Videotron reduces international roaming rates

telecom | 02/20/2014 6:46 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron unit said Wednesday it was reducing roaming rates for customers travelling to the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. It said data roaming rates for the U.S. have been cut to 15 cents per...

Mobilicity counters claim from Amdocs

telecom | 02/20/2014 6:37 pm EST

Mobilicity has filed an affidavit in court challenging claims for payment from one of its suppliers. Amdocs Inc. had filed an affidavit that asked for about $1.7 million in payments from the wireless carrier, which is currently...

CRTC looks into competition in wholesale wireless services

telecom | 02/20/2014 6:33 pm EST

The CRTC said Thursday it has launched a public consultation into the competitiveness of the wholesale wireless market in Canada. The commission said in a press release it is seeking comments on the...

Rogers spends billions on spectrum, focuses on A, B pairings

telecom | 02/19/2014 10:45 pm EST

OTTAWA — More than half the money raised in the government’s 700 MHz auction of wireless spectrum came from Rogers Communications Inc., which invested heavily in two key blocks in regions...

Cancon should be on all screens: Blais

telecom | 02/19/2014 9:17 pm EST

In response to a question on Twitter about whether the CRTC will regulate Canadian content on all screens, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais said that “it’s important for Canadian content to be on all screens.” Blais made the statement on Wednesday during live chat about the CRTC’s ongoing review of the television system. The commission launched a questionnaire as part of Phase 2 of that review Tuesday, and the Wire Report reported that some of the questions in it imply the regulator is reconsidering its previous stance not to regulate over-the-top services like that...

U.S. broadcasters file trade complaint against Canada

Media | 02/19/2014 8:43 pm EST

The U.S. Television Coalition, which represents U.S. television stations whose signals are retransmitted in markets across Canada, has asked the Office of the United States Trade Representative to place Canada on its priority...

Mobilicity to ask for creditor-protection extension

telecom | 02/19/2014 7:26 pm EST

Mobilicity will be asking for an extension of its creditor protection. An official involved in its court-monitored bankruptcy protection process told The Wire Report by phone on background that an affidavit was likely to be filed...

Rogers launches smartphone upgrade offer

telecom | 02/19/2014 5:38 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. has launched a new program to allow customers to get new smartphones every 12 months. Subscribers to the Rogers Next program, who are on a two-year term, pay an extra $24.99 per month for the right to...

700 MHz auction results coming Wednesday

telecom | 02/18/2014 10:59 pm EST

Industry Minister James Moore will announce the results of the government’s 700 MHz spectrum auction Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa, the federal government said Tuesday. The auction opened Jan. 14 and was a chance for...

Phase 2 of CRTC TV review asks about OTT regulation

Media | 02/18/2014 10:22 pm EST

The CRTC is asking Canadians for feedback about Canadian content in online television services and their adherence to programming standards in an online questionnaire released Tuesday as part of Phase 2 of its review of television...

Blackberry CEO John Chen slams “inappropriate” T-Mobile offer

telecom | 02/18/2014 9:13 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said in a blog post Tuesday he was “outraged” at T-Mobile US Inc. after the U.S. carrier sent a targeted email to BlackBerry users last week offering them a...

Quebecor files complaint against Bell Fund

Media | 02/18/2014 7:56 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s media division has filed a complaint against the BCE Inc.-supported Bell Fund, claiming it had three TV projects that were unfairly turned down for funding last year. In letter filed on the CRTC’s...

WestJet to offer in-flight WiFi

telecom | 02/18/2014 6:22 pm EST

WestJet Airlines Ltd. will begin to offer in-flight WiFi and Internet access this year thanks to a multi-year deal between the low-cost carrier and Panasonic Corp.’s avionics division. The deal, announced in a Feb. 14 press...

Rakuten buys Viber Media for $900M US

Media | 02/14/2014 6:01 pm EST

Rakuten Inc., a Tokyo-based provider of e-commerce and financial services, said Friday it is buying Viber Media Ltd., a provider of voice-over-IP (VoIP) and messaging services, for $900 million US. Rakuten said in a press release the addition of Viber would strengthen its own business “through the use of Viber’s range of customers in the company’s e-commerce and digital-contents services.” Rakuten said Viber has 280 million registered users globally and has “rapidly growing numbers of users, especially in emerging countries.” Reuters reported the...

CRTC asks wireless industry for more roaming data

telecom | 02/14/2014 5:18 pm EST

The CRTC sent a request to wireless firms across the country this week asking for more information on their roaming agreements with other carriers. In a note sent by email on Feb. 12, John Macri, the commission’s director...

Telus keeps lead over Bell in wireless subs

telecom | 02/14/2014 3:52 pm EST

For the second straight quarter, Telus Corp. reported a higher number of wireless subscribers than BCE Inc. In its fourth-quarter data, Telus said it had 7,807,000 wireless subscribers by quarter’s end, which included...

Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable

telecom | 02/13/2014 9:32 pm EST

Comcast Corp. is acquiring Time Warner Cable Inc. for $45.2 billion deal US in stock, the companies said in a press release Thursday. The deal combines the two largest cable companies in the United States, Bloomberg said in a...

Android, iPhone users can make free calls on new BBM

telecom | 02/13/2014 7:12 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. announced a new version of its BBM messaging system Thursday that will, among other features, allow users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android system to make free...

Telus working on Public Mobile integration

telecom | 02/13/2014 6:55 pm EST

Telus Corp. is “assessing” the pricing plans it makes available to Public Mobile subscribers as it works to migrate those customers onto its LTE network this year, the company’s chief commercial officer said. “We are assessing Public Mobile pricing right now and looking at product offerings,” Joe Natale, Telus’ executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said Thursday in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth quarter results. “We have made a commitment to keep the $19 unlimited voice plan in the market...

Moore backs down from four-carrier policy: CP

telecom | 02/13/2014 6:18 pm EST

The Canadian Press reported that Industry Minister James Moore has backed off on the government’s commitment to having a fourth strong wireless carrier in every region of the country. In an interview Wednesday, Moore said:...

Affordability, not access, key to rural Internet delivery: ISPs

telecom | 02/12/2014 10:13 pm EST

The federal government’s new rural broadband funding program should help reduce the cost of connecting rural locations’ Internet services with the rest of the country and not just focus on...

Android, Apple account for 95.7% of smartphone market: IDC

telecom | 02/12/2014 8:48 pm EST

Google Inc.’s Android operating system and Apple Inc.’s iOS software powered 95.7 per cent of the smartphones shipped globally in 2013’s third quarter, a report released Wednesday...

CRTC approves 3 foreign ‘viral’ video TV channels

Media | 02/12/2014 8:32 pm EST

The CRTC said in a notice that it has approved three non-Canadian TV channels for distribution, all of which are aimed at viewers younger than 30 and are based largely on online content from platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. The names of the three channels are Gone Viral Blog, Gone Viral Music and Gone Viral Vogue. They...

Apple could launch new set-top box this year: report

telecom | 02/12/2014 8:25 pm EST

Apple Inc. is planning to launch a new Apple TV set-top box and is negotiating with Time Warner Cable Inc. as a potential partner, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Time Warner, as well as other potential partners, would add video...

Cogeco expands home-phone service in Quebec

telecom | 02/12/2014 8:16 pm EST

Cogeco Cable Inc. said Wednesday that it has launched home-phone service in three Quebec communities. It said the service is now available in St-Simon-les-Mines, Roxton Falls and Notre-Dame-des-Pins. The company announced...

Hockey broadcast costs cut into Rogers’ profit

Media | 02/12/2014 3:25 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. reported lower fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday, and attributed some of the decline to costs associated with broadcasting more hockey games. The company reported net income, adjusted for...

Bell Aliant opening New Brunswick data centre

telecom | 02/11/2014 9:39 pm EST

Bell Aliant Inc. is opening a new $25-million data centre in Saint John, N.B., the company said in a press release Tuesday. The company, in which BCE Inc. has 44 per cent stake, said that over the last five years, it has invested...

CRTC to get power to fine telecoms: Budget 2014

telecom | 02/11/2014 9:11 pm EST

OTTAWA — The federal government will propose amendments to Canada's telecommunications laws to “clarify” prohibitions against breaking Industry Canada's spectrum auction rules and to give the CRTC new powers to fine and regulate telecom providers, the government's budget said. In the budget document released Tuesday, Finance Canada said the government will table amendments to the federal Telecommunications Act and Radiocommunication Act to “ensure fair and competitive bidding” during Industry Canada auctions of valuable wireless airwaves. The goal of...

Bell reduces roaming prices for Cuba

telecom | 02/11/2014 5:33 pm EST

BCE Inc. said that, as of Tuesday, its wireless customers would see “significant decreases” in the cost of roaming in Cuba. Bell said in a release Monday that, for roaming packages bought in advance, data usage in...

Incumbents’ wholesale roaming rates ‘unjust’: competition commish

telecom | 02/11/2014 4:48 pm EST

Canadian Competition Commissioner John Pecman called the roaming rates incumbent wireless firms charge new entrants “unjust” and repeated the Competition Bureau’s call for the CRTC...

Rules could stymie inquiry of telecoms’ info disclosure to government

telecom | 02/10/2014 10:19 pm EST

Chris Parsons suspects he won’t get the answers he’s looking for. At the very least he’s hoping the public will soon know why. Parsons, a post-doctorate fellow researching...

Andrew Bocking leaves BlackBerry’s BBM unit

telecom | 02/10/2014 9:27 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. confirmed Monday that Andrew Stocking has left his post as executive vice-president of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). His LinkedIn profile shows that he’s held that position since June last year, and has been...

Electronic Box Internet comes to Ontario

telecom | 02/10/2014 8:33 pm EST

An independent Internet service provider that was already operating in Quebec is bringing its high-data-limit home-service option to Ontario. Electronic Box Inc. said in a press release Monday that its cable-modem Internet service will feature Internet speeds ranging from six to 45 Mbps, with a monthly data limit of one terabyte for most plans.  While there are no-limit plans offered in Canada, one terabyte is about 10 times the 104.9 gigabytes the CRTC said was the average cap of Internet packages with limits in 2012. Electronic Box CEO Jean-Phillipe Béique said in an email that...

Industry Canada website takes credit for wireless code in ‘error’

telecom | 02/10/2014 6:44 pm EST

Industry Canada’s website was indicating Monday morning that the department was responsible for measures contained in the wireless code, which was introduced last year by the CRTC. However, the...

CRTC reaches decision on customer transfer process

telecom | 02/07/2014 8:51 pm EST

The CRTC has approved a working group’s recommendations aimed at simplifying the customer-transfer process. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said that in cases where a telephone number is being transferred, the previous...

MTS reports lower fourth quarter, year-end numbers

telecom | 02/06/2014 9:51 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. released on Thursday lower earnings and revenue for both the fourth quarter and 2013 as a whole. The company’s press release indicated quarterly net earnings fell to $16.2 million from $29.5...

CRTC launches satellite inquiry, NWTel appeals December decision

telecom | 02/06/2014 8:43 pm EST

The simmering debate over Northern Canada’s telecommunications services heated up again this week as Northwestel Inc. asked the CRTC to re-examine parts of its most recent decision on the...

Videotron wireless subs hit 500,000

telecom | 02/06/2014 7:19 pm EST

Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron now has 500,000 wireless customers, the company said in a press release. Videotron launched its wireless network in September 2010, following its purchase of more than $550-million worth of...

Glentel announces millions of dollars in contracts

telecom | 02/06/2014 7:15 pm EST

Glentel Inc., a Burnaby, B.C.-based provider of wireless technology, said Thursday it has secured several large contracts, ranging in value from $2 million to $7.5 million, to be completed this year. In a release Thursday, it...

Wireline data gains ‘highlight’ of Q4: BCE’s Cope

Media | 02/06/2014 6:34 pm EST

BCE Inc. CEO George Cope called the company’s wireline data revenue growth the “highlight” of its fourth-quarter results, released Thursday. “From my perspective, the...

CRTC decision on condo access could be ‘warning’: analyst

telecom | 02/05/2014 10:27 pm EST

Unless BCE Inc. is allowed to install its infrastructure in a Toronto condo building, as of March 31, Rogers Communications Inc. will not be allowed to provide services to its residents either, the...

New regulations close tower-site ‘loopholes,’ Moore says

telecom | 02/05/2014 10:12 pm EST

OTTAWA — Industry Canada is updating its wireless tower-site rules to remove “loopholes” that allowed wireless providers to build shorter towers without first consulting local community members, Industry Minister James Moore said. In a press conference at Industry Canada’s Ottawa office Wednesday, Moore said the department will now require wireless providers to consult with local community members before they build any new towers, regardless of the towers’ height, and that the companies must ensure residents are “well-informed” of their plans....

Allstream to open tech support centre in Montreal

telecom | 02/05/2014 8:47 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream unit said Tuesday it will establish a new technical support centre in Montreal. Allstream, a national provider of business communications services, said the expansion is meant to...

Canadians leave ISPs over price, TekSavvy survey says

telecom | 02/05/2014 8:45 pm EST

Price is a common reason for Canadians to leave one Internet service provider (ISPs) for another, according to survey results released Wednesday. A poll commissioned by small Internet and phone-service provider TekSavvy Solutions...

Canadian mobile data traffic, speeds up almost 100% in 2013: Cisco

telecom | 02/05/2014 4:18 am EST

The average mobile connection speed of Canadian smartphones nearly doubled in 2013, climbing to more than 10 Mbps, Cisco Systems Inc. said in a new report released Wednesday. In Canadian highlights...

TeraGo names Joe Prodan chief financial officer

telecom | 02/04/2014 9:33 pm EST

TeraGo Inc., a provider of online, data and voice services, said Tuesday it has appointed Joe Prodan as chief financial officer. Prodan formerly held this title for Mobilicity, the new-entrant wireless carrier that entered...

Telus releases CIBC Mobile Payment App

telecom | 02/04/2014 9:12 pm EST

Telus Corp. said Tuesday it has released an application that allows its mobile customers to make payments with a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce credit card through their wireless devices. Telus said the CIBC Mobile Payment App would be available for download from Google Play on Tuesday, for Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S4, SIII and Note II, as well as HTC Corp.’s One smartphone. Later this month, users of BlackBerry Ltd.’s Z10, Q10 and Bold 9900 will able to download the CIBC Mobile Payment App, it added. Last month, BCE Inc. announced a mobile-payment arrangement...

Rogers unveils Mobile Shopper feature

telecom | 02/04/2014 9:10 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new feature for mobile customers that it said would facilitate getting relevant information to participating users when visiting participating retail establishments. It said the...

Telecom, media industries see opportunities in connected cars

Media | 02/04/2014 9:04 pm EST

While mobile devices have allowed Canadians to stay connected to the Internet when they’re on the go, the coming emergence of Internet-connected vehicles will soon allow their cars to do the...

Bell Aliant reports 50% growth in IPTV revenue

telecom | 02/04/2014 8:21 pm EST

Bell Aliant Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday showed it was doing about 50 per cent more business in the area of Internet-protocol television than a year earlier. Revenue from its IPTV services was up 50.2...

Big ISPs warn against mandatory wholesale for all-fibre networks

telecom | 02/03/2014 11:40 pm EST

Canada’s largest Internet providers are launching an early offensive against potential new rules that could require them to give their smaller competitors access to their fibre-to-the-home network infrastructure, regulatory documents show. In documents filed with the CRTC last week, incumbent Internet providers BCE...

Bell says small-business client info hacked

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

BCE Inc. on Sunday said a breach resulted in 22,421 user names and passwords belonging to its small-business customers being posted online during the weekend, along with five valid credit card numbers.  Bell said the hacking...

CRTC writes to distributors about simultaneous substitution

Media | 02/03/2014 6:54 pm EST

The CRTC has written letters in recent weeks to four television distribution companies, urging them not to blame the commission for simultaneous substitution and telling them it’s the...

CRTC combines mobile-TV complaints

Media | 01/31/2014 9:16 pm EST

The CRTC is combining three complaints about wireless providers’ mobile-TV services and will consider all three complaints under a single proceeding, the commission said. In a complaint filed in November, University of...

Google to sell Motorola Mobility

telecom | 01/31/2014 8:12 pm EST

Google Inc. said Wednesday it has reached a deal to sell Motorola Mobility LCC to Lenovo Group Ltd. for $2.91 billion US. Google CEO Larry Page said in a blog post Wednesday that the smartphone business is “super...

Telus opens $75M data centre in B.C.

telecom | 01/31/2014 7:32 pm EST

Telus Corp. on Friday said it has opened a new Internet data centre in Kamloops, B.C., which will serve as “the foundation” for the company’s “next-generation cloud computing services for thousands of Canadian businesses.” The company said in a press release it has invested $75 million in the data centre, which is resulting in 75 new permanent jobs. Telus said a key feature of the new facility is an advanced cooling system that takes advantage of the low humidity in Kamloops and allows it to use 80 per cent less electricity and 86 per cent less water than...

Greek-language TV channel approved for distribution

Media | 01/31/2014 6:01 pm EST

The CRTC said Friday it has approved a Greek-language television channel for distribution in Canada. It said in a notice posted online that Star International, which will source its programming from Greece, has been approved to...

International Datacasting loses Del Lippert as chairman

telecom | 01/31/2014 3:45 pm EST

International Datacasting Corp. said Friday that Del Lippert has resigned as chairman due to health reasons. The Ottawa-based maker of digital-content distribution technology said Chris Van Staveren has been appointed the new chairman, effective Feb. 1. Lippert had been a member of the board since June 2012, International...

MTS ordered to pay millions into pension plan

telecom | 01/31/2014 3:19 pm EST

The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday ruled in favour of a previous lower court ruling that directed Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. to pay $43 million into an employee pension plan, plus interest that’s expected to more than triple that amount. The issue stems back to 1997 when MTS was privatized and about 7,000 employees and retirees had their...

Digital economy strategy finalized and ready for release, sources say

Media | 01/30/2014 9:52 pm EST

The federal government has finalized its long-awaited digital economy strategy and could release the policy as early as next month, sources familiar with the government’s plans said. Three people contacted by The Wire Report this month confirmed a formal digital economy plan has been finalized after more than...

Roaming arrangements like Survivor alliances, consultant tells CRTC

telecom | 01/30/2014 9:30 pm EST

Comments made to the CRTC as part of its review of domestic roaming rates paint a picture of different alliances made among Canadian wireless carriers — reminiscent of the TV show Survivor — with difficult circumstances facing those who find themselves on the outside of these relationships. In a submission to the CRTC, also shared with The Wire Report, Wind Mobile’s operating firm Globalive Wireless Management Corp. talked about “a large differential” in the...

NDP’s privacy reform bill defeated

telecom | 01/30/2014 6:08 pm EST

Bill C-475, the NDP private members’ bill that aimed to reform the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), was defeated in the House of Commons Wednesday. The bill, which was defeated at...

Canadians divided on TV system issues: CRTC report

Media | 01/29/2014 10:20 pm EST

Canadians who took part in a CRTC consultation “want more” from their television services, including more diverse and higher-quality programming, as well as more choice to subscribe to the individual channels they...

Growth in tablet shipments slowed last quarter: IDC

telecom | 01/29/2014 9:56 pm EST

New data from International Data Corp. suggests a slowdown in growth of the global tablet market. IDC said in a release Wednesday there were 76.9 million tablet shipments around the world in the fourth quarter of 2013, a gain of...

More households went mobile-only in 2012: StatsCan

telecom | 01/29/2014 9:32 pm EST

The percentage of Canadian households saying they use just a cellphone and no landline rose to 15.7 per cent in 2012, according to Statistics Canada’s survey of household spending for that year, which was released Wednesday...

Telus, Quebecor leading bidders for Mobilicity: report

telecom | 01/29/2014 9:13 pm EST

Telus Corp. and Quebecor Inc. are the leading bidders for Mobilicity, the new-entrant wireless carrier that’s been in bankruptcy protection since September, according to an article in the Globe...

High roaming rates ‘likely’ hurting competition, says bureau

telecom | 01/29/2014 8:15 pm EST

The Competition Bureau said high roaming rates charged to domestic wireless competitors are “likely” hurting the level of wireless competition in Canada. On Wednesday, the bureau said in...

Eliminate charges for cellphone calls to helplines: PIAC

telecom | 01/29/2014 7:30 pm EST

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is asking the CRTC to eliminate cellphone charges for calls to helplines and crisis lines. PIAC, together with the non-profit organization Chimo Community...

New spectrum transfer rules not an extension of moratorium, government says

telecom | 01/28/2014 10:18 pm EST

Industry Canada has not extended a five-year moratorium preventing Canada’s largest wireless providers from acquiring their smaller competitors’ airwaves, though it never said they would...

Privacy commissioner calls for more cyber-surveillance oversight

telecom | 01/28/2014 9:14 pm EST

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner tabled a report on cyber-surveillance Tuesday, recommending more oversight and stronger reporting mechanisms. Among other recommendations, the report said that “the use of various disclosure provisions under [the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)] where private-sector entities such as telecommunications companies release personal information to national security entities without court oversight” should be reported publicly. The report also noted that the telecommunications sector has been...

BlackBerry update unlocks FM radio

telecom | 01/28/2014 5:20 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. announced an update to its operating system on Tuesday that, among other things, unlocks a built-in FM radio on certain models. The company said in a release Tuesday that version 10.2.1 of its BlackBerry 10 OS...

Smartphone shipments neared a billion last year: reports

telecom | 01/28/2014 4:33 pm EST

A pair of new market reports said there were about one billion smartphones shipped around the world last year, and both pegged year-to-year growth of such transactions at just less than 40 per cent....

Sierra Wireless reaches deal to buy In Motion Technology

telecom | 01/28/2014 4:25 pm EST

Sierra Wireless Inc., a maker of components used in wireless networks, said Monday it has reached a deal to buy In Motion Technology Inc. for $21 million US in cash. Sierra is headquartered in...

Telecoms shouldn’t track customer habits for marketing: PIAC

telecom | 01/27/2014 9:30 pm EST

To permit BCE Inc. to collect customers’ personal information and track their activities for marketing and advertising purposes “allows Bell to change the nature of what a telecom-service...

‘Millions’ of contracts affected by retrospective wireless code: carriers

telecom | 01/27/2014 9:22 pm EST

The CRTC lacks the statutory authority to interfere with wireless carriers’ “vested rights” by applying its wireless code of conduct to pre-existing contracts, some of Canada’s largest wireless providers said. In a Federal Court of Appeal challenge launched in July, mobile providers BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and SaskTel said the CRTC over-stepped its jurisdiction when it said consumer protections contained in its wireless code would apply to all wireless service contracts in June 2015, regardless of when those contracts were signed. In a memorandum of fact and law filed with the court Friday, the companies said...

Broadband revenue gains to offset phone, TV declines: analyst

telecom | 01/27/2014 5:13 pm EST

Gains in revenue derived from broadband Internet services in the next decade will be more than enough for Canada’s telecom service providers to make up for a shrinking amount of money taken in...

Former Quebecor exec registers to lobby on wireless

telecom | 01/24/2014 9:42 pm EST

Former Quebecor Inc. executive Luc Lavoie registered in December to lobby the federal government on mobile broadband licensing, the federal lobby registry shows. In a French-language registration filed with the lobby...

More than 40% of Telus TV subs don’t get sports channels: Gossling

Media | 01/24/2014 9:25 pm EST

Less than 60 per cent of Telus Corp.’s Optik TV customers subscribe to a sports specialty channel, the company’s chief financial officer said. “If I ask people in the hall,...

Study shows 16% of anglophones considering cord-cutting

Media | 01/24/2014 8:15 pm EST

In a report released Thursday, Media Technology Monitor said that 16 per cent of anglophones with a TV subscription indicate they are somewhat or very likely to cut the cord, compared to eight per...

Rogers exec speaks out against foreign telecom ownership

telecom | 01/24/2014 5:31 pm EST

Edward Rogers, deputy chairman of Rogers Communications Inc., warned against opening the Canadian telecommunications industry to foreign ownership at an investor conference in Whistler, B.C. According to a transcript of his presentation at the CIBC investor conference on Thursday, Rogers said that “the model we have...

Reports of U.S. military BlackBerry order incorrect: spokesman

telecom | 01/24/2014 5:29 pm EST

The U.S. Defense Department says reports from earlier this week of a major purchase of BlackBerry Ltd. devices were not correct. A emailed statement Friday from a department spokesman to The Wire...

Wireless networks ready for 911 text services for deaf community

telecom | 01/24/2014 4:21 pm EST

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) said in a press release Friday that its members have completed the network upgrades necessary to implement a service allowing users to...

Bruce Telecom bid could hint at Eastlink’s spectrum intentions: analyst

telecom | 01/23/2014 10:01 pm EST

Eastlink’s purchase of a small municipally-owned telecom provider in southwestern Ontario might indicate it intends to buy spectrum there in the 700 MHz auction that got underway last week, said...

South Korea to introduce 5G network

telecom | 01/23/2014 9:27 pm EST

South Korea plans to invest $1.5 billion US in a next-generation 5G wireless service, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday. AFP said South Korea would implement the technology, which would be fast enough to allow users to download a full-length movie in a second, within six years. "We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010. Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G," AFP quoted the South Korean science ministry as saying in a statement. The ministry said it believes there will be "fierce competition in this market" within "a few years" as European countries, as well as China and the U.S., are “making aggressive efforts to develop 5G technology.” South Korea plans to roll out...

Federal bodies coordinate anti-spam enforcement

telecom | 01/23/2014 7:55 pm EST

The federal competition commissioner, the privacy commissioner and the CRTC have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation of the federal government’s anti-spam law. The Competition Bureau said in a...

Government to save ‘millions’ cutting landlines

telecom | 01/23/2014 7:23 pm EST

The federal government is expected to save “millions” of dollars by getting rid of traditional landlines, Postmedia News reported Wednesday. In an article that quoted presentations and briefing notes to the president of Shared Services Canada, which were obtained through an access-to-information request, the news service said the government...

Court could rule on Mobilicity sale

telecom | 01/23/2014 12:14 am EST

An Ontario judge is prepared to potentially consider a sale of Mobilicity and its wireless spectrum licences, court documents show. Industry Canada will have a chance to argue why it shouldn't. In an order released Wednesday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Frank Newbould laid out a formal process by which the court would consider a sale of...

CRTC watching HD Radio trial for market, regulatory insight

Media | 01/22/2014 9:50 pm EST

The CRTC will be watching a Toronto radio station’s experiment with HD Radio to help gauge whether the technology has a future in Canada, and what that future might look like, the head of the...

Academics ask telcos about information disclosure to government

telecom | 01/22/2014 7:49 pm EST

A group of academics have written to Canada’s leading telecommunications-service providers to ask them about the sharing of customer information with government agencies. The academics sent letters to BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc., Telus Corp. and several other providers of mobile, home-phone and/or Internet service. The letters — a draft of which was obtained by The Wire Report — included questions about: the number of times a government agency requested customer information in 2012 and 2013; how many times the requests were made on the grounds of...

Ethics commissioner to probe Glover’s fundraising event

Media | 01/22/2014 6:55 pm EST

The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner has launched an “examination” of a fundraising event involving Heritage Minister Shelly Glover that a Liberal MP says illegally sought donations from people in the cultural community. A letter Liberal MP Ralph Goodale sent to the Ethics Commissioner...

CRTC approves radio station in Meaford, Ont.

Media | 01/22/2014 6:50 pm EST

The CRTC said in notice Wednesday that it has approved a new commercial radio station for Meaford, Ont., located about 180 kilometres north of Toronto on the south shore of Georgian Bay. The FM station will broadcast at a...

Commission to study future of Internet governance

telecom | 01/22/2014 6:44 pm EST

A Canadian-based think-tank said Wednesday it has teamed with a British organization to launch a commission to study and present recommendations on the future of Internet governance. The Waterloo, Ont.-based Centre for...

Allstream’s fibre-optic network reaches 3,000-plus buildings

telecom | 01/22/2014 6:31 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream unit said Wednesday that its national fibre-optic IP network is now hooked up to more than 3,000 buildings. Allstream, which provides communications...

RBC, Bell launch mobile wallet

telecom | 01/22/2014 6:28 pm EST

Royal Bank of Canada and BCE Inc. said Wednesday they launched a mobile wallet that will allow users of the RBC Mobile app to make payments from their debit or Visa cards using certain devices running on the Bell Mobility network....

Cogeco doubles top Internet speeds in Ontario, Quebec

telecom | 01/21/2014 9:01 pm EST

Cogeco Cable Inc. said Tuesday that it has doubled the speed of its fastest residential and business Internet speeds in Ontario and Quebec. In two different releases, Cogeco said it was offering packages called Ultimate 120 to...

Rogers asks court to dismiss Telus challenge of spectrum-transfer rules

telecom | 01/21/2014 8:28 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. is urging the Federal Court to dismiss Telus Corp.’s request for a review of Industry Canada’s new spectrum transfer rules and how they would apply to the...

Verizon to buy Intel’s cloud-TV division

Media | 01/21/2014 7:12 pm EST

Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it has reached a deal to purchase Intel Corp.’s Intel Media division, which is focused on developing cloud-television products and services. Terms of the transaction were not...

Verizon earnings rise, wireless growth outpaces other operations

telecom | 01/21/2014 4:21 pm EST

Verizon Communications Inc. on Tuesday reported higher fourth-quarter earnings as revenue in its wireless business rose faster than its other operations, which also include Internet, television and home-phone service. The U.S. telecom giant’s financial data showed net earnings were $7.92 billion US for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to $1.93 billion US a year earlier. The last quarter’s earnings included a $3.7-billion US gain related to the annual valuation of benefit plans and pension adjustments, as well as a $540-million US charge related to its purchase of Vodafone...