higher because the RCMP did not provide the requested data....

Privacy

BlackBerry work app for iPhone, Android security certified

telecom | 03/26/2014 5:00 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. said Wednesday that its Secure Work Space application for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and devices running on Google Inc.’s Android software has been certified in a way that should...

Blackberry Smartphones Wireless

Canadian smartphone penetration at 55%: survey

telecom | 03/25/2014 7:48 pm EDT

Smartphones have been adopted by about 55 per cent of the Canadian population, according to a market research group. Kalin Kotsev, digital technologies manager of Toronto-based Catalyst, said their study found that 1,100 people...

Smartphones Wireless

Can carriers make the switch to become M2M service providers?

telecom | 03/25/2014 7:12 pm EDT

Canada’s big telecom providers have a lot to prove as service providers in machine-to-machine communication (M2M), according to Macquarie analyst Greg MacDonald. Companies such as Rogers...

Internet Iot Wireless

Telus expands LTE network in Ontario, New Brunswick

telecom | 03/25/2014 6:33 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said Tuesday it has extended its LTE network to new communities in Ontario and New Brunswick. It said in separate news releases that customers in Bradford, Ont., and Bathurst, N.B., would now be able to enjoy data...

700 mhz Lte Telus

Public Mobile customers need new phones

telecom | 03/25/2014 5:44 pm EDT

Public Mobile, the wireless startup bought by Telus Corp. late last year, is telling its customers they will need new phones in May in order to be transferred to its new owner's mobile network. “We’re moving to Canada’s largest 4G Network, the benefits of which include national coverage, faster wireless data speeds, access to the latest technology and better name-brand phones,” Public Mobile says on its website. In a conference call last month, Telus’ chief commercial officer Joe Natale said the company was going to transfer Public Mobile customers to...

Public mobile Wireless

Government said no to BlackBerry sale to Lenovo: CBC

telecom | 03/25/2014 5:37 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. abandoned a potential sale of the company last year to Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd. after the Canadian government indicated it would not approve such a transaction, CBC reported online on Monday....

Blackberry Smartphones

Ray-Ban maker to help manufacture Google Glass

Media | 03/25/2014 2:12 pm EDT

Italian eyewear maker Luxottica Group S.p.A. said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Google Inc. to collaborate on making its Google Glass wearable technology. The company said in a press release that its main brands,...

Google Internet Wearables

Apple, Comcast could team up for streaming TV: WSJ

telecom | 03/24/2014 5:39 pm EDT

Apple Inc. and Comcast Corp. are discussing launching a streaming TV service, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Quoting anonymous sources, WSJ reported the service “would use an Apple set-top box and get special treatment on Comcast's cables to ensure it bypasses congestion on the Web.” It said that “Apple's intention...

Telus, MTS add Sun News to channel lineup

Media | 03/24/2014 5:38 pm EDT

Telus Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have fulfilled their regulatory obligations by adding the Sun News Network to their TV-service channel lineups. In December, the CRTC said news channels Sun News and Le Canal...

CRTC Television

Mobilicity granted bankruptcy extension

telecom | 03/24/2014 3:08 pm EDT

Mobilicity, the wireless startup in bankruptcy protection, has been granted a fourth extension in its creditor protection while the company works on a potential sale, according to a court document filed on Friday. Last week, the...

Mobilicity Wireless

Cisco says it’s building world’s biggest ‘Intercloud’

telecom | 03/24/2014 2:35 pm EDT

Cisco Systems Inc. said Monday it is teaming with a number of partners to build what it called “the world’s largest global Intercloud,” which is a network of clouds. Among the...

Data centres

Telus purchases IT security firm in Quebec

telecom | 03/24/2014 2:05 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said Monday it is buying Enode, an IT security firm based in Quebec City. No financial terms for the transaction were disclosed in the press release Telus issued. It said it has been partners with Enode for years on...

Internet Wireless

Data centres a natural evolution for telecoms

telecom | 03/21/2014 8:59 pm EDT

Consumers and businesses alike have been storing increasing amounts of data in the cloud in recent years, a movement that has precipitated the building of a growing number of secure, air-conditioned, server-filled...

Data centres

Netflix CEO attacks ISPs that demand payment for connectivity

Media | 03/21/2014 5:45 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings said in a blog post on the company’s website Thursday that a stronger sense of net neutrality is needed to prevent situations like the one that has his company paying Comcast Corp. to ensure customers get a more reliable connection to Netflix content. In the blog, Hastings acknowledged the deal reached with the U.S. Internet service provider “a few weeks ago,” adding that “Comcast has been an industry leader in supporting weak net neutrality, and we hope they’ll support strong net neutrality as well.” Hastings said: “If...

Internet Net neutrality Netflix