Three-operator wireless markets ideal, says consultancy

telecom | 01/20/2014 7:20 pm EST

A British-based consultancy to the telecommunications and media sectors said Monday that three is the ideal number of operators to have in a wireless market, and that this is something regulators...

Incumbents’ campaign against government called ‘unmitigated failure’

telecom | 01/20/2014 4:47 pm EST

Industry Canada’s long-awaited auction for the coveted 700 MHz wireless spectrum got underway Jan. 14, but the most interesting story may have played out over the summer in a high-stakes public relations and lobbying fight whose outcome and consequences are still being dissected. Although...

Mobile app operations employ 21K in Ontario: study

Media | 01/17/2014 7:24 pm EST

There are about 21,000 people in Ontario whose jobs are related to the development and distribution of mobile applications, the Information and Communications Technology Council said in a report released Thursday. The report...

Sprint gets bank advice on buying T-Mobile: WSJ

telecom | 01/17/2014 5:03 pm EST

Sprint Corp. has received advice from at least two different banks on how to finance a buyout of T-Mobile US Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, quoting two anonymous sources. While one source said that the terms of...

CRTC chair says he shares ‘philosophy’ with James Moore

telecom | 01/16/2014 6:27 pm EST

CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a magazine article that hits newsstands Monday that he and Industry Minister James Moore share a similar “philosophy” about consumer affordability and service issues in the telecommunications sector. In a feature article in the winter 2014 edition of Power & Influence magazine, Blais said he was "not surprised" by a letter he received when he became CRTC chair, in which Moore asked him to “comprehensively address consumer affordability and service complaints," during his time on the commission, and to "ensure...

Google’s use of health information illegal: privacy commissioner

Media | 01/15/2014 7:45 pm EST

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said Wednesday that Google Inc. breached Canadian privacy law by using individuals’ health information to provide them with targeted...

Bell Media promotes Domenic Vivolo

telecom | 01/15/2014 7:36 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary named Domenic Vivolo executive vice-president of content sales and distribution marketing. In a release Monday, the company said Vivolo would “lead Bell Media’s content distribution team,” effective immediately. “His extensive industry experience and keen strategic vision make him a valuable...

Fibre-to-the-home rollout ramps up in Canada

telecom | 01/15/2014 6:41 pm EST

The average Canadian is currently less likely to have access to the fast Internet speeds offered by fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology than the average American, but Canada is catching up. The companies building FTTH networks in Canada are now doing so faster than their U.S. counterparts, according to Heather Burnett Gold, president of the...

Seniors bigger users of radio, TV: report

telecom | 01/15/2014 5:54 pm EST

Canadian seniors are bigger users of traditional media such as television and radio than younger people, while they are less frequent users of newer media and less likely to own smartphones and tablets, according to a new report....

Spectrum auction withdrawal a ‘headwind’ to surging Wind, experts say

telecom | 01/14/2014 10:26 pm EST

Wind Mobile’s chief executive says the company is surging in the absence of stable new entrant competitors, though experts warn it will face a “headwind” soon without access to 700...

DirecTV drops Weather Channel in U.S.

Media | 01/14/2014 8:40 pm EST

A fee dispute between U.S. satellite-TV provider DirecTV and the Weather Channel culminated in the latter being taken off of the service on Tuesday. Bloomberg reported David Kenny, CEO of the station’s parent firm, Weather...

U.S. net neutrality rules struck down

telecom | 01/14/2014 6:37 pm EST

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday struck down Federal Communications Commission rules that require Internet service providers to treat similar traffic equally in its transmission. The decision also...

Cogeco Cable revenue, profits up, subs down

telecom | 01/14/2014 5:55 pm EST

Cogeco Cable Inc. reported revenue of $474.98 million for the three months ended Nov. 30, a 43.7 per cent increase from $327.91 million at the same time last year, the company said in its first-quarter results Monday. It reported...

Shaw earnings increase as TV subs decline

Media | 01/14/2014 4:19 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. reported a gain in first-quarter earnings amid some declines in both its cable and satellite TV-service subscriptions. The broadcaster and provider of TV, Internet and phone service said in a release Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Nov. 30 was $245 million, up from $235 million a year earlier. It attributed the rise to higher operating profits and lower interest payments, which were somewhat offset by higher income taxes. Revenue was up 3.3 per cent to $1.36 billion. Its cable division revenue rose 4.3 per cent to $844 million, satellite revenue rose...

Wind auction withdrawal good for Feenix: experts

telecom | 01/14/2014 12:32 am EST

John Bitove’s Feenix Wireless Inc. could have access to prime spectrum at lower prices following the withdrawal of Globalive Wireless Management Corp., owner of Wind Mobile, from the 700 MHz auction that starts Tuesday,...

Phablets to drive mobile data growth, cord-cutting at ‘tipping point’: Deloitte

Media | 01/13/2014 10:58 pm EST

Increased sales of larger, “phablet” smartphones will drive growth in mobile data consumption in 2014 as more consumers use the bigger devices to watch more mobile TV, consulting firm...

Google buys Nest for $3.2B

telecom | 01/13/2014 10:03 pm EST

Google Inc. said Monday it has bought Nest Labs Inc. for $3.2 billion US. Nest makes products such as a thermostat that learns the schedules of homeowners and programs itself, the company’s website says. “Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team...

BYOD programs subject to failure: Gartner

telecom | 01/13/2014 5:51 pm EST

One-fifth of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs globally will fail by 2016 because of restrictive mobile-device management measures, research company Gartner Inc. said Monday. Ken Dulaney, analyst and vice-president at Gartner, said in a release that “the use of consumer technologies in the work environment presents a threat to IT...

BlackBerry names Eric Johnson to head global sales

telecom | 01/13/2014 3:01 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday it has named Eric Johnson as president of global sales. This announcement follows a series of other executive appointments in recent weeks, including Ron Louks as president of devices and emerging solutions, John Sims as president of global enterprise services, James Mackey as executive vice-president for corporate development and strategic planning, and Mark Wilson as senior vice-president of marketing. "I am pleased to round out BlackBerry's new executive leadership team with another outstanding addition today,” BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in a...

Smaller 2500 MHz licences to benefit rural providers, Industry Canada says

telecom | 01/10/2014 9:50 pm EST

Industry Canada will auction off 2500 MHz spectrum licences in April 2015 using smaller “Tier 3” licence areas that will allow smaller service providers to access more wireless airwaves in...

Cheaper data for mobile TV not an undue preference, BCE says

telecom | 01/10/2014 9:24 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s mobile TV product is a distinct broadcast distribution business and its pricing structure does not disadvantage competitors' over-the-top video services any more than the pricing...

EOWC awards new fibre service contracts

telecom | 01/10/2014 5:53 pm EST

The Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus (EOWC) awarded Bell Aliant Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc. and Utilities Kingston contracts to expand fibre Internet connections to business parks in rural Ontario locations, the EOWC said. The companies will provide high-speed fibre Internet connections to more than 50 “business parks and clusters” in...

Fairfax buying more BlackBerry debt

telecom | 01/09/2014 8:24 pm EST

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has agreed to buy an additional $250 million worth of convertible debt in BlackBerry Ltd., according to an announcement from BlackBerry on Wednesday. Reuters reported that the transaction would double the amount of BlackBerry debt that Fairfax holds, on top of its 9.9 per cent equity stake, which makes it...

Primus Canada names Michael Nowlan CEO

telecom | 01/09/2014 7:53 pm EST

Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc. said Thursday that Michael Nowlan is its new chief executive officer. In a release, the provider of phone and Internet services said Nowlan spent 12 years as CEO of Marketwire L.P., where he “transformed the company from a traditional newswire service in a slow-growth industry to a high-growth social media...

Canada ‘luring’ Google, Facebook cloud computing business

telecom | 01/09/2014 7:50 pm EST

The Canadian government is "luring" U.S. technology giants following last year’s revelations about spying by the National Security Agency, the Toronto Star reported Thursday. The Star said the government is recruiting companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. “into storing sensitive banks of...

Auction 2014 — What to expect

telecom | 01/09/2014 4:02 pm EST

The long-anticipated 700 MHz spectrum auction begins Tuesday, Jan 14. Among the rules set out by Industry Canada, each of the three incumbents, Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and BCE Inc., are each only allowed to acquire...

Verizon CEO says unlimited data ‘has to go away’

telecom | 01/08/2014 10:10 pm EST

Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Communications Inc., said wireless carriers will have to stop offering unlimited data. Speaking at the Citi 2014 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas Tuesday, McAdam said...

Rogers renews partnership with MLB

Media | 01/08/2014 9:42 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. said Wednesday it has renewed its long-standing partnership with Major League Baseball, extending its Sportsnet channel's multi-platform broadcasting rights to hundreds of games a year for the next eight seasons and extending its exclusive Canadian right to sell the MLB Network through Rogers’ digital-television service. The deal will allow Sportsnet to continue showing nearly 300 MLB games each season, including regular season matchups, the all-star game, the post-season and the World Series until 2021, Rogers said in a press release. The MLB Network is...

Sony to launch ‘cloud-based’ TV service

Media | 01/08/2014 8:38 pm EST

Sony Corp. will launch a “cloud-based” TV service in the U.S. this year, Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment, said Tuesday in a speech at the CES technology trade show...

‘Penetration-based’ subscription rates needed in pick-and-pay regime: experts

Media | 01/08/2014 8:16 pm EST

Carriage negotiations between broadcasters and the broadcast distributors who deliver their channels to consumers will focus on finding the right “penetration-based” price rates in a...

Mobilicity asks court to rule on spectrum transfers, cites government ambiguity

telecom | 01/07/2014 10:53 pm EST

Mobilicity is asking the Ontario Superior Court to consider whether it could approve a transfer of the new entrant provider’s spectrum licences as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, and in the...

Content collectives ask for court review of Copyright Board ruling

Media | 01/07/2014 9:45 pm EST

At least two content collectives are asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review a decision the Copyright Board made in November regarding interest payments in the reallocation of tariffs for distant...

Android users expected to exceed a billion this year

telecom | 01/07/2014 9:15 pm EST

Google Inc.’s Android operating system will reach 1.1 billion users in 2014, research company Gartner Inc. said. That would mark a 26 per cent increase from 2013, Gartner said in a release Tuesday. "Android holds the largest number of installed-base devices, with 1.9 billion in use in 2014, compared with 682 million iOS/Mac OS installed-base devices," Annette Zimmerman, principal analyst with the company, said in the release. She added Android users purchase lower-cost devices than users of Apple Inc.’s products. The release said that by 2017, more than three-quarters...

Videotron to offer unlimited mobile data

telecom | 01/07/2014 8:21 pm EST

Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron will begin offering an unlimited data plan to its wireless customers on Jan. 8. In a release Tuesday, Videotron said the plan, which will be available for $80 “for a limited time,”...

Dean Prevost leaving Allstream

telecom | 01/07/2014 7:46 pm EST

Dean Prevost, president of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s MTS Allstream business unit, will leave the company on Jan. 17. MTS said in a release Tuesday he would step down “in order to pursue other interests.”...

Gogo launching WiFi on some flights through Canada

telecom | 01/06/2014 9:49 pm EST

In-flight WiFi provider Gogo Inc. said that a portion of its Canadian network is now live. In a release Monday, Gogo said it has launched the "first phase" of its Canadian "air-to-ground Wi-Fi network," which will allow the company to offer WiFi services to airline passengers flying through parts of Canada. In a telephone...

SaskTel expanding infiNET to Prince Albert

telecom | 01/06/2014 8:05 pm EST

SaskTel is expanding its infiNet fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to Prince Albert, Sask., the company said in a release Thursday. It said “customers can expect to have infiNET available to their homes starting in...

T-Mobile to buy Verizon’s A Block spectrum

telecom | 01/06/2014 7:00 pm EST

T-Mobile USA reached a deal to acquire Verizon Communications Inc.’s “A Block” spectrum in exchange for cash and some of T-Mobile’s other spectrum licences, the companies said. In a release Monday, T-Mobile (owned by German telco Deutsche Telekom AG) said it reached a deal to pay Verizon $2.365 billion US to acquire its A Block...

Wireless sector facing ‘transition year’ in 2014

telecom | 01/06/2014 6:58 pm EST

Carriers still finding their way under the CRTC’s wireless code will face the rollout of 700 MHz spectrum, potential new-entrant consolidation and the recalibration of domestic roaming rates in 2014, in what is poised to be...

Telus loses bid to quash spectrum auction caps

telecom | 01/06/2014 6:58 pm EST

Telus Corp. has lost its legal battle to overturn Industry Canada rules that limit large mobile providers to acquiring a single block of the most coveted airwaves in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. In a decision released...

Ron Louks joins BlackBerry

telecom | 01/06/2014 5:40 pm EST

Ron Louks is the new president of devices and emerging solutions at BlackBerry Ltd., the company said Monday. CEO John Chen said in a release that Louks would focus on “BlackBerry’s long-term product roadmap, including hardware, software and design, as well as the company's joint...

Stewart Lyons to head TeraGo

telecom | 01/06/2014 4:59 pm EST

Former Mobilicity president Stewart Lyons has been appointed president and CEO of TeraGo Inc. The appointment is effective Jan. 6, TeraGo said in a release Monday. Lyons, who first joined Mobilicity as initial executive vice-president in November 2008 and later became its chief operating officer before taking over as president in November 2011, left Mobilicity Oct. 31. “His comprehensive skill set and track record, including strategy formation and execution, building sales and marketing and operations management teams, as well as knowledge of finance and regulatory, make him the ideal dynamic executive to lead TeraGo forward,” the company said....

BlackBerry reports $4.4B Q3 loss

telecom | 12/20/2013 5:03 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. reported a net loss of $4.4 billion US in its third fiscal quarter results, deepening from the $965-million US loss it reported in the second quarter and compared to a profit of about $9 million US one year...

Tom Jenkins appointed to NRC

telecom | 12/20/2013 4:27 pm EST

OpenText Corp. chairman Tom Jenkins has been appointed to the National Research Council of Canada, the federal government announced Thursday. Jenkins will join the government council that provides Canada’s business community support on research and development. "Mr. Jenkins is well known for his innovative contributions to the Canadian...

Shaw to offer public WiFi in Calgary

telecom | 12/19/2013 8:31 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. will provide public WiFi in city-owned locations in Calgary. The City of Calgary said in a release Thursday that it is currently in discussions with Shaw “to establish the details of the WiFi...

Mobilicity granted extension on creditor protection

telecom | 12/19/2013 6:36 pm EST

Mobilicity has received an extension until February for protection from creditors. The new-entrant wireless carrier in bankruptcy protection had asked the Ontario Superior Court to extend its protection from Dec. 20 to Feb. 18. Joel Shaffer, a spokesman from Longview Communications, representing Mobilicity, said in an email the extension was granted...

Small B.C. wireless provider crowded out by incumbents

telecom | 12/19/2013 3:14 pm EST

For much of the past half decade, small incumbent telco CityWest has watched its wireless business decline in the face of new competition that offered more advanced mobile services. Now it’s getting out of the mobile game altogether. In a release last week, the municipally-owned telco in Prince Rupert, B.C., said it will shutter its wireless business after reaching a deal that will allow its subscribers to switch to Telus Corp., the country’s second-largest wireless provider. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Donovan Dias, CityWest’s director of sales and marketing, said increasing competition and the cost of offering next-generation wireless services pushed the company out of the mobile business. “Over the last couple of years, as things started to migrate and...

Affordable transport key, CRTC says in NWTel decision

telecom | 12/18/2013 10:59 pm EST

The CRTC has ordered Northwestel Inc. to tweak its plan to modernize the North’s lagging telecom infrastructure with a renewed emphasis on fibre investments and will also launch proceedings next year to consider the high cost of Internet backhaul and how best to fund northern telecom infrastructure, the commission said. In a decision released...

Proposed roaming caps won’t hurt incumbents: experts

telecom | 12/18/2013 9:02 pm EST

The government’s move to limit wholesale domestic roaming rates will have little impact on major wireless providers’ bottom lines, experts say, while not all agree on how much the move...

MTS building data centre

telecom | 12/18/2013 8:13 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is building a $50-million data centre, the company said Wednesday. MTS said it expects the facility, which is designed for multiple businesses, to open in 2015. “Our business customers are increasingly using cloud computing to store and process ever-expanding...

BlackBerry adds three executives

telecom | 12/18/2013 6:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. appointed John Sims as its new president of global enterprise services, James Mackey as executive vice-president for corporate development and strategic planning and Mark Wilson as senior vice-president of...

Facebook to ‘test’ video ads

Media | 12/17/2013 9:56 pm EST

Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it would start testing video advertisements that start playing in a user’s newsfeed as soon they come into view. It said in a release that this week a “small number of people” would...

CRTC forbids removal of communities’ last payphone

telecom | 12/17/2013 9:18 pm EST

The CRTC is prohibiting incumbent local exchange carriers from taking out the last payphone left in a community. In a decision Tuesday, the commission said companies would be barred from removing a community’s last payphone until its consultation on the “role” public payphones play in Canada’s...

How scarce is wireless spectrum, really?

telecom | 12/17/2013 7:17 pm EST

The auction for 700 MHz spectrum — for years the focus of much anticipation within telecommunications circles — is almost upon us. In an age when wireless waves are a key part of the infrastructure that allows people...

Espial to provide technology for Norwegian cable operator

Media | 12/17/2013 6:29 pm EST

Espial Group Inc., an Ottawa-based provider of TV service software, said Tuesday it would begin providing Norway’s biggest cable operator with technology for its video-on-demand and time-shift TV services. Espial said Canal Digital Kabel-TV AS will use its video-delivery platform, Espial MediaBase, for these...

Three more BlackBerry departures

telecom | 12/16/2013 10:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Inc.’s executive vice-president of global sales, Rick Costanzo, and Chris Wormald, the company’s vice-president of strategic alliances, are leaving BlackBerry, Canadian Press reported Monday. Costanzo has been with the company since 1999, and Wormald since 2000, CP said. CP also said Mark Cameron, the company’s director of global public policy, left BlackBerry for public relations company Hill and Knowlton, though it noted BlackBerry did not confirm that departure, as it did for Costanzo and Wormald. The news follows the departure of former CEO Thorsten Heins and his replacement by John Chen, which was announced Nov. 4. On Nov. 25, BlackBerry said chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben were leaving the company, as was Brian Bidulka, its chief financial officer. The...

Mobilicity in better cash position than expected

telecom | 12/16/2013 10:02 pm EST

Mobilicity, the new-entrant carrier under bankruptcy protection, expects to end the year with more than 175,000 active subscribers and is spending cash at a slower pace than previously expected, court documents show. In a Dec. 12...

Cisco announces expansion plans for Ontario

telecom | 12/13/2013 9:27 pm EST

Cisco Systems Inc. said Friday it has reached a deal with the Ontario government, under which it could invest as much of $4 billion in the province over the next decade. The San Jose, Calif.-based communications technology giant said in a press release it would add “up to 1,700 high-tech jobs with focus on R&D” in Ontario during the...

Competition Bureau investigating Google: report

Media | 12/13/2013 9:22 pm EST

Canada’s Competition Bureau is has initiated a formal inquiry into Google Inc.’s search and advertising activities following a preliminary probe that found signs of anti-competitive behaviour, the Financial Post reported. The report said the bureau found evidence that Google was using its position as the dominant search engine in ways that...

Regulators could react to Rogers/NHL deal: Moody’s

Media | 12/13/2013 9:18 pm EST

Moody’s Investors Services said Thursday that Canadian regulators could "respond" to Rogers Communications Inc.’s recent $5.2-billion, 12-year broadcasting deal with the National Hockey League. In a report,...

The Canadian effort behind Olympic network build

telecom | 12/13/2013 8:10 pm EST

OTTAWA — The ease with which athletes, coaches, journalists, officials and volunteers at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, are able to communicate, surf the Internet and watch events beyond their immediate locations will depend largely on a guy working in the west end of Ottawa. Avaya Inc. is the official network supplier of the Games this winter.  Avaya is based in Santa Clara, Calif., though its chief architect for the Sochi Games, Dean Frohwerk, works at Avaya’s office in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. “It’s a soup-to-nuts, hand-to-hand solution we...

CRTC to review wholesale roaming rates

telecom | 12/12/2013 11:32 pm EST

The CRTC has launched a consultation to examine wireless providers’ wholesale roaming rates and will launch another next year on the “sustainability” of wireless competition, the commission said Thursday....

Bell launches free previews for 10 channels

Media | 12/12/2013 9:10 pm EST

BCE Inc. is making 10 of its French-language specialty channels available on a free preview from Dec. 12 to Jan. 12. The company said in a release Thursday that the channels offered will be Canal Vie, Canal D,...

Leafs withhold vote for Rogers/NHL deal: Star

Media | 12/12/2013 8:35 pm EST

The Toronto Maple Leafs franchise was the one National Hockey League club not to vote in favour of the 12-year, $5.2-billion broadcast and digital-rights agreement between the league and Rogers Communications Inc., the Toronto...

Telus says new entrant moratorium affected AWS bidding strategy

telecom | 12/12/2013 12:47 am EST

Telus Corp. would have bid more aggressively on wireless airwaves in a 2008 Industry Canada spectrum auction had it known its ability to acquire smaller mobile providers would be restricted beyond a five-year moratorium, the head of the company’s 2008 auction strategy team said in court documents filed this week....

CRTC revokes international telecom licences of 31 firms

telecom | 12/11/2013 10:28 pm EST

The CRTC said Wednesday in a notice that it has revoked the international telecommunications licences of 31 companies. It said the companies that were affected failed to file information to the CRTC...

TV recommendation apps creating data-mining, retention opportunities

Media | 12/11/2013 10:06 pm EST

It’s a familiar refrain — a viewer flipping through hundreds of channels, complaining there’s nothing to watch. Consumers today have access to more content than ever, not only...

U.S. Senate committee mulls 600 MHz auction issues

Media | 12/11/2013 4:44 am EST

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must do more to entice broadcasters to take part in an “incentive auction” of their broadcast airwaves if it wants to reallocate that spectrum for mobile use, the head...

CRTC approves FM station in Barriere, B.C.

Media | 12/10/2013 8:30 pm EST

The CRTC has approved an application for a licence to operate a low-power, English-language commercial FM radio station in Barriere, B.C., the commission said Tuesday. The programming for the station, which would operate at 93.1...

Competition Bureau advocacy could help telecom sector: experts

telecom | 12/09/2013 10:56 pm EST

Canada’s largest telecom providers need not necessarily fear a Competition Bureau initiative to do more advocacy work focused on increasing competition in the telecom sector, industry insiders and former competition commissioners said. In a release Thursday, the Competition Bureau said Canadians, through a September consultation, have identified telecommunications as one area for the bureau to focus its advocacy efforts aimed at increasing competition. The bureau, which did not release further information about Canadians’ particular concerns about the telecom industry, also did not say what specifically it could do to advocate for increased competition in the industry. Sheridan Scott, a partner with Bennett Jones LLP and a former competition commissioner, said future bureau...

Wind approved as bidder for Mobilicity: Lacavera

telecom | 12/09/2013 8:57 pm EST

Globalive Wireless Management Corp.’s Wind Mobile has been approved as a bidder for the assets of Dave Wireless Inc.’s Mobilicity, though it hasn’t decided yet whether to make a bid, Wind CEO Anthony Lacavera...

Bell Media, NFL expand agreement on football coverage

Media | 12/09/2013 8:48 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Monday said it has expanded an existing agreement to provide coverage of the National Football League in Canada. Bell Media said in a release the new deal adds to an existing arrangement...

Text-based Twitter to be available in developing markets

telecom | 12/09/2013 6:59 pm EST

Myriad Group AG, a Swiss-based developer of mobile technology, said Monday it reached an agreement with Twitter Inc. to provide mobile users in developing countries with a text-based, read-only...

VMedia launches ‘pick a pack’ TV in Ontario

Media | 12/09/2013 6:19 pm EST

VMedia Inc., a provider of Internet-protocol television services in Ontario, announced Monday it is launching a "pick a pack" service called UChoose. VMedia is offering customers who subscribe to its basic or...

Bill C-8 passes committee with some amendments

Media | 12/06/2013 9:04 pm EST

The Conservative government’s new anti-counterfeiting bill passed committee stage with amendments and was referred back to the House of Commons for further debate, a parliamentary committee said. In a report published Thursday, the House of Commons industry committee recommended 21 amendments to the government’s Bill C-8, which is officially called the Combating Counterfeit Products Act. The bill will now return to the House of Commons where MPs will vote to concur with the changes, and would advance to debate at third-reading if the amendments are approved. Peter Van Loan, the...

Telus closes deal to acquire Public Mobile

telecom | 12/06/2013 8:39 pm EST

Telus Corp. closed last week its deal to acquire new entrant carrier Public Mobile Inc., a spokesman for the company confirmed. In an email to The Wire Report on Friday, Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the deal, which was first announced in October, closed last Friday. He did not provide any additional details or comment. Telus, the county’s...

Senate could look into Bell’s privacy practices

telecom | 12/06/2013 8:34 pm EST

The Senate transport and communications committee could look into BCE Inc.’s tracking of subscribers’ Internet usage, TV viewing and mobile device use. Bell said in October it would begin tracking the websites...

CRTC won’t expand BCE undue preference complaint

Media | 12/06/2013 8:15 pm EST

The CRTC will not expand a complaint against BCE Inc.’s Mobile TV service to encompass other wireless providers. Ben Klass, a master's student at the University of Manitoba, filed an application with the CRTC earlier...

MTS expands fibre-optic network to Stonewall, Man.

telecom | 12/06/2013 7:51 pm EST

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Friday it has expanded its fibre-optic network to Stonewall, Man., which is about 35 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. The company said bringing its MTS FiON network to Stonewall will allow residents there to access its MTS Ultimate TV services and “ultra-fast” Internet. MTS said this latest expansion is...

Wind gains edge following Catalyst auction withdrawal: experts

telecom | 12/05/2013 10:40 pm EST

Wind Mobile is the “big winner” of Catalyst Capital Groups Inc.’s decision to drop out of the 700 MHz auction in the absence of other potential bidders for the much-coveted airwaves...

Telus launches video-on-demand recommendations

telecom | 12/05/2013 9:44 pm EST

Customers of Telus Corp.’s OptikTV now have access to new recommendation and rating features when they use the company’s video-on-demand (VOD) service, the company said Thursday. “When Optik TV viewers visit...

Competition bureau cites telecommunications as area of concern

telecom | 12/05/2013 8:37 pm EST

The Competition Bureau said Thursday that Canadians have identified telecommunications as an area the office should target in advocating for increased competition. The bureau said in a news release...

CRTC extends Shaw deadline to promote free satellite TV program

Media | 12/05/2013 8:25 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. can continue to enroll new subscribers in its Local Television Satellite Solution (LTSS), a free satellite TV program, for a “final” 12 months, the CRTC said. In...

Industry Canada extends deadline for returning 2500 MHz licences

telecom | 12/05/2013 8:08 pm EST

Industry Canada has given a second extension for companies to return licences for 2500 MHz spectrum. On Wednesday, which was a deadline for returning those spectrum licences, Industry Canada posted a notice on its website saying companies holding licences for this bandwidth that are planning to return them will have 60 days to do so after the licensing framework for 2500 MHz is published. It said returning licenses by the set deadline will increase a company’s “eligibility to bid in the related licence areas.” An initial deadline was set for Oct. 4, and on Oct. 3, Industry Canada extended the deadline to Dec. 4, when this latest extension was given. “Industry Canada has received further requests for an extension to the deadline for the return of spectrum...

Obama still uses BlackBerry: report

telecom | 12/05/2013 7:31 pm EST

U.S. President Barack Obama is still a customer of Canada’s BlackBerry Ltd., Reuters reported. The news article said Obama told an audience of youth on Wednesday that he continues to use a BlackBerry and is not permitted to...

CRTC dismisses OMNI cuts complaint

telecom | 12/05/2013 7:27 pm EST

The CRTC said Thursday that it dismissed a complaint related to staff and ethnic programming reductions at Rogers Communications Inc.’s OMNI television stations, though it requested the company submit licence-renewal...

Catalyst withdraws from 700 MHz auction

telecom | 12/05/2013 2:01 am EST

Catalyst Capital Group Inc. has withdrawn its application to take part in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, Industry Canada said. In an updated list of auction participants posted on the department's website Wednesday...

Anti-spam exemptions follow industry consultation, Moore says

telecom | 12/04/2013 10:34 pm EST

The federal government’s long-delayed anti-spam laws will come into force next July with new regulations that include partial exemptions for charities and business-to-business communications as part of a “classic Canadian compromise,” Industry Minister James Moore said. In a release Wednesday, Industry...

U.S. analysts sound alarm over pick-and-pay

Media | 12/04/2013 9:16 pm EST

As Canadian regulators move toward a possible pick-and-pay TV regime in Canada, some industry analysts in the United States are warning of the effect such a move toward “unbundling” would have south of the border. A research note released this week from Needham Insights media analysts Laura Martin and Dan Medina said unbundling TV channels would have the potential to destroy between $80 billion US and $113 billion US in consumer value, as 124 channels would dissapear, and 56 would survive. It added that $45 billion US in advertising revenue would be at risk, since many channels...

Telus fights 700 MHz spectrum cap at Federal Court

telecom | 12/03/2013 10:48 pm EST

The federal industry minister has no right to determine the “eligibility criteria” for companies to participate in spectrum auctions in the absence of formal rules from cabinet, lawyers representing Telus Corp. argued...

Wind Mobile wants Mobilicity’s spectrum for LTE network: Lacavera

telecom | 12/03/2013 10:12 pm EST

Globalive Wireless Management Corp., operator of Wind Mobile, is looking at buying Mobilicity because it needs more spectrum in order to roll out an LTE network, Wind CEO Anthony Lacavera said....

Bell Aliant expanding FibreOp to Sturgeon Falls, Ont.

telecom | 12/03/2013 9:01 pm EST

Bell Aliant Inc. is expanding its FibreOp fibre-to-the-home network to Sturgeon Falls, Ont., the company said. Bell Aliant, which BCE Inc. has 44 per cent stake in, expanded the network last month to Bay Roberts, Carbonear,...

Surge in demand slowed service for small ISP customers, cablecos say

telecom | 12/02/2013 10:25 pm EST

The “rapid growth” in the number of customers who ordered cable-based Internet services from small Internet service providers (ISPs) this summer slowed the ability of incumbent cablecos to connect those customers and to respond to service outages when they occurred, Canada’s largest cablecos said. In a...

4K TV imposes hurdles on telcos, broadcasters

Media | 12/02/2013 10:15 pm EST

As the holiday shopping season begins, shoppers in electronics stores might find their eye caught by a new type of television set—one that offers a more detailed, crisper and richer picture than its high-definition brethren....

Copyright Board increases distant TV tariff

Media | 12/02/2013 8:47 pm EST

The Copyright Board of Canada has established a new tariff rate for the retransmission of distant television signals between 2009 and 2013, raising the total amount owed for such signals this year by about $15 million, the board said. In a decision released Friday, the Copyright Board said it will require television service providers to pay an...

CRTC wireless code comes into effect

telecom | 12/02/2013 8:18 pm EST

The CRTC’s new wireless code came into effect Monday. The new rules governing mobile services in Canada require, among other things, that customers be able to cancel contracts with no penalties after two years, and that...

Bell reduces roaming data charges for certain locations

telecom | 12/02/2013 8:09 pm EST

BCE Inc. said Monday it is reducing data roaming charges for customers travelling in Mexico, China, Australia, New Zealand and most European countries. Bell said travel data passes for these areas...

IDC appoints Archambault as CFO

Media | 12/02/2013 7:34 pm EST

International Datacasting Corp., an Ottawa-based provider of digital content distribution technology, announced a number of changes to executive ranks Monday, including the appointment of Steven Archambault as chief financial officer. In a release, IDC said Archambault replaces Rick Clements, who IDC said will stay with the company until Jan. 31 to ensure a smooth transition. Archambault was previously IDC’s director of finance, the company said. The company said it has also named Steeve Huin as its new vice-president of products. He had been senior product director for Irdeto, and was working out of China in this role until last month, according to his LinkedIn profile. In his new role at IDC, Huin replaces Walter Capitani who has been named IDC’s vice-president of marketing, the company said....