M2M compared to Industrial Revolution, science fiction

telecom | 03/20/2014 12:22 am EDT

TORONTO — The world’s most interconnected retail store isn’t in London, Paris or New York, Canadian Tire Corp. chief technology officer Eugene Roman said Wednesday, but in West...

Shaw introduces online closed captioning

Media | 03/19/2014 7:15 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division on Wednesday said it has become the first private-sector Canadian broadcaster to offer closed captioning for television programming accessed online. It said in a press release that...

Government wireless ads left unclear public perception: report

telecom | 03/19/2014 6:11 pm EDT

A study has found the federal government’s fall advertising campaign focusing on Canada’s wireless industry resonated with the public in some ways, though people were left wondering what...

Canadians willing to pay for more TV choice: survey

Media | 03/19/2014 6:02 pm EDT

A majority of Canadians taking part in a survey, for which results were released Tuesday, said having more choice and control over what they watch on television is an “excellent” or “good” idea. The...

Google brings Chromecast to Canada, launches Android Wear

telecom | 03/19/2014 5:39 pm EDT

Google Inc.’s Chromecast device — which allows users to play video and audio files on their televisions while controlling the content and playing options through their mobile devices or computers — is now available in Canada, Google said Tuesday. In a press release, Google said that the Chromecast, which it first launched last summer in the U.S., would be available in an additional 11 countries, including Canada, through retailers including Amazon and Google Play. Chromecast is priced at $39 through those two retailers, while in the U.S., the device costs $35. In a...

Development on Mobilicity sale expected in ‘near term’

telecom | 03/19/2014 4:01 pm EDT

Mobilicity, the startup wireless carrier in bankruptcy protection, will have information to share on its efforts to find a buyer in the “near term,” according to a court document filed...

‘It has an impact,’ CWTA’s Lord says of Telus exit

telecom | 03/18/2014 9:27 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Bernard Lord, CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, said that Telus Corp.’s decision to leave his group affects the association, though because of the way...

BlackBerry lays off 90 people in Ottawa

telecom | 03/18/2014 8:11 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. laid off about 90 workers from its Ottawa operations this week, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. The BlackBerry official said these employees were part of the company’s product-development and...

Rogers lobbied PM Harper in busy February

Media | 03/18/2014 6:09 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. had the ear of some of the highest officials in the federal government in early February, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper communicated with Rogers on Feb. 5, according to information in...

Tablet ownership in English Canada over 40%: MTM

telecom | 03/18/2014 5:59 pm EDT

Tablet ownership among English-speaking Canadians was at 42 per cent late last year, according to a report released Tuesday, and was approaching 80 per cent among those with family incomes of $200,000 a year or more. Media...

Bell Media releases 2 news-channel apps

Media | 03/18/2014 5:46 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Tuesday announced the release of two new applications that will bring live breaking news video to smartphones and tablets. Apps for CTV News Go, featuring content from the national news...

Canadians heaviest website visitors globally: CIRA

Media | 03/18/2014 5:31 pm EDT

Canadians are the most prolific visitors of websites in the world, according the Canadian Internet Registration Authority’s Factbook, released Tuesday. Citing data from ComScore, CIRA said Canadians, on average, visited...

‘Lack of resilience’ caused Nortel demise: study

telecom | 03/17/2014 7:45 pm EDT

The demise of Nortel Networks Corp. was caused by a “lack of resilience” within the company as well as a mixture of other external and internal factors, according to a University of Ottawa study released Monday. A press release from the school said the study found three broad reasons behind the...

BlackBerry cuts 120 employees

telecom | 03/17/2014 6:01 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. on Monday said it has laid off 120 employees in Waterloo, Ont., as part of its efforts to restore the company’s fiscal sustainability. A statement from the company said the latest cuts came from its product-development and wireless-technology teams. “BlackBerry is working hard to return to profitability and we continue to optimize our resources to meet our mandatory operational targets,” the company said in an emailed statement. It said these cuts are part of global reductions of up to 40 per cent of its workforce it announced in September, which are expected to be implemented by the end of May....

CRTC approves Oui TV

Media | 03/17/2014 4:42 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday that Oui TV has been approved as a foreign channel for distribution in Canada. An online posting from the commission said it is a 24-hour French-language service featuring drama and comedy programming. The channel originates in the U.S. and its programming is sourced from...

Wireless price hikes help offset other discounts: Ghose

telecom | 03/17/2014 3:59 pm EDT

Genuity Canaccord analyst Dvai Ghose said the $5 increase that all the incumbent wireless carriers in Canada recently placed on their monthly voice-and-data share plans will help offset discounts they...

Greenland ISP sues Canada over undersea cable break

telecom | 03/17/2014 3:01 pm EDT

Greenland’s national Internet provider has filed suit against the Canadian government to find out the identity of the shipping trawler it says was responsible for damaging its undersea cables. Tele Greenland wants the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which monitors the locations of fishing trawlers, to reveal which ships were in the area off...

Industry Canada lobbied AT&T, too

telecom | 03/17/2014 2:50 pm EDT

It will go down in history as the great telecom lobby of 2013. BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. lobbied Industry Canada to change the spectrum auction rules favouring a foreign entrant, while Industry Canada...

Bell’s customer-info tracking can’t be treated like Google’s: PIAC

Media | 03/14/2014 7:24 pm EDT

BCE Inc. should not compare itself to companies like Google Inc., Facebook Inc. or LinkedIn Corp. when it comes to tracking and collecting customer information for advertising purposes, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said. PIAC, along with the Consumers’ Association of Canada, made the argument in a filing to the CRTC Thursday, in response to a submission by Bell, which had argued earlier this month that its collection of customer data doesn’t violate the...

Telus remote broadband changes tweaked by CRTC

telecom | 03/14/2014 5:59 pm EDT

The CRTC approved a move by Telus Corp. on Friday to replace five of the communities for which the carrier had promised to bring high-speed broadband, while denying its application to include a sixth community. Telus, which is...

CRTC approves sale of two Rogers radio stations

Media | 03/14/2014 5:31 pm EDT

The CRTC said Friday it has approved the sale of two radio stations in New Brunswick by Rogers Communications Inc. The commission said in an online notice that the sale of CHNI-FM in Saint John to Newcap Inc. has been given the...

One in five downgraded TV services in last year: survey

Media | 03/14/2014 4:51 pm EDT

One in five Canadians surveyed by U.S. research firm Parks Associates said they downgraded their TV service over the last year. A report from the company said 20 per cent of Canadian households, out...

Péladeau’s politics will have little impact on Quebecor: Barclays

Media | 03/14/2014 3:48 pm EDT

Analysts from Barclays Capital said there is little risk to Quebecor Inc.’s businesses from former CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau’s candidacy for the sovereigntist Parti...

Quebecor reports higher profits, revenue up slightly

Media | 03/13/2014 4:53 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc. reported higher fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday on revenue that was slightly higher than a year earlier. Overall revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.12 billion, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, Quebecor...

Applications aim to bring Spanish, Hungarian channels to Canada

telecom | 03/13/2014 4:32 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has applied to the CRTC to add the Spanish channel Canal Antena 3 Internacional to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution in Canada, while Ethnic Channels...

TSN launches online streaming app

Media | 03/12/2014 7:20 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media division on Wednesday announced that online streaming of TSN content is now available to those who subscribe to the channel through TV service from either Bell or Rogers Communications Inc. Bell Media said...

Bell files second complaint for condo access

telecom | 03/12/2014 7:07 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has filed a complaint alleging that a Toronto condo building is not allowing it to offer TV services, a month following a CRTC decision that said Bell should be able to provide telecommunications services in the building....

Péladeau’s PQ affiliation could affect Quebecor’s fortunes: experts

Media | 03/12/2014 7:03 pm EDT

Pierre Karl Péladeau’s decision to run for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the upcoming Quebec election could cause problems for the company he used to lead and of which he is still the controlling shareholder, marketing and government relations experts said. Despite the fact Péladeau resigned as CEO of Quebecor Inc. last year and quit his board duties with the company upon announcing his political intentions, observers said the perceived association he...

Industry Canada removes fees for radio broadcasters

telecom | 03/12/2014 5:44 pm EDT

Industry Canada has updated its rules for radio broadcasters, removing licence fees and repealing ownership requirements to bring the older regulations up to date with the Telecommunications Act. Under the amendments released...

Bell Aliant extends fibre network in Newfoundland

telecom | 03/12/2014 3:23 pm EDT

Bell Aliant Inc. said Wednesday it is expanding its fibre-optic network to three towns in Newfoundland, making its FibreOP service available to an additional 8,100 homes and businesses. Harbour Grace, Deer Lake and Stephenville...

VimpelCom under investigation by U.S., Dutch authorities

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

VimpelCom Ltd., the Amsterdam-based majority owner of Wind Mobile, announced on Wednesday that it is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as Dutch authorities in...

Collecting customer data not against Telecom Act: Bell

Media | 03/11/2014 9:20 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s collection of customer data for its targeted-advertising program doesn’t violate the Telecommunications Act, the company said in a filing to the CRTC. The letter, submitted on...

Apple extends iPhone trade-in program to Canada

telecom | 03/11/2014 7:52 pm EDT

Apple Inc. has brought its phone trade-in program to retail stores Canada for the first time, allowing customers to trade in old iPhones in exchange for credit on the latest models. The program, which began in the U.S. in August 2103, can net users up to $275 in store credit based on the model and condition of the phone. "IPhones hold great value. So, Apple retail stores in Canada are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling,” Apple spokeswoman Tara Handela said in an email on Tuesday. “In...

Root plans $20M data centre for Montreal

telecom | 03/11/2014 5:52 pm EDT

Root Data Center is opening a $20-million data centre in Montreal that it claims will offer the world’s best prices for colocation server leasing and cloud services. Root CEO Jason van Gaal said in a press release Tuesday...

Rogers closes $2.1B in financing for spectrum purchases

telecom | 03/10/2014 9:42 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Monday that it closed about $2.1 billion in financing transactions, which it will use to fund its recent purchases of 700 MHz spectrum licences. The company said in a...

One Caribbean Television approved for distribution

telecom | 03/10/2014 8:16 pm EDT

The CRTC said it has approved One Caribbean Television for distribution in Canada. In notice Monday, it said the channel was a “24-hour 100% English-language general interest channel with programming focused on news,...

VimpelCom ends talks to buy Pakistan carrier: report

telecom | 03/10/2014 4:13 pm EDT

VimpelCom Ltd., the majority owner of Canada’s Wind Mobile, has ended talks for the possible acquisition of Pakistan-based carrier Warid Telecom, Bloomberg reported Monday. Warid is owned by Abu Dhabi Group and one of five...

William Aziz resigns from Canada Bread board

telecom | 03/10/2014 2:31 pm EDT

William Aziz has resigned as a director of the board at Canada Bread Co. Ltd., the company said in a press release Monday. Aziz is president of BlueTree Advisors II Inc. and is currently serving as chief restructuring officer of...

Pierre Karl Péladeau resigns after PQ announcement

Media | 03/10/2014 1:51 pm EDT

Pierre Karl Péladeau has resigned from a number of Quebecor Inc. board positions following news that he intends to run as candidate for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the upcoming provincial election in...

Shaw lobbying activity spikes in recent weeks

Media | 03/07/2014 9:26 pm EST

There were 18 communications between Shaw Communications Inc. and the federal government within the last month, for which company CEO Brad Shaw was listed as the lobbyist, according to the federal lobbyists registry, including one...

Bernard Lord to stay at CWTA despite OPG appointment

telecom | 03/07/2014 8:12 pm EST

Bernard Lord will remain CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association despite being named chairman of Ontario Power Generation, a CWTC spokesman said. “OPG chair is not a full-time position,” CWTA...

MTS plans network upgrade for six communities

telecom | 03/07/2014 7:17 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said it will be launching a 4G HSPA+ mobile network in six rural Manitoba communities this year, giving around 4,000 residents wireless speeds that are up to five times faster than their current CDMA network. The communities getting the upgrades are Churchill, Ebb and Flow First Nation, Fisher River First Nation, Snow Lake, Bissett and Middlebro, MTS said in a press release Thursday. “Churchill is thrilled that MTS is making this strategic investment in our community,” Churchill Mayor Michael Spence said in the MTS release. “Having access to...

Ciena loses less money in first quarter

telecom | 03/07/2014 7:15 pm EST

Network builder Ciena Corp. reported a smaller loss for its first fiscal quarter than in the same period a year earlier. The company said in a press release Thursday that it lost $15.9 million US in the quarter ended Jan. 31...

CRTC, Industry Canada at odds on universal broadband access timeline

telecom | 03/07/2014 7:02 pm EST

Documents from three different branches of government give three different timelines for achieving near-universal access of broadband Internet services in Canada. In the CRTC’s latest plans and...

Chen meets with White House as part of BlackBerry ‘customer outreach’

telecom | 03/07/2014 6:12 pm EST

Blackberry Ltd. CEO John Chen has met with White House staff as part of a wider series of meetings he’s held with customers since taking over as chief executive of the company last November, Bloomberg reported Friday. The news service quoted Chen as saying that he “briefed the White House from an IT...

Wind Mobile worth ‘more than zero’: Lacavera

telecom | 03/06/2014 9:52 pm EST

Wind Mobile CEO Anthony Lacavera said it’s “business as usual” at his company following the decision by majority owner VimpelCom Ltd. to write down the value of its $768-million US stake in the Canadian wireless...

Mobile TV not undue preference, promotes Canadian content: Rogers

Media | 03/06/2014 9:38 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc.’s mobile-TV service upholds the Broadcasting Act by making Canadian content available and is not an undue preference, the company told the CRTC Wednesday. Rogers made the comments in a filing on a mobile-TV complaint currently underway at the CRTC. In the proceeding, the commission is considering three complaints regarding mobile-TV services offered by Rogers, BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility subsidiary and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron subsidiary. The...

Telecoms offer few details on info disclosure

telecom | 03/06/2014 7:48 pm EST

A group of academics has received responses from most of the telecommunications companies they questioned about practices and policies relating to sharing customer information with government authorities, though these responses...

Tablet market growth continues to slow: IDC

telecom | 03/06/2014 7:42 pm EST

Growth in worldwide tablets sales will continue to slow this year, International Data Corp. said in a press release Thursday. The provider of technology advisory services said it expects 19.4 per cent growth in tablet sales...

Telus, Rogers customers get preferred treatment on Radio-Canada platform

Media | 03/06/2014 7:09 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada announced Thursday that will be adding a subscription-based section to its ICI Tou.tv streaming platform, and a partnership with Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. will give...

T-Mobile exec praises Canadian spectrum auction

telecom | 03/06/2014 7:00 pm EST

T-Mobile US Inc.’s vice-president of federal regulatory affairs is holding up Canada’s auction of 700 MHz spectrum as an example of how limiting bidding by bigger wireless players can still result in successful financial results for government.   In a Feb. 28 blog, Kathleen Ham praised a rule in the Canadian spectrum auction —...

CBC at ‘forefront’ of digital media: CRTC’s Hutton

Media | 03/06/2014 3:21 am EST

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada has been at the vanguard of changes the broadcasting industry has faced due to the emergence of digital media in recent years, Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s executive...

Telco-based TV penetration closing in on satellite: MTM

telecom | 03/05/2014 8:16 pm EST

The market share for television services provided by telephone companies in English Canada has nearly caught up with that of satellite, said a report from CBC/Radio-Canada’s Media Technology...

CRTC refuses request to ban prepaid expiry dates

telecom | 03/05/2014 7:11 pm EST

The CRTC on Wednesday denied an appeal of a section of the wireless code that allows service providers to put expiration dates on prepaid services. The DiversityCanada Foundation launched a challenge of this part of the code in...

BlackBerry testing sponsored content on BBM

Media | 03/05/2014 7:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said in blog post that it is testing sponsored content on its BBM messaging service with some users. A posting on BlackBerry’s website Tuesday by Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM,...

Cisco plans innovation centre in Toronto

telecom | 03/05/2014 7:08 pm EST

Cisco Systems Inc. said Wednesday that Toronto has been selected to host one of its four global “Internet of Everything” innovation sites. It said in a press release that other spots include Songdo, South Korea, Rio de Janeiro and an unspecified location in Germany. The Toronto innovation centre will see an investment of up to $100 million over 10 years, Cisco said. The facility will be located in a new office tower slated for completion in the spring of 2015, which will also become home to Cisco’s Canadian headquarters. Cisco said the Toronto innovation centre will...

Telus seeks clarity on wireless code’s application to business accounts

telecom | 03/05/2014 7:05 pm EST

Telus Corp. has asked the CRTC to clarify how the wireless code applies to certain classes of business wireless accounts. A letter from Stephen Schmidt, Telus’ vice-president of regulatory...

‘Undesirable’ spectrum now key to Rogers mobile-video plans

Media | 03/05/2014 5:09 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. shelled out billions in this year’s 700 MHz spectrum auction for what was once “second-class” spectrum and what could now be the most coveted wireless real...

CTV averages 6.12M viewers for Oscars

Media | 03/04/2014 10:08 pm EST

The Canadian broadcast of the Academy Awards Sunday night attracted an average of 6.12 million television viewers, said BCE Inc.’s CTV network, which had the broadcast rights to the awards show. In a press release put out...

Unlimited Internet making inroads, but for how long?

telecom | 03/04/2014 10:00 pm EST

In the year since big Internet providers like Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. reintroduced unlimited-bandwidth Internet plans, customer demand has kept them in place. Whether that means bandwidth caps are on their way out...

U.S. music creators to face limited payment rights in Canada

Media | 03/04/2014 9:13 pm EST

The government of Canada plans to limit the remuneration rights of music creators in the United States, among other countries, when it ratifies the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), which was adopted in late 1996. A March 1 entry in the Canada Gazette said there will be limitations for rights holders in the U.S. and several other countries that don’t offer similar rights to Canadian rights holders. The provision would apply to Section 19 of the Copyright Act, the notice said. “The Copyright Act provides performers and...

Tanya Woods leaving Bell for gaming association

Media | 03/04/2014 7:23 pm EST

Tanya Woods, director and legal counsel for regulatory and copyright law at BCE Inc., is leaving to become vice-president of policy and legal affairs the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, The Lobby Monitor reported....

Roam Mobility cards available at Best Buy, Future Shop

telecom | 03/04/2014 4:59 pm EST

Roam Mobility Inc. said Tuesday that its SIM cards for roaming in the United States are now available at Best Buy and Future Shop outlets. It said in a news release that unlimited talk-and-text plans...

ACTRA, CMPA among organizations opposing Aereo

telecom | 03/03/2014 9:28 pm EST

Canadian groups including the actors’ union ACTRA, the Canadian Media Production Association, and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) have joined in filing a brief in a U.S. Supreme Court...

Avaya architect pleased with network performance in Sochi

telecom | 03/03/2014 9:04 pm EST

The Canadian who led the efforts of Avaya Inc. to build the communications network for use by athletes, journalists, volunteers and others directly involved with the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi,...

Mobile apps employment up 25% since 2012: ICTC

telecom | 03/03/2014 8:40 pm EST

The number of Canadians employed in the development of mobile applications has reached 64,100, a 25 per cent increase from a previous report in October 2012, the Information and Communications Technology Council said Monday. ICTC...

Telus acquires e-health records company

telecom | 03/03/2014 7:35 pm EST

Telus Corp.’s Telus Health division has acquired Med Access Inc., a provider of electronic medical record services, for an undisclosed amount. Kelowna, B.C.-based Med Access serves 2,000 doctors in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, Telus said in a press release Monday. Telus added that with the acquisition, its...

Canadian TV subs fall for first time

telecom | 03/03/2014 7:15 pm EST

A compilation of 2013 year-end data from Canada’s major telecommunications companies verifies suspicions that it was the first year on record in which TV subscriptions in Canada declined. A compilation by The Wire Report of...

CRTC idea could violate net neutrality: experts

Media | 03/03/2014 3:53 pm EST

A question posed by the CRTC in its review of television services, focusing on exempting over-the-top (OTT) services from Internet data caps, could have implications on net neutrality, according to some industry experts. In an...

SaskTel to spend $55M on fibre-to-home this year

telecom | 02/28/2014 10:13 pm EST

SaskTel said it plans to spend $55 million on its fibre-to-the-home program this year, with a focus on adding 18,000 customers to its fibre-optic network service, known as InfiNet. The $55 million is part of plans to spend about $322 million on capital expenditures in 2014, announced in a release Thursday. Also among its spending plans this year, SaskTel said it will spend $36.8 million on upgrades to its wireless network, including $1.8 million to expand its LTE network....

‘We are not the same,’ Telus exec says on leaving CWTA

telecom | 02/28/2014 9:04 pm EST

Telus Corp. has pulled out of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the main trade association and lobbying group for companies associated with the mobile-communications...

James Moore unveils name, cover page of digital strategy

telecom | 02/28/2014 8:55 pm EST

Industry Minister James Moore showed off the cover page of the government’s digital economy strategy at a speech on Friday, saying the long-awaited policy was close to release, according to a...

Rogers’ analog customers could lose some channels

Media | 02/28/2014 8:27 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. customers who are on an analog cable service are losing some of their channels as the service provider phases out what remains of analog signals of certain services. The company said any customers...

CRTC amends requirements for ethnic, third-language TV

telecom | 02/28/2014 7:14 pm EST

The CRTC has amended its regulations on linkage and distribution requirements for Canadian ethnic and third-language specialty channels. Previously, the regulations stated that TV service providers...

Amdocs disputes Mobilicity’s characterization of agreement

telecom | 02/28/2014 6:40 pm EST

Amdocs Inc. said in an affidavit filed this week in Mobilicity’s bankruptcy-protection proceedings that the wireless provider has made “incorrect” interpretations about the agreement between the two companies as a court battle continues over payments Amdocs is seeking. In the latest filing, dated Feb. 27, Mark Sumner, Amdocs’ senior manager of contract management for Canada, took issue with some of the points made by Ryan Lausman, vice-president of systems operations for Mobilicity’s operator, DAVE Wireless Inc., in an affidavit filed Feb. 18. Sumner said...

TVA Group profits, revenue down

Media | 02/28/2014 4:19 pm EST

TVA Group Inc., the broadcasting and magazine publishing arm of Quebecor Inc., on Friday reported declines in profits and revenue for the last quarter of 2013. TVA said in a press release that net income in the fourth quarter was...

Industry Canada calls for input on antenna-tower rules

telecom | 02/28/2014 4:10 pm EST

Industry Canada is asking for comment on proposed changes to the rules for wireless antenna towers, one month after Industry Minister James Moore said the government would close...

NextWave spectrum could revert to government after blocked sale

telecom | 02/27/2014 9:55 pm EST

Industry Minister James Moore blocked a spectrum-transfer request on Thursday between NextWave Wireless Inc. and a joint venture between two of Canada’s incumbent carriers, a decision that could...

Shaw launches on-demand viewing of History

Media | 02/27/2014 4:42 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. said Thursday it has launched a mobile app and upgraded the website for its History channel to allow its subscribers on-demand viewing of almost 300 hours of programming. Shaw said in a press release the...

Rogers opens data centre in Calgary

telecom | 02/26/2014 6:35 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. opened an 85,000 square foot data centre in Calgary Wednesday. The centre is in “close enough proximity to Calgary city limits to be used as a primary corporate data centre for that...

Companies bid for more than $7B in 700 MHz auction: report

telecom | 02/26/2014 6:19 pm EST

Bids in Industry Canada’s 700 MHz spectrum auction topped $7 billion, according a report in the Globe and Mail. The article published on the Globe’s website Tuesday evening reported...

Canada falls short in broadband upload speed ranking

telecom | 02/26/2014 3:25 pm EST

A lack of competition is behind slow upload speeds for Canadian broadband Internet customers, according to analyst Alan Breznick, and only the entry of a disruptive force like Google Inc. will bring the country up to speed....

CRTC approves Viewers Choice request to revoke satellite licence

Media | 02/25/2014 9:31 pm EST

The CRTC said in an notice on its website Tuesday that it has consented to a request from Viewers Choice, a pay-per-view service owned by BCE Inc., to revoke its broadcast licence for carriage on...

BlackBerry CEO would consider selling BBM: reports

Media | 02/25/2014 8:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said Tuesday he would consider selling BBM, the company’s messaging service, according to different media reports Tuesday. CNBC quoted Chen in an interview as saying: "If somebody comes to me with $19 billion, I would definitely sell it. I would recommend to the board to take it." Chen was referencing the $19 billion US Facebook Inc. said last week it had agreed to pay for WhatsApp Inc., another messaging service. A Bloomberg article quoted Chen as telling Bloomberg TV he wants to wait until BBM is built up into a more powerful competitor in the...

CBC says 15M tuned into men’s gold medal hockey game

Media | 02/25/2014 7:28 pm EST

About 15 million people in Canada tuned in to at least part of the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game on Sunday, which had an average audience of 8.5 million throughout the contest,...

Extension of creditor protection approved for Mobilicity

telecom | 02/25/2014 6:41 pm EST

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday said it has approved Mobilicity’s request for an extension of its creditor protection until March 31. This marks the third extension the...

Court fines Rogers $500,000 over fewer-dropped-calls claim

telecom | 02/24/2014 10:04 pm EST

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered Rogers Communications Inc. to pay a $500,000 penalty for not exercising due diligence before claiming its Chatr brand had fewer dropped calls, the Competition Bureau said in a release Monday. In 2010, the bureau launched a lawsuit against Rogers, seeking a $10-million fine for...

PIAC asks court to set aside cancellation fees in wireless code appeal

telecom | 02/24/2014 9:14 pm EST

The question of cancellation fees for wireless customers should be set aside in carriers’ appeal of the CRTC’s wireless code, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre said in a court filing on...

Netflix to pay Comcast for faster streaming: report

Media | 02/24/2014 9:05 pm EST

Netflix Inc. will pay Comcast Corp. for access to its network in order to be able to provide its streaming video customers with faster speeds and improved reliability, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting anonymous sources. Based on information from one source, the news service said Netflix would pay Comcast millions of dollars each year in order “to deliver its content more efficiently,” in the wake of “complaints about quality and speed.” The two companies said in a release Sunday that they had reached a multi-year deal for a “more direct connection between...

Mobilicity seeks creditor protection until March 31

telecom | 02/24/2014 8:29 pm EST

Mobilicity is seeking to extend its creditor protection until March 31, according to a report on the website of its court-appointed monitor, Ernst & Young. The report from Ernst & Young, dated Feb. 20, recommends that the...

Companies bet on finding profits in free public WiFi

telecom | 02/24/2014 8:26 pm EST

Local authorities in some of Canada’s major cities are arranging to have communications infrastructure installed for use by their citizens, and these projects have something in common — public money is not part of the...

BlackBerry makes BBM available for Windows, Nokia phones

Media | 02/24/2014 2:50 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that its BBM instant-messaging service would become available to users of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phones and Nokia Corp.’s X smartphones. BlackBerry made the...

TekSavvy ordered to turn over subscriber info to Voltage

Media | 02/21/2014 9:44 pm EST

A Canadian Internet service provider is being required by court order to give information on its subscribers linked with illegal filesharing to a Hollywood production company, and advocates on both...

Canadians prefer iPhone for second screen, Blackberry for news tweets

telecom | 02/21/2014 9:33 pm EST

Canadians overwhelmingly use Apple Inc. iPhones as a second screen when watching television, and despite vanishingly small market share, those with BlackBerry Ltd. smartphones account for nearly...

CRTC rebuts claims it overstepped with wireless code

telecom | 02/21/2014 8:23 pm EST

The CRTC not only has the right to implement its consumer-friendly wireless code, but its powers extend to the so-far-unused ability to determine prices within the wireless industry, the commission said in a response filed...

Public Mobile changing unlimited data plans to 1 GB limit

telecom | 02/21/2014 7:54 pm EST

Public Mobile says on its website that it is eliminating its unlimited wireless plans. The carrier, which was purchased by Telus Corp. in a deal that closed in November, said its unlimited plans...

Variety on television must be preserved, says Bell’s Crull

Media | 02/20/2014 10:26 pm EST

OTTAWA — Industry executives disagreed about the best way to give consumers more choice as they discussed the CRTC’s ongoing review of the television system during a panel discussion at...

‘That was a lot to spend,’ analyst says of Rogers’ auction activity

telecom | 02/20/2014 9:58 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. spent more than expected in the government’s 700 MHz spectrum auction, while Videotron, owned by Quebecor Inc., expanded its network across the country for a relatively low price, analysts said on Thursday. The results of the 700 MHz wireless auction, released on Wednesday, showed Rogers invested more than $3.2 billion in contiguous paired channels of A and B spectrum in the most populated Canadian markets, despite the infancy of the technology that takes advantage of the A spectrum. “We did not expect [Rogers] to buy the A block in every major market and wonder when it can be deployed,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Dvai Ghose said in a...