Efforts to lower roaming costs internationally as CRTC looks into roaming rates

telecom | 09/20/2013 4:15 pm EDT

In the Middle East and Africa, the expansion of pan-regional networks have eliminated the need to roam. In Asia, the spread of competing regional alliances offer reduced roaming rates across...

AT&T looks at selling towers: report

telecom | 09/19/2013 9:57 pm EDT

AT&T Inc. is looking to sell its ownership of about 10,000 wireless towers in the United States and focus more on other parts of its telecom business, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Under the plan, the company would lease back the tower space from the new owner, Bloomberg said. The towers could sell for about $5 billion, Bloomberg said, as the...

Hurdles to clear before older network technologies can be phased out

telecom | 09/19/2013 9:31 pm EDT

Telus Corp., BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. have several hurdles to clear before they can benefit from shutting down their older IDEN, CDMA and GSM wireless networks, a move that's likely...

Rogers expands home monitoring system

telecom | 09/19/2013 8:17 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. expanded its home monitoring and automation service to additional communities in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. The company said in a release Thursday that said it was expanding the Smart Home...

None of U.S. big four registered for 700 auction: analyst

telecom | 09/19/2013 5:12 pm EDT

None of the four largest wireless providers in the United States has submitted applications to participate in Canada's 700 MHz auction, Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan said in a note to clients Wednesday. “We believe the absence of a large US operator removes a threat for the Canadian wireless carriers. We believe their decisions to not enter is due to their focus on the domestic market, the lack of attractive return in entering Canada, the potential regulatory backlash in the US (for [Verizon Communications Inc.] and AT&T [Inc.]), and Canadian regulatory...

Attard joins Rogers

telecom | 09/18/2013 9:08 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. appointed Anthony Attard as vice-president of integrated sports sales at its Rogers Media division, the company said. Attard will “oversee the creation and execution of platform-agnostic solutions and be accountable for attracting and developing top sales talent...

BlackBerry plans cuts

telecom | 09/18/2013 8:50 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. is preparing to lay off as many as 40 per cent of its employees by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, hours after BlackBerry announced the launch of its latest smartphone device. In a report citing unnamed sources, WSJ said the planned job cuts would affect all of the company’s departments, and will likely be rolled out in waves between now and the end of the year....

Political finance rules embolden Tories to stand up to big telcos: Moore

telecom | 09/18/2013 8:23 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Canada's largest companies can't use big political donations to influence policy like they used to, a factor that's made Ottawa less timid on files like telecom, Industry Minister James Moore said. “Since I was appointed minister of industry back in July, it has become painfully, very clearly...

Fewer speculators to bid in 700 MHz auction: analysts

telecom | 09/17/2013 9:21 pm EDT

Analysts expect to see fewer speculators participating in Industry Canada's 700 MHz auction following the passage of the deadline for deposits to participate. "Unlike in the 2008 auction, where you might have gotten some...

Telus ramps down campaign after busy August

telecom | 09/17/2013 8:24 pm EDT

Telus Corp. employees consulted federal public office holders 65 times in August, at the height of the company’s public relations battle with the government over the rules for Industry Canada’s upcoming wireless...

Moore set to move on anti-spam, experts say

Media | 09/17/2013 7:54 pm EDT

Canadian businesses should “dust off their copy” of Canada’ long-delayed anti-spam laws as Industry Minister James Moore is preparing to move on the file, experts say. Passed into law in December 2010, Canada’s anti-spam laws have stalled during the implementation process as the CRTC and Industry Canada consulted on a pair of...

CRTC to consider new Toronto FM station

Media | 09/16/2013 9:47 pm EDT

The CRTC will consider applications to use the 102.7 FM frequency in the Toronto area, which could offer applicants an entry into Canada’s largest radio market. CRTC spokesman Guillaume Castonguay said when the regulator...

Liberals hold wireless roundtable

telecom | 09/16/2013 9:13 pm EDT

Mobile providers and advocacy groups met at a Liberal party roundtable on Parliament Hill Monday to discuss the future of Canada’s wireless industry, one day before the deadline to apply to take part in a key auction of...

Internet speedometers ‘are broken,’ Sandvine says

telecom | 09/16/2013 8:55 pm EDT

Waterloo, Ont.-based Sandvine Inc. released a new report about Internet quality for applications such as video streaming and speed tests. Sandvine released the whitepaper, entitled "Exposing the Technical and Commercial Factors Underlying Internet Quality of Experience," on Monday. Among its conclusions, the report said Internet "speedometers are broken," with tools like Speedtest and the Netflix Speed Index failing to accurately measure or reflect access network speed. Sandvine also found that YouTube "consistently experienced a quality downtime" during lunchtime and peak evening hours due to "a commercial decision by YouTube," a release from the company said. It added that adaptive video platforms like Hulu and Netflix slow Internet, gaming...

Wi-Lan settles patent lawsuit

telecom | 09/16/2013 8:50 pm EDT

Ottawa-based licencing company Wi-Lan Inc. settled its patent infringement lawsuit against Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. Wi-Lan launched patent infringement lawsuits against Alcatel-Lucent and two other telecom equipment companies in U.S. courts last October. In a release Monday, Wi-Lan said it had settled “all litigations” with...

Bell cuts roaming rates as CRTC ponders regulations

telecom | 09/16/2013 8:47 pm EDT

BCE Inc. chopped its U.S. mobile roaming pricing as telecom carriers face possible regulatory intervention from the CRTC on roaming rates. In a release Monday, BCE said it was cutting the cost of its monthly U.S. roaming package...

Blais doesn’t expect changes to new media exemption order

telecom | 09/16/2013 3:55 pm EDT

With a review of new media scheduled for next year, the head of Canada's broadcast regulator said he does not foresee any changes to the regulatory exemption for online media platforms like that of Netflix Inc. "Netflix benefits from an exemption, and therefore we've decided, on two occasions, not to require...

Chiswell joins CIRA as VP

telecom | 09/13/2013 7:25 pm EDT

Dave Chiswell is the new vice-president of product development at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. CIRA said in a release Thursday that, in the newly-created position, Chiswell will “lead CIRA in the pursuit of new product and service offerings that are complementary to its core .CA registration service.” Chiswell, who joined CIRA this month, previously spent three and a half years as chief...

Report urges more reliance on market forces for wireless

telecom | 09/13/2013 7:21 pm EDT

A new report commissioned by Telus Corp. said the federal government should relax its regulation of the mobile wireless sector to avoid harming investment in Canada’s wireless networks. In a report released Friday, Chicago-based consulting firm Navigant Consulting Inc. said Canadian consumers benefit from wireless carriers’ high rates of capital investment, which are higher than in Europe, and that importing “EU-style” regulations would be “counterproductive.” The report recommended the federal government quickly release more spectrum for wireless use and...

CRTC consulting on distribution requirements

telecom | 09/13/2013 7:16 pm EDT

The CRTC opened a consultation on an amendment to the linkage and distribution requirements for Canadian ethnic and third-language specialty channels. The regulator said in a notice Friday that current regulations require TV service providers to distribute at least one Canadian third-language service for every one to three non-Canadian third-language...

Wind starts device trade-in program

telecom | 09/12/2013 9:44 pm EDT

Wind Mobile, operated by Globalive Wireless Management Corp., launched its first handset trade-in program, allowing customers to trade in old devices for credit that can be applied to new devices. Wind said in a release Thursday that new or existing customers can bring an old phone from "any carrier, any model" to Wind stores and "trade...

Four wireless competitors one too many for Canada’s market: report

telecom | 09/12/2013 9:05 pm EDT

New entrants to Canada’s wireless industry are doomed to fail due to a “natural limit” on the number of competitors the market can support, said a report by a University of Calgary...

Rogers’ new CEO coming from U.K. market to familiar auction territory

telecom | 09/12/2013 8:28 pm EDT

Guy Laurence, the head of Vodafone Group plc's U.K. division, will be in familiar territory in December when he becomes the new CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., a role that will involve dealing...

Videotron rolls out two-year contracts

telecom | 09/11/2013 9:07 pm EDT

Videotron Ltd. rolled out two-year mobile plans that won’t increase customers’ monthly service rates, the company said. In a release Wednesday, the Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary said customers will now be able to “pay for all the mobile devices they carry in 24 months,” marking an end to the three-year service contracts...

Eastlink asks to end 30-day cancellation policies

telecom | 09/11/2013 9:05 pm EDT

Bragg Communications Inc. has asked the CRTC to prohibit telecom providers from requiring customers to give 30 days’ notice to cancel their telecom services. In an application dated Sept. 3, Bragg, which operates as Eastlink, said an increasing number of telecom providers have implemented 30-day cancellation policies in recent years, causing...

Rogers expands wireless services sharing plan

telecom | 09/11/2013 8:57 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. has expanded its wireless service sharing plan to allow customers to share data, voice, text, call display and voicemail services across 10 devices, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Rogers said the changes to its “Share Everything” plan model will allow its wireless subscribers to activate up to 10 devices...

BlackBerry registers on foreign takeovers

telecom | 09/11/2013 8:52 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. plans to talk to the federal government about Canada's foreign takeover rules as the company holds discussions with potential buyers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. BlackBerry registered with the federal...

SaskTel completes wireless projects

telecom | 09/11/2013 8:45 pm EDT

SaskTel completed 24 projects in August to enhance its HSPA+ and fourth-generation LTE wireless networks, the company said. In a release Monday, the provincial Crown corporation said it completed in August projects in Regina, Saskatoon, Esterhazy, Langenburg, Jansen Lake Mine, North Battleford, Battleford, Lebret, Swift Current, Lucky Lake and Red Earth, Sask. It said the projects included the construction of new towers and “deploying other options when traditional towers are not feasible due to space or other limitations,” such as installing carrier antennas and “cellular on wheels.” “SaskTel has a significant number of 4G infrastructure improvement projects planned for completion by year-end 2013 which will increase capacity to match the continued growth...

White joins PIAC

Media | 09/10/2013 9:37 pm EDT

Lawyer Geoff White has joined the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's (PIAC) team as counsel. In his practice, White “provides advice and representation on legal and regulatory matters, with emphasis on telecommunications, broadcasting, media, competition law, and privacy,” PIAC said on its website. White is working as counsel to PIAC following Janet Lo's move to the federal Finance Department through...

Fairfax, pension plans still undecided in Blackberry deal

telecom | 09/10/2013 9:30 pm EDT

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is still debating whether it will participate in a potential acquisition of BlackBerry Ltd., and Canada’s pension plans aren’t yet ready to join any such...

BlackBerry lays off another 60

telecom | 09/10/2013 9:21 pm EDT

BlackBerry laid off 60 employees following the reduction of more than 300 employees over the summer. BlackBerry spokeswoman Kim Geiger said in an emailed statement that the company “is moving a small number of US-focused...

MTS will stick to Manitoba market, Blouin says

telecom | 09/10/2013 9:15 pm EDT

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. would need “a heck of a great deal” to pursue a wireless network build outside of Manitoba following a sale of its Allstream division, Peirre Blouin, the company’s chief executive, said. “With the announcement of the sale of Allstream—which gave us national backhaul, an ability to sell in the...

FibreOp to reach a million homes: Sheriff

telecom | 09/10/2013 9:09 pm EDT

Bell Aliant Inc. has rolled out its fibre-to-the-home network to nearly 700,000 homes in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, and would like to reach 300,000 more, said Karen Sheriff, the company’s chief executive. “We initially targeted 600,000 homes passed, we will pass over 700,000 soon,” Sheriff said of the company’s FibeOp network Tuesday at a BMO Capital Markets media and telecom conference in Toronto. “We’ll be at 800,000 by the end of the year. We’re now targeting hitting a million.” Sheriff said Bell Aliant wants to see the network rolled out to a million homes to allow it to better compete against cable TV providers. She said the company, which is controlled by BCE Inc., currently competes with cable providers for about 1.8 million homes....

BCE supports full removal of telecom foreign ownership rules

telecom | 09/10/2013 8:58 pm EDT

BCE Inc. would support government efforts to fully remove foreign ownership restrictions for Canadian telecom companies, though the company “will never be foreign owned,” BCE chief...

OpenMedia, executives urge Moore to help wireless startups

telecom | 09/09/2013 8:51 pm EDT

A group of 35 executives and digital entrepreneurs are joining with advocacy group OpenMedia.ca to pressure the federal government to provide more support for small mobile providers. In a letter...

Intven retires as McCarthy partner

Media | 09/09/2013 8:26 pm EDT

Hank Intven has retired from his position as a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, and as head of the firm’s communications practice group. In an emailed statement Monday, Intven said he will continue to serve as a counsel for the firm—working out of Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto—while taking on an adjunct professor position at the...

Rogers to launch credit card in 2014

Media | 09/09/2013 8:09 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. received authorization from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to begin offering credit card services. The company said in a release Friday that it would roll out a pilot program...

Watsa planning BlackBerry bid: report

telecom | 09/09/2013 8:05 pm EDT

Former BlackBerry board member Prem Watsa, currently the chairman and CEO of BlackBerry’s largest investor, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., is putting together a bid for BlackBerry Ltd., the Sunday Times reported. The...

Mobilicity in ‘distress’ as future remains unclear

telecom | 09/09/2013 7:02 pm EDT

Mobilicity’s future no longer appears simple, and it’s anything but unlimited. A little more than three years after the company launched its mobile service, promising consumers simple and unlimited wireless plans, the new entrant wireless provider is running out of money, creditors—and options....

Sankar challenges CRTC’s approach to prepaid wireless

telecom | 09/06/2013 7:08 pm EDT

Special interest group The DiversityCanada Foundation is challenging a part of the CRTC’s wireless code that allows mobile providers to apply expiry dates to prepaid wireless calling cards. In an application filed with the commission Tuesday, the organization said the commission “erred in law and in fact”...

Providers exploring the business opportunities of in-stadium WiFi, team apps

Media | 09/06/2013 2:15 pm EDT

When fans of Sporting Kansas City are watching a live game at the team’s 18,467-capacity stadium and miss a kick, play, or goal on the soccer pitch, they can catch up by pulling out their...

BlackBerry sale could be done by November: report

telecom | 09/05/2013 8:49 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd.’s board of directors is pushing for a speedy auction process to sell off the company or its divisions and hopes to have the process completed by November, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a report citing anonymous sources Wednesday, WSJ said a special committee, which BlackBerry formed in August to explore “strategic alternatives,” has held preliminary discussions with potential bidders for the company or its parts and is expected to commence a formal sales process soon. Potential bidders, it said, are believed to include the Canada Pension Plan...

Mobilicity denies report of sub transfer to Wind

telecom | 09/04/2013 8:59 pm EDT

The Financial Post reported that new entrant wireless provider Mobilicity is working on a deal to transfer its subscribers to Wind Mobile, though Mobilicity said the report is not true. “The report that we are transferring...

Tories respond, push wireless policy with departmental website

telecom | 09/04/2013 8:56 pm EDT

Wireless incumbents and the Conservative government continue to trade punches as the Industry Department pressed ahead with more public information about its wireless policy, putting a new interactive...

Microsoft buys Nokia’s mobile phone division

telecom | 09/04/2013 8:38 pm EDT

Microsoft Corp. reached a deal to acquire Nokia Corp.’s mobile phone business and patents for 5.44 billion euros, the companies said. In a release Tuesday, Microsoft said through the deal the company will acquire Nokia’s devices and services business for 3.79 billion euros ($5.25 billion) and licence its patents for 10 years for 1.65...

Buzz Telecom announces sale

telecom | 09/04/2013 8:23 pm EDT

Buzz Telecommunications Services Inc. said Friday that Mazen Haddad, Jeremy Edelman and John McMullen acquired 59.4 per cent of its shares with an intention to “reactivate” the company. "It is the intention of Messrs, Haddad, Edelman and McMullen to reactivate the company, although no specific plans have been formulated at this time," the company said in a press release. Buzz Telecom provides long...

Four-carrier policy questioned following Verizon’s decision to skip Canada

telecom | 09/03/2013 9:14 pm EDT

The government’s objective for four major mobile providers may now rest on Egyptian investor Naguib Sawiris or other private equity firms after Verizon Communications Inc. said it will not enter the Canadian market. The Industry Department has said it wants to encourage more competition in the wireless sector to compete against incumbents BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. Verizon, the leading U.S. wireless carrier, was thought to be a fourth major player in Canada after the Globe and Mail reported in June that the company was in talks to acquire new entrant player Wind Mobile to launch services north of the border. Verizon says that entry is now off the table,...

Craig Wireless appoints new CFO

telecom | 09/03/2013 7:52 pm EDT

CraigWirelessSystems Ltd. appointed Cole Cox as its new chief financial officer after the company chose not to renew the contract of its former CFO, Murray Bamforth, in May, the company said in a release Tuesday. Bamforth was kept on in the position until July 15, at which point the company began transitioning to a new CFO, The Wire Report reported in...

Verizon says Canadian entry ‘off the table’

telecom | 09/03/2013 1:25 pm EDT

Verizon Communications Inc. said it does not intend to expand into Canada, following months of speculation. “Verizon is not going to Canada,” Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon, said Monday in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “It has nothing to do with the Vodafone deal, it has to do with our...

Union ratifies Videotron agreement

telecom | 08/30/2013 9:05 pm EDT

Videotron Ltd.’s unionized employees in Eastern Quebec and the Saguenay, Que. region have ratified a new collective agreement, the company said. In a release Friday, Videotron, a Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary, said members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1417 ratified a collective agreement reached in principle earlier this...

Telecom, steelworkers unions agree to merge

telecom | 08/30/2013 9:02 pm EDT

The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) and the United Steelworkers (USW) union have agreed to a tentative merger, the unions said. In a release Thursday, the Telecommunications Workers Union said the merger agreement “includes strong commitments to support bargaining, membership education, legislative action and bringing in new members in the...

CRTC looking into wireless roaming agreements

telecom | 08/30/2013 8:58 pm EDT

The CRTC is ordering Canada’s mobile providers to answer questions about the roaming agreements they enter into with other wireless carriers after hearing “concerns” from consumers and new entrant players about...

Telus launches court challenge of 700 MHz auction ‘eligibility criteria’

telecom | 08/30/2013 7:22 pm EDT

Telus Corp. has launched a second court challenge of the industry minister’s authority to regulate the wireless industry, this time aiming at the minister’s ability to impose bidding...

Analysts split on Verizon-Vodafone talks’ impact on Canadian market

telecom | 08/29/2013 5:16 pm EDT

Verizon Communications Inc. has resumed talks with Vodafone Group Plc to acquire a full stake in the companies’ joint wireless company in a move that industry analysts said could either assist...

Pensioners join campaign to change wireless policy

telecom | 08/28/2013 9:21 pm EDT

Pensioner groups are urging the government to change its wireless policy for the sake of pension plan members they believe would be at risk if Verizon is given “favoured access” to the Canadian market. Canadian...

CRTC consulting on 16 applications

telecom | 08/28/2013 9:17 pm EDT

The CRTC will hold a hearing on Nov. 5 regarding applications by Corus Entertainment Inc. and RNC Media Inc., the commission said. In a notice Wednesday, the commission said it would consider an application to transfer control of six television stations, including Teletoon, Historia and Séries+,  to Corus. Corus reached an agreement to take ownership of the specialty channels as part of BCE Inc.'s deal to purchase Astral Media Inc. The CRTC will also consider an application by RNC to amend the licence for its CKLX-FM station in Montreal to switch from a jazz and blues format...

FCC, Industry Canada reach spectrum sharing agreements

telecom | 08/28/2013 9:15 pm EDT

Industry Canada and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have reached three  “interim” spectrum sharing agreements affecting operations along the U.S.-Canada border. In an Aug. 20 announcement on its website, the FCC said the arrangements “will enable greater wireless broadband...

Will wireless providers benefit from smartphone market’s ‘device exhaustion’?

telecom | 08/28/2013 9:11 pm EDT

When smartphones first became available, they were groundbreaking and innovative because they brought together the functions of previously separate devices—cameras and GPS, telephones and...

BlackBerry may spin off BBM

telecom | 08/28/2013 2:20 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. may make its BlackBerry Messenger service into a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The newspaper, citing anonymous sources, reported that the subsidiary would be called BBM Inc. The company has also been moving executives to “the BBM team,” and working on other offerings, such as video chatting, the newspaper said. The company said earlier this month...

Industry committee study of wireless policy scrapped

telecom | 08/27/2013 9:32 pm EDT

An NDP motion calling on the House of Commons industry committee to study the government’s wireless policy in advance of a September deadline to register for the 700 MHz spectrum auction will not go forward. In a release...

Wireless policies could lead to entry of ‘inefficient’ competitors: report

telecom | 08/26/2013 9:29 pm EDT

Canadian wireless policies that aim to promote competition by “handicapping” incumbent providers could encourage the entrance of “inefficient” wireless competitors and could run counter to consumer interests, a new report by the Fraser Institute said. Instead, the conservative-leaning think tank said, the government should further relax restrictions on foreign ownership of Canadian telecom services while relying on the federal Competition Bureau to block deals that...

Telus to launch wireless service in North

telecom | 08/26/2013 9:21 pm EDT

Telus Corp. will start offering wireless services in Northwest Territories and Yukon in September, the company said. In a release Monday, Telus said its northern services will be available in parts of the two territories “at the same price offered anywhere else in Canada” as of Sept. 6. It said it plans to expand to “even more...

Industry committee reconvening over wireless policy

telecom | 08/23/2013 7:57 pm EDT

The NDP has requested the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology hold an emergency meeting to discuss the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. In a letter to the committee clerk on Thursday, four...

CRTC approves Shaw’s acquisition of Videon assets

telecom | 08/22/2013 6:38 pm EDT

The CRTC approved Shaw Communications Inc.’s request to acquire control of the broadcast distribution assets of its Videon Cableystems Inc. subsidiary. The commission said in a decision Thursday that the deal will see Shaw gain control of Videon’s broadcast distribution businesses in Edmonton and Winnipeg, “as well as the assets of...

CETA negotiations to re-launch in September

telecom | 08/21/2013 9:59 pm EDT

International Trade Minister Ed Fast said the federal government will re-launch negotiations on a comprehensive trade deal with the European Union (EU) next month, the Canadian Press reported. “Early in September we will be re-engaging and there’s no reason to believe that with a little bit of flexibility on both sides that we can’t...

Canadians split on foreign companies entering wireless market: poll

telecom | 08/21/2013 9:49 pm EDT

A new poll commissioned by incumbent wireless carriers BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. suggests that most Canadians don’t want government rules to advantage foreign or Canadian-owned companies in an upcoming spectrum auction. Nanos Research said in a poll released Wednesday that 81 per cent of Canadians believe that...

Chatr ‘fewer dropped calls’ ads not misleading, Ontario court says

telecom | 08/20/2013 9:16 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc.’s advertising campaign that claimed its Chatr wireless brand had “fewer dropped calls” than its new entrant competitors was not misleading, said the...

BlackBerry reduces Waterloo workforce

telecom | 08/20/2013 9:06 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. is laying off “approximately 100” of its Waterloo, Ont.-based employees, the company said. In an emailed statement Tuesday, BlackBerry’s media relations team said the company has informed “a small number of employees” that they will be let go from the company, “including approximately 100 employees in...

Bell launches new TV anywhere app

telecom | 08/19/2013 9:31 pm EDT

BCE Inc. launched a new application that allows its TV and mobile subscribers to access TV programming from up to 100 channels on their tablets or smartphones, the company said. In a release Monday, BCE said its new Bell TV app gives subscribers mobile and WiFi access to live and on-demand programming from up to 100 channels, depending on which Bell...

Verizon not a threat to Canadian privacy, Moore says

telecom | 08/19/2013 9:20 pm EDT

Canada’s privacy laws would help ensure U.S. security agencies do not gain unfettered access to Canadians’ wireless communications if a large U.S. mobile provider like Verizon Communications Inc. entered the Canadian market, Industry Minister James Moore said. Moore, who plans to tour five Canadian cities this week to promote the government’s wireless policy, said in a telephone interview Monday that a Verizon market entry would not jeopardize Canadians’ privacy. “We of course always safeguard the privacy of Canadians and we’ll continue to do so under any...

BlackBerry CEO to make $55.6m if company sold: report

telecom | 08/16/2013 9:03 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins would receive an estimated $55.6 million payout if he loses his job following a sale of the company, Bloomberg said. In a report Friday, Bloomberg said a BlackBerry proxy circulated in May...

Moore launches cross-country tour, campaign to counter incumbents’ message

telecom | 08/16/2013 9:02 pm EDT

Industry Minister James Moore launched on Friday a multi-pronged campaign to promote the government’s wireless policy and to counter a campaign by incumbent carriers, who argue the government is...

Antitrust commissioner calls for single EU telecom regulator

telecom | 08/16/2013 9:02 pm EDT

The European Union’s antitrust commissioner is calling for a single telecom regulator to replace the EU’s 28 national telecom regulators, the Financial Times reported. In a report Wednesday, FT said a report from the office of the European Commission’s commissioner for competition said that a proposal for...

Broadcasters apply for local programming funds

telecom | 08/15/2013 9:03 pm EDT

CHEK Media Group and Newfoundland Broadcasting Co. Ltd. are asking the CRTC to let their Victoria and St. John’s, N.L. stations receive funding from its Small Market Local Programming Fund (SMLPF), the independent broadcasters said. In an application posted on the commission’s website Tuesday, CHEK said its Victoria-area station requires...

Shaw, Telus union joins incumbents’ campaign

telecom | 08/15/2013 9:02 pm EDT

The union representing workers at Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. is criticizing the federal government for not changing spectrum auction rules in the wake of Verizon Communications Inc.’s potential entry into the Canadian market. The Telecommunications Workers Union said in a release Wednesday that it “opposes the federal government’s plan to hand Verizon Communications Inc. a windfall entry into Canada’s telecommunications sector.” The union represents 12,800 members, who work in telecommunications, cable TV and call centres across the country. Incumbent wireless carriers Telus, BCE Inc., and Rogers Communications Inc. have launched public campaigns that aim to change Industry Canada rules that limit them to a single block of “prime”...

Delays to Verizon acquisitions reflect new strategy for Canadian market: analysts

telecom | 08/15/2013 7:15 pm EDT

Verizon Communications Inc.’s decision to delay a potential acquisition of new entrant carriers Wind Mobile and Mobilicity suggests the U.S. provider is changing course on how best to enter the...

Moore says incumbent campaigns ‘dishonest’

telecom | 08/14/2013 8:49 pm EDT

Canada’s wireless providers are trying to “skew” the debate over Industry Canada’s wireless policy through “misleading campaigns,” Industry Minister James Moore said. In a statement posted on his website Tuesday, Moore said he understands why incumbent carriers BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. are...

MTS expands LTE network to Steinbach

telecom | 08/14/2013 8:41 pm EDT

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. subsidiary MTS Inc. expanded its next-generation LTE wireless network to Steinbach, Man., the company said. MTS said in a release Wednesday that Steinbach is the fifth of six communities in Manitoba...

Taking that pebble out of your shoe, and the move to LTE voice

telecom | 08/14/2013 7:26 pm EDT

Mobile providers in Canada and around the world are walking around with a proverbial “pebble” in their shoe and could save millions of dollars each month when advancements in LTE wireless...

Telus extends LTE in Ontario

telecom | 08/13/2013 8:50 pm EDT

Telus Corp. expanded its next-generation LTE network to Owen Sound, Sauble Beach, Huntsville, Bracebridge, and Gravenhurst, Ont., the company said in separate releases Tuesday. The company said in the releases that its “4G LTE service now covers almost 80 per cent of the Canadian population across approximately 200 markets.” In July, the...

Sweep finds ‘shortcomings’ in privacy policies

telecom | 08/13/2013 8:50 pm EDT

A sweep of over 300 websites in Canada found “shortcomings” in how some companies advertise their online privacy policies, the federal privacy commissioner said. In a release Tuesday, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said the Canadian websites were included in a Global Privacy Enforcement Network Internet Privacy Sweep that looked at...

Verizon unlikely to come to Canada, Fan says

telecom | 08/13/2013 8:40 pm EDT

Continued regulatory uncertainty and a slow return on any potential investment will likely deter Verizon Communications Inc. from entering Canada’s wireless market, Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan said. In a research note released Tuesday, Fan said he believes there is less than a 50 per cent chance that Verizon, the leading wireless provider in...

Cord cutting ‘accelerates’ in Q2, Boon Dog says

telecom | 08/13/2013 8:07 pm EDT

Canadian cord cutting picked up in the second quarter of 2013, as Canada’s publicly traded TV providers lost a combined 19,624 subscribers, Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. said. In a release Tuesday, Boon Dog said the...

Rogers to keep asking for changes to auction rules

telecom | 08/12/2013 9:03 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Monday it will continue to call on the federal government to change its rules for an upcoming auction of wireless airwaves, three days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the rules will not be changed. “We think this is an important issue for Canadians,” Rogers spokeswoman Patricia Trott said in an emailed statement. “We’ll continue to work to make sure they understand the consequences of current government rules, which give an unfair advantage to large foreign players.” Incumbent carriers Rogers, BCE Inc. and Telus Corp....

Lo leaves PIAC on two-year exchange

Media | 08/12/2013 8:53 pm EDT

Alysia York-Suen Lau is the new legal counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), as former counsel Janet Lo leaves to join the federal finance department through an “interchange agreement,” PIAC said. In a notice posted on its website Friday, PIAC said Lo started a two-year stint with Finance Canada on Monday. It said York-Suen...

BlackBerry should get out of smartphone business, analysts say

telecom | 08/12/2013 8:42 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd. should sell off or shut down its smartphone manufacturing business as the company begins a special review of its “strategic alternatives” amid slow smartphone sales,...

Wind offers subsidy ‘pay-off promise’

telecom | 08/09/2013 7:58 pm EDT

Wind Mobile is promising to cover the remainder of its “tab” customers’ device subsidies after 24 months, the company said. Under Wind’s tab model, customers can receive up to a $300 subsidy on a new handset device when they sign up for mobile services. Wind reduces how much the customer owes on that device subsidy by an amount...

CRTC approves broadcast applications

telecom | 08/09/2013 7:38 pm EDT

The CRTC approved applications for two new Category B specialty channels and two FM radio stations, the commission said. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said it approved an application by Hollywood Suites Inc., an independent...

Rogers, Swisscom ink LTE roaming agreement

telecom | 08/09/2013 7:26 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. reached a deal with Swiss telecom Swisscom AG that allows their wireless customers to roam on each other’s next-generation LTE networks, Rogers said. Rogers customers with LTE devices operating on its 2600 MHz spectrum can roam on Swisscom’s LTE network in Switzerland, Rogers said in a release Friday. The deal, which kicked in on July 31, also allows Swisscom’s LTE customers to roam on Rogers’ Canadian network, the company said. “Our agreement with Swisscom means that Rogers customers travelling in Switzerland can stay connected...

Illico online TV service reaches 50,000 subs

telecom | 08/09/2013 7:17 pm EDT

More than 50,000 users have signed up for Videotron Ltd.’s illico Club Unlimited video-on-demand and mobile TV service, the company said in a release Thursday. Videotron, a Quebecor Inc. subsidiary, launched the service in...

Fibe TV adds most quarterly subs ever, BCE says

Media | 08/08/2013 8:53 pm EDT

BCE Inc. said it added a net 50,555 subscribers to its Fibe TV service in the second quarter of 2013, more than in any other quarter to date, as the company continued to expand its IPTV footprint. In a financial statement...

Telus profits rise on wireless, wireline growth

telecom | 08/08/2013 8:44 pm EDT

Telus Corp.'s second-quarter profits rose 13.5 per cent over the year on six per cent growth across its wireless and wireline services, the company said. In a quarterly financial statement released Thursday, Telus reported...

Verizon more of a threat to incumbents than Quebecor: Dépatie

telecom | 08/08/2013 8:43 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc. does not feel overly threatened by competition from Verizon Communications Inc. though the U.S company’s potential entry into Canada’s 700 MHz spectrum auction could...

Three BlackBerry executives leaving

telecom | 08/07/2013 8:39 pm EDT

Three more BlackBerry Ltd. executives are leaving the company, following last month’s layoffs of 250 staff. CBC News reported Wednesday that Doug Kozak, vice-president of corporate information and technology operations;...

Blog post replying to Cope gets 60,000 views

telecom | 08/07/2013 7:52 pm EDT

Benjamin Klass, who penned a blog post replying to George Cope's open letter about the Conservative government's wireless policies, said his post has received about 60,000 views, with 7,500 shares on Facebook and 300 on...

Tories make more changes to foreign worker program

Media | 08/07/2013 7:38 pm EDT

Employment Minister Jason Kenney said the government introduced further changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including a new $275 processing fee and additional advertising requirements. The advertising requirements will double the length and reach of employers’ advertising to increase Canadians’ awareness of available jobs, a...

Tomlinson to host CBC News Windsor

telecom | 08/07/2013 7:22 pm EDT

CBC Radio/Canada named Asha Tomlinson as the new host of its nightly newscast in Windsor, Ont., the broadcaster said. In a release Wednesday, CBC said Tomlinson will take over as anchor of CBC News Windsor, which airs weeknights...

Orascom finalizing Wind’s ‘strategic position’ as sale is still on the table

telecom | 08/07/2013 7:17 pm EDT

Wind Mobile’s Canadian subscriber base rose by 18,732 customers during the second quarter as its owners worked to establish the company’s strategic position in advance of a possible sale, Wind majority investor Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. said. In a financial statement released Wednesday, Orascom, owned by parent company VimpelCom Ltd., said Wind had 620,451 customers across Canada at the end of the three-month period that ended June 30, an increase of three per cent from the end of March. In comparison, it added 11,281 subscribers in the first quarter and 41,522 in the second quarter of last year. Orascom said Wind had an average revenue per user of $28.30 per month during...