TAGGED AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Experts expect growing trend of class actions against telcos

telecom | 03/31/2011 9:55 pm EDT

Class action lawsuits against telecom companies are expected to become a growing trend as more Canadian provinces revise their consumer protection laws, experts say. “I think what you're seeing is governments attempting to leap into the gap that has been caused by either the unwillingness or lethargy on the part of federal authorities to legislate or regulate in a particular area that is normally under federal jurisdiction,” Michael Janigan, executive director of consumer group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in an interview. On March 18, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that consumers in B.C. who argue they have suffered from deceptive business practices can pursue class actions against companies even if their service contracts say otherwise....

Public Mobile trying to get bought out, Lacavera says

telecom | 03/31/2011 8:54 pm EDT

Public Mobile’s new $15 a month unlimited talk plan is a sign of a company that wants to be bought out, Anthony Lacavera, chairman of competitor Wind Mobile, said in an interview Thursday. On Thursday Public Mobile said its is lowering its unlimited, province-wide plans, available in Toronto and Montreal, to $15 per month starting Friday. The company also announced that it is adding email service for an additional $5 per month. But Lacavera said the pricing plan is not realistic. “Public Mobile’s new pricing is reflective of a company that is in very much distress, in a weak market position, and a weak offering, and now they’re just in desperation to sell services below cost,” Lacavera said. “Some consumers clearly would be attracted to that...

AT&T buyout of T-Mobile dims hopes for iPhone for AWS

telecom | 03/31/2011 6:53 pm EDT

AT&T's deal to acquire T-Mobile USA in the U.S. could mean that Apple Inc. may never develop 3G wireless products for the AWS band, the frequency range on which Canada’s new wireless entrants operate. Apple does not make its products compatible with the AWS band, and now that T-Mobile’s 34 million...

Bell UBB proposal has the right direction but the wrong price, CNOC says

telecom | 03/29/2011 10:20 pm EDT

Small Internet service providers (ISPs) say a new Bell Canada proposal that would see the end of usage-based billing in favour of “aggregated volume pricing” is a step forward with a catch—it's still too pricey. “We don't think the pricing is fair at all,” said Bill Sandiford, president of ISP...

New entrants call for penalties to ensure good practices on tower sharing, roaming

telecom | 03/28/2011 10:06 pm EDT

New wireless entrants Mobilicity and Public Mobile Inc. are calling on Industry Canada to institute penalties to ensure incumbent carriers respect their tower sharing and mandated roaming agreements. “Currently there are no concrete repercussions (or any positive incentives) for the incumbents to share their...

Opinion: The CRTC’s UBB decision and a solution to retail Internet metering

telecom | 03/28/2011 1:55 pm EDT

In a decision announced on Jan. 25, 2011, the CRTC permitted the telcos and cablecos that own communications networks to apply usage-based billing (UBB) to the contracts they make with independent (reseller) ISPs. The CRTC, however, did a spectacularly bad job of providing an analytical justification for its decision. If...

Supreme Court to weigh in on thorny issue of ISPs as broadcasting undertakings

Media | 03/24/2011 4:49 pm EDT

Canada’s highest court said Thursday it will weigh in on the thorny issue of whether Internet service providers (ISPs) carry on broadcasting activities and qualify for regulation by the CRTC. A coalition of cultural groups had appealed the issue to the Supreme Court, which said Thursday it will look at whether the lower Federal Court of Appeal erred when it ruled unanimously last year that ISPs play a “content-neutral role” in the transmission of data and do not carry on broadcasting activities. The CRTC had referred the issue to the court in the summer of 2009, noting that the legal question “as to whether ISPs are subject to the Act must be resolved.”...

CRTC’s UBB decision: pretty good economics, but a bad explanation

telecom | 03/23/2011 5:38 pm EDT

In its usage-based billing (UBB) decision (telecom decision 2011-44) with respect to the pricing of Internet access to independent Internet service providers (ISPs) announced on Jan. 25, 2011, the CRTC has seriously blotted its copybook—but not for the reasons implied by Industry Minister Tony Clement a few days...

Exclude copyright from all trade agreements: Heritage committee report

Media | 03/23/2011 3:57 pm EDT

The opposition parties on the House of Commons heritage committee have recommended that the government exclude copyright policy from trade negotiations and focus on developing international copyright policy through bodies like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). A committee report tabled in the House...

Tories’ federal budget silent on broadband, spectrum

Media | 03/22/2011 10:42 pm EDT

OTTAWA—The federal Conservative government says its 2011 budget lays the groundwork for its upcoming digital economy strategy—but the budget document makes no mention of broadband initiatives, foreign ownership or spectrum issues. “Budget 2011 sets the stage for the release of Canada’s Digital...

Delayed copyright law impeding notice-and-notice system for ISPs, providers say

Media | 03/22/2011 10:16 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Uncertainty surrounding the future of Canada’s copyright law is impeding Internet service providers’ (ISPs) attempts to deal with infringing content online and is leading to a “cat and mouse game” in their pursuit of alleged infringers, ISPs told the House of Commons legislative...

Is it really 4G? Your mobile provider says so

telecom | 03/21/2011 1:50 pm EDT

Canadian telecom carriers are rebranding their wireless networks as 4G following a change in the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) definition of fourth generation technologies. But questions are emerging about whether the networks qualify as “4G,” and whether customers need to be more astute about what their mobile...

Industry development has ‘outpaced’ need for open access spectrum, Bell says

telecom | 03/18/2011 7:26 pm EDT

Developments in the marketplace have outpaced the need for open access conditions on spectrum licences, Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. told Industry Canada in its submission for the department’s consultation on a policy for the 700 MHz band. “The market circumstances surrounding the...

Annual fees now apply to renewed licences from 2001 auction

telecom | 03/16/2011 9:34 pm EDT

Annual fees will now apply to personal communications services (PCS) spectrum licences bought during the 2001 auction, Industry Canada said Monday. “Incentive fees that reflect a measure of market value of the spectrum encourage licensees to consider the cost of holding additional spectrum in balance with...

OpenMedia trains sights on Clement’s UBB comments in conference call

telecom | 03/15/2011 8:26 pm EDT

Advocacy group OpenMedia.ca says it intends to hold Industry Minister Tony Clement to a statement he made in a recent conference call with the group. In the meeting, Clement said that, in his upcoming digital economy strategy, he intends to touch on the policy framework for retail and wholesale Internet services, OpenMedia...

Data measurement audits would help telcos improve image: CCTS

telecom | 03/11/2011 11:04 pm EST

Third-party auditing of service providers’ data metering would help improve customer confidence in telco services, Howard Maker, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services (CCTS), says. “Imagine an ad from Bell [Canada] or Rogers [Communications Inc.] that says our measurement tools have been independently audited by ABC company for accuracy, and that they check every 60 days,” Maker said in a phone interview. “I think it would be a good sales tool for them in an environment where people are not confident in service providers' usage measures.” The accurate measurement of data usage for Internet services has emerged as an issue of public concern as the CRTC reviews its usage-based billing policy. Observers are arguing that if telcos...

700 MHz spectrum should be used for rural deployment, regional providers say

telecom | 03/10/2011 9:49 pm EST

Regional carriers are calling on Industry Canada to ensure they have access to their fair share of the 700 MHz spectrum to help introduce competition in rural areas. “The auction of the 700 MHz spectrum is the last chance that the Department will have to introduce competition and, in some cases, any service at all to...

The petition that nearly single-handedly changed Clement’s UBB position

telecom | 03/09/2011 10:40 pm EST

Late last month, advocacy group OpenMedia.ca held a rally in Vancouver, where participants canvassed for signatures, dressed up as “Internet traffic cops,” and handed out fake tickets with information about its campaign on usage-based billing. The rally, as part of the group’s national day of action on...

CRTC approves BCE-CTV transaction, imposes moratorium on exclusive content deals

Media | 03/08/2011 12:09 am EST

The CRTC addressed concerns about potential anti-competitive behaviour for vertically integrated companies in a decision Monday, imposing a moratorium on exclusive content deals for vertically integrated carriers until the commission deals with the issue in a hearing this spring. In a decision that approved BCE...

Traffic management and UBB practices should target peak times, locations, Liberals say

telecom | 03/07/2011 11:00 pm EST

OTTAWA—Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau is calling on the CRTC to verify the incumbent Internet service providers’ (ISP) reports of network congestion. And if congestion is an issue, ISPs’ traffic management and usage-based billing practices should target specific times...

Federal Court’s Globalive decision erred on 18 points, company says

telecom | 03/02/2011 10:04 pm EST

OTTAWA—The Federal Court’s Feb. 4 ruling that said cabinet should not have allowed Globalive Wireless Management Corp. to enter the wireless market erred on 18 points of law and fact, Globalive says in its appeal of the decision. “The judge erred on fact and law in failing to recognize that the Governor in Council, as it was entitled to do, considered ‘access to foreign capital, technology and experience’ to be a means to achieving Canadian telecommunications policy objectives rather than as a policy objective in and of itself,” Globalive wrote in a notice of appeal, filed with the court Feb. 17. On Feb. 4, the Federal Court said the Conservative...

CRTC’s wholesale Internet policy was ‘all good’ before UBB decision, Clement says

telecom | 03/02/2011 3:34 pm EST

OTTAWA—Regulations governing third-party Internet service providers’ (ISPs) access to the incumbents’ networks was “all good” before the CRTC stepped in and introduced usage-based billing for small ISPs, Industry Minister Tony Clement said Tuesday. Clement said...

New entrants should get ‘all or substantially all’ of 700 MHz spectrum: Globalive

telecom | 03/02/2011 1:13 am EST

New wireless entrants should be given “all or substantially all” of the newly available, 700 MHz prime spectrum to ensure their continued ability to compete, Globalive Wireless Management Corp. says. The proposal—which is sure to be opposed by the big players—has been...

Not-in-my-backyard movement against cell towers reflects increasing demand, construction

telecom | 02/24/2011 10:57 pm EST

As wireless carriers construct new towers to meet growing demands, more and more communities across Canada are expressing concerns about the health, aesthetic and financial repercussions of towers in their backyards. Between November 2010 and February 2011, The Wire Report identified at least...

CRTC’s usage-based billing proceeding already getting stormy

telecom | 02/23/2011 11:05 pm EST

The CRTC's review of its usage-based billing policy is already getting stormy. A call for comments to determine just the scope of the review, not the policy, has generated nearly two-thousand comments and widespread disagreement among industry players and consumer groups. At issue are what points should be addressed...

Video game industry divided on impacts of usage-based billing

Media | 02/22/2011 10:49 pm EST

Canadian video game developers are divided over the impacts that usage-based billing has on their industry. Senior industry insiders would not comment on the record but told The Wire Report in background interviews that some developers feel bandwidth caps hinder digital distribution and others say it protects against game...

Usage-based billing review to consider minimum limits for bit caps: CRTC chair

telecom | 02/18/2011 9:39 pm EST

OTTAWA—The CRTC's upcoming review of its usage-based billing policy will consider regulations for minimum bandwidth caps, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a brief interview Friday. “It’s one of the questions: should we at all get into the issue of caps? Should they be set, and if so, how and...

‘Collateral damage’ to hit broadcasters through vertical integration, Stursberg says

Media | 02/18/2011 11:51 am EST

OTTAWA—Broadcasters will bear significant “collateral damage” in the move to vertically integrated communications companies that will inevitably fail, Richard Stursberg, Telus Corp.'s new senior advisor on media and entertainment strategy, said Thursday. “The track record so...

Clement prepared to go to Supreme Court over Globalive decision

telecom | 02/15/2011 8:49 pm EST

OTTAWA—The federal government will appeal the Federal Court of Canada's ruling that said the federal cabinet erred when it allowed Globalive Wireless Management Corp. to enter the telecom market, Industry Minister Tony Clement said Tuesday. “The Harper government will be appealing the court's ruling. We...

Satellite radio merger will help XM, Sirius compete, experts say

Media | 02/15/2011 6:28 pm EST

A merger between Canada's two satellite radio players will shift their focus from battling each other to competing with traditional radio and new media platforms, industry observers say. “[Sirius Canada Inc.] is a company that looks like it's doing well enough to try to get a larger part of the market,” Richard J. Paradis, an instructor at the Université de Montréal's communications department and president of consulting firm Groupe CIC, said by phone. “XM Canada is having difficulties, but I think the two companies together are probably an interesting formula because it will allow them to put all of their energies into developing the market and growing their audience rather than fighting each other.” The CRTC is holding a public hearing on...

Google-Apple operating system war heats up as Android overtakes Apple’s iOS

telecom | 02/14/2011 7:12 pm EST

New statistics show that Google Inc.’s Android platform has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone operating system (iOS) as the companies battle for handset supremacy in a market offering both closed and open platforms. Carmi Levy, an independent telecom and media analyst in London, Ont., said in an interview...

Bell to put ‘thinking cap’ on to look at usage-based billing options

telecom | 02/11/2011 3:58 pm EST

OTTAWA—Bell Canada is considering the implementation alternatives to the CRTC's usage-based billing policy, Mirko Bibic, Bell's senior vice-president of government and regulatory affairs, told the House industry committee Thursday. “There are a lot of procedures that are going to go forward on that separate...

Shaw to start deploying only fibre next year

Media | 02/10/2011 9:43 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. will start deploying only fibre cables next year in a defensive move to increase its Internet service speeds and network reliability. “We have a strategy that involves extensive fibre-to-the-home deployments beginning next year,” Dennis Steiger, Shaw's group vice-president of engineering, said in a phone...

Clement meets with provincial ministers to talk digital skills, technology adoption

telecom | 02/09/2011 9:31 pm EST

In advance of a digital economy strategy expected this spring, Industry Minister Tony Clement met with provincial economic ministers in Montreal in January to discuss digital skills and technology adoption. Provincial ministers who attended the meeting say the strategy should focus on developing the infrastructure...

Usage-based billing a form of ‘price-fixing,’ TekSavvy says

telecom | 02/09/2011 3:28 pm EST

OTTAWA—As the CRTC prepares to review usage-based billing, industry players are facing off over the reasoning that led to the policy’s adoption. “There is no economic justification for this legitimized form of price-fixing,” George Burger, adviser to third-party Internet service provider (ISP) TekSavvy Solutions Inc., told the House industry committee Tuesday. “When Bell says it seeks a level playing field, that means it wants to force all Canadians to pay exorbitant prices for bandwidth, far beyond the cost of supply.” The industry committee is studying of the CRTC’s policy on usage-based billing, which if adopted will require third-party...

Globalive’s fate rests in government’s hands, analysts say

telecom | 02/07/2011 11:15 pm EST

The continued operations of Globalive Wireless Management Corp. now rest in the Conservative government's hands after the Federal Court of Canada ruled Friday that the cabinet erred in allowing it to enter the market, analysts say. “This incident is embarrassing for Canada,” Dvai Ghose, an analyst with...

Federal Court overturns government’s approval of Globalive

telecom | 02/04/2011 10:30 pm EST

A Federal Court of Canada ruling that said the government erred in approving Globalive Wireless Management Corp. as a telecommunications carrier will not affect the company’s operations, Globalive...

Wireless

BCE makes final offer on tangible benefits, removes funding for HD news

Media | 02/04/2011 6:45 pm EST

GATINEAU—BCE Inc. presented the CRTC with a final offer for its benefits package Friday, removing funding for the production of high-definition local news content and lowering the amount for satellite conversion. Lobby groups and companies had previously called some of the proposals, including a satellite upgrade to...

CRTC reviewing usage-based billing at request of Bell, chair says

telecom | 02/04/2011 3:40 am EST

OTTAWA--Following a request from Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., the CRTC announced Thursday it will launch a review of its controversial usage-based billing decision and delay its implementation by at least 60 days. “The decision to review was self-initiated and we did it in light of the request by Bell …...

Mobile video calling technology ready, but consumers not, experts say

telecom | 02/03/2011 11:13 pm EST

Mainstream technology is ready to ignite an explosion of mobile video calling, but consumers are not, experts say. They say it’s partly a social and behavioral issue that may prevent mobile video calling from ever taking off. “Everyone seems focused on whether a new handset has a forward facing camera, but...

Telus, Cogeco say negotiations with BCE have already led to competitive disadvantage

Media | 02/02/2011 11:46 pm EST

GATINEAU—Telus Corp. and Cogeco Cable Inc. told the CRTC Wednesday it should implement safeguards to protect them from undue preference under BCE Inc.’s acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc., noting they have already experienced a competitive disadvantage in negotiations with Bell. “Telus has filed a...

Competitors, advocacy groups, criticize BCE benefits package, ask to redirect funds

Media | 02/02/2011 11:19 pm EST

GATINEAU—BCE Inc. is taking heat for a revised tangible benefits package it has proposed as part of its acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc.’s broadcasting assets. Competitors and cultural groups describe some of the spending as “self-serving.” “There are always many other things...

Canada not yet in substantive telecom trade discussions with EU: Verheul

telecom | 02/02/2011 5:57 pm EST

OTTAWA--Canada has not yet engaged in substantive discussions with the European Union about opening up its telecom sector to foreign ownership, Steve Verheul, Canada’s chief negotiator for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), told The Wire Report Monday. A recently leaked October draft of...

BCE not commited to sharing all content following CTV acquisition

Media | 02/01/2011 10:17 pm EST

GATINEAU—BCE Inc. president and CEO George Cope told the CRTC Tuesday he can’t guarantee the company will not use exclusive content after it completes its acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc.’s broadcasting assets. “We’re not prepared to make the same categorical commitment that Shaw [Communications Inc.] made,” Cope said. “If undue preference means nothing can be exclusive, then I don’t understand what the term undue preference means. We may provide preference from time to time to Bell, but not undue.” On Tuesday, the commission opened a four-day public hearing on BCE’s acquisition of CTV. The commission evaluates the value of...

Liberals oppose CRTC’s usage-based billing decision; Clement to study it

telecom | 02/01/2011 1:14 am EST

The Liberal party is calling on the Conservative government to review the CRTC’s controversial decision on usage-based billing--a ruling that Industry Minister Tony Clement says he will now study. “We want to preserve net-neutrality as much as possible. Secondly, we believe this will inhibit competition,”...

Small ISPs adjust customer plans to accommodate usage-based billing decision

telecom | 02/01/2011 12:25 am EST

Small Internet service providers (ISPs) are hoping to remain competitive against incumbents as they begin to unveil their revised service plans under the CRTC's usage-based billing policy—but they acknowledge that losing customers is a “definite possibility.” “We are trying our best to be as...

Spectrum harmonization with the U.S. to determine more public safety access to 700 MHz band

telecom | 01/28/2011 9:18 pm EST

The public safety sector's access to more 700 MHz spectrum may hinge on a coming policy decision in the United States. Analysts say Industry Canada is likely to harmonize with policy in the U.S., where regulators are considering whether to give the public safety sector a larger chunk of the...

Carriers look to optimization technologies to fight mobile video data crunch

Media | 01/28/2011 4:21 pm EST

As an increasing number of customers use their mobile handsets to watch online video, carriers are starting to move to new video optimization technologies for higher quality streaming. Patrick Lopez, chief marketing officer at Vantrix Corp., a Montreal video-optimization software company, said the technology is...

CRTC’s undue preference ruling sets precedent for wireless, online, Telus says

Media | 01/27/2011 11:39 pm EST

A CRTC ruling Wednesday that said Quebecor Media Inc. acted with undue preference when it held back competitor access to exclusive content for video-on-demand services has set a precedent for similar issues on mobile and online platforms, Telus Corp. says. “I think it very much sets a precedent for both wireless and the Internet,” Michael Hennessy, Telus' senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs, said in an interview. On June 21, Telus filed a complaint with the commission, arguing that Videotron Ltd.'s video-on-demand service, Illico sur demande, held exclusive rights to popular TVA programs. Bell Canada filed a similar letter with the commission two...

ISPs mull whether to challenge CRTC’s 15 per cent usage-based billing discount

telecom | 01/26/2011 9:34 pm EST

Small Internet service providers (ISPs) are considering their options following a CRTC decision that awards them a 15 per cent discount on usage-based billing prices for wholesale Internet access. Third-party ISPs that rent wholesale access to the incumbents’ networks say they haven’t decided whether they will...

Cable companies should lay fibre for IPTV, analysts say

Media | 01/26/2011 8:16 pm EST

Cable companies should upgrade their network infrastructure to fibre so they can offer Internet protocol television (IPTV) and keep up with telcos now offering the technology, analysts say. “For the first time, cable is the incumbent, telcos are the insurgent, and arguably they have a better technology,” Dvai...

CRTC asks complaints commissioner to help develop industry code

telecom | 01/26/2011 7:27 pm EST

The CRTC said Wednesday it will require the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) to participate in a working group on the creation of an industry code for telecommunications providers. Established in 2007, the CCTS is an independent agency created to resolve disagreements between...

Anti-spam bill to change mobile marketing practices, experts say

Media | 01/25/2011 9:22 pm EST

TORONTO—Canada’s new anti-spam legislation, which will require companies to pay close attention to securing consent from customers before sending commercial messages, is poised to push firms to tread lightly when advertising via mobile, experts said at a conference last week. The federal government's anti-spam...

Mississauga company to launch fleet of 78 communications satellites

telecom | 01/24/2011 10:01 pm EST

A Mississauga-based company is planning to launch a fleet of 78 low-orbit satellites that will provide backhaul telecommunications services, with speeds of up to 12 Gbps, for data-crunched carriers worldwide. “With the Internet being under such heavy demand and high usage, there's a bandwidth shortage just about...

Public Mobile court challenge boils down to semantics, Globalive says

telecom | 01/20/2011 11:04 pm EST

OTTAWA—The fundamental disagreement between the CRTC and the Conservative government on whether Globalive Wireless Management Corp. is “not controlled by non-Canadians” is above all a semantic issue, Globalive told the Federal Court Thursday. “The governor-in-council and the CRTC had a fundamental...

Computer ownership an obstacle to broadband uptake, data shows

telecom | 01/20/2011 12:58 am EST

New data from Statistics Canada indicates that most households without broadband don't have a computer, leaving industry observers to question whether a national broadband strategy should involve the promotion of PC ownership. In a survey of household spending for 2009, released last month, Stats Can said 78 per cent of...

Government’s Globalive decision was ‘logically, mathematically, completely flawed,’ Telus tells court

telecom | 01/20/2011 12:35 am EST

OTTAWA—The federal government overlooked Orascom Communications' control over Globalive Wireless Management Corp.'s debt when it overruled the CRTC and allowed the company to launch its telecommunications services as a Canadian-controlled carrier, Public Mobile and Telus Corp. told the Federal...

Manitoba consumer protection consultation draws industry conflict

telecom | 01/18/2011 10:10 pm EST

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and member Mobilicity butted heads last week over Manitoba’s proposed cell phone legislation. “We deeply disagree with the CWTA’s disregard for the need for more consumer protection, not only in the province of Manitoba, but right across our country,” Dave Dobbin, president and CEO of Mobilicity, said in a press release on Friday. Monday was the final day for submissions to the Manitoba provincial government’s public consultation on cellphone contract regulations. Manitoba aims to improve consumer satisfaction over cellphone contracts by mandating the use of plain language and fair practices for...

Twelve-year-old TeleZone case against Industry Canada will go to trial

telecom | 01/17/2011 7:08 pm EST

TeleZone Inc. will be allowed to pursue its $250-million suit against the federal government over a 1995 Industry Canada spectrum decision, following a Supreme Court ruling in December. “The decision was extremely important ... what it means is that if anybody ... has a claim in law against the government which...

Delay in wireless launch puts Shaw in awkward position, analysts say

telecom | 01/14/2011 11:07 pm EST

The three-month delay of Shaw Communications Inc.'s wireless launch to early 2012 may leave the company dealing with the consequences of awkward timing, analysts say. “You're really caught between 3G and 4G,” Dvai Ghose, a telecom analyst with Canaccord Genuity, said in an interview. “By 2013 the...

Congested networks may lead to carriers charging for incomplete overseas calls

telecom | 01/13/2011 10:46 pm EST

A high volume of calls to countries with unreliable phone systems can in rare situations lead to carriers erroneously charging customers for incomplete overseas phone calls. “It would be pretty rare that a client faces such a situation, but in the few cases when it might happen, the international traffic is one of...

CRTC’s net neutrality rules require stronger enforcement, Geist says

telecom | 01/12/2011 10:07 pm EST

The CRTC’s net neutrality enforcement policy should be reviewed, Michael Geist, Canada’s research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, says. “[Consumer complaints] are a significant barrier for most ordinary consumers to surmount. I’m of the view that we ought to have...

Co-location not best strategy for third-party ISPs, CAIP says

telecom | 01/10/2011 10:29 pm EST

The competitive wholesale access market may be facing difficulties, but co-location isn’t necessarily a safe haven for small Internet service providers (ISPs), Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), says. “[Co-location] can be cost prohibitive for anyone who is trying to set up at a small central office where [they] would have limited reach and limited coverage,” Copeland said in an interview. Co-location is when an ISP leases space in an incumbent service provider’s central office and uses its equipment to offer Internet services. Following Bell Canada’s proposed wholesale high-speed access tariff, third party ISPs are searching for ways to secure their businesses if the CRTC rules in Bell’s favour. If...

Manitoba carefully edges closer to new cellphone contract law

telecom | 01/07/2011 5:11 pm EST

The Manitoba government will have to choose its words carefully when it draws up its upcoming legislation on cell phone contracts, or the new law could end up in court, a consumer group says. “Communications has been found to be federal [jurisdiction] only,” John Lawford, a research analyst and counsel at the...

Wholesale ISPs fear Bell tariff will end competitive marketplace

telecom | 01/05/2011 11:28 pm EST

A group of Internet service providers (ISPs) says Bell Canada’s proposed tariff for wholesale high-speed access services may lead to the collapse of small ISPs. “It will be very difficult for a smaller company to compete at a higher price when we are already struggling to compete at a lower price. It will hurt...

CRTC should move towards mandatory telecom licensing, says PIAC report

telecom | 01/05/2011 12:10 am EST

A new report arguing that deregulation has caused Canadians to be severely overcharged for their wireless and broadband services is being met with industry criticism. On Dec. 30, consumer group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) released a report, Waiting for the dream: The consumer case for telecom reform and...

Saskatchewan class action suit may require telcos to reimburse system access fees

telecom | 12/22/2010 5:12 pm EST

A class action suit seeking telecom providers to reimburse clients 20-years worth of system fees is on the verge of being settled after seven years in Saskatchewan’s court system. “Every time you break out something that really should be part of your basic monthly fee, it’s misleading. Customers think...

Bundled home-monitoring system could help Rogers in security sector, analysts say

telecom | 12/22/2010 4:54 pm EST

Bundling its upcoming home-monitoring product with existing services for customer discounts could help Rogers Communications Inc. in the security systems market, where BCE Inc. tried but failed, analysts say. “If it were my decision, because it is a sticky, long-term play, it would be interesting to do a bundle that...

Complexity of telco billing systems leads to mistakes, billing verification company says

telecom | 12/21/2010 7:54 pm EST

The billing systems of Canada’s major telecommunications companies have become too complex for their own good, Patrick Connolly, president of UTR Global, a billing verification company, says. “Their billing is too complex even for them [the companies] to understand,” Connolly said...

Companies moving to mobile advertising campaigns, budgets

Media | 12/20/2010 10:01 pm EST

Next year is expected to be a big one for mobile advertising as companies set aside budgets and plan mobile advertising campaigns, industry insiders say. “Mobile is no longer that test or that experimental phase in a campaign. It’s now become the real thing. It’s arrived. Clients are really trying to...

Open access in 700 MHz band would encourage consumer choice, Mobilicity says

telecom | 12/17/2010 2:59 pm EST

Open access requirements in the 700 MHz band would help promote consumer choice when purchasing an unlocked handset, Stewart Lyons, chief operating officer at new wireless entrant Mobilicity, says. “If you could just go to a store, buy a handset and choose a carrier we would do that too,” Lyons said in an...

Wavefront commercialization services expanding to developers nationally

Media | 12/16/2010 7:41 pm EST

New federal government funding for British Columbia’s Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre will now help Canadian developers across the country market their products overseas. “Some of the major hurdles for Canadian developers are access to the resources needed to get products to market, getting them noticed and getting them into the hands of people who want to use them,” Marc Choma, director of communications at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Associations (CWTA), said in an interview. “If you can’t do that, your products won’t serve you very well.” On Dec. 6, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that the federal...

Dark fibre ruling will introduce foreign competition, says U.S. ISP

telecom | 12/15/2010 8:10 pm EST

The CRTC’s ruling last Thursday to allow non-Canadian companies to lease and light dark fibre as resellers will increase foreign competition in the telecommunications market, U.S.-based Internet service provider (ISP) AboveNet says. “The ruling may convince other non-Canadian companies that lease dark...

Network BC’s community success may be difficult to repeat, researcher says

telecom | 12/14/2010 11:08 pm EST

Network BC is lauded as an example of a government program extending broadband access across an entire province, but its success might be difficult to repeat in other parts of the country, Catherine Middleton, Canada research chair in communications technologies and the information society at Ryerson University, says. ...

Industry Canada preparing for consultation on new C-28 anti-spam regulations

telecom | 12/14/2010 10:02 pm EST

OTTAWA—Industry Canada hopes to launch a consultation on regulations to support the Conservative government’s anti-spam legislation within a couple of months, Janet DiFrancesco, director general of the department’s electronic commerce branch, told the Senate transport and communications committee Tuesday....

CRTC ruling on CCTS membership may be difficult to enforce

telecom | 12/14/2010 12:14 am EST

The CRTC’s ruling two weeks ago requiring all telecom service providers to become members of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services (CCTS) could be hard to enforce because the commission lacks a working list of providers, telecom consultant Mark Goldberg says. “I’m not...

Bell defends $100 coupon for deferral account rebates, says ‘it’s a good deal’

telecom | 12/14/2010 12:14 am EST

Bell Canada is sticking to its $100 coupon offer as a means to rebate consumers its deferral account funds. Bell’s position comes despite arguments from competitors and consumer group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) that the coupon is a “hook” to lure customers into long-term contracts. “We're not sure why they (PIAC) would want to restrict customer choice. Especially in this case, where we're offering a higher value than the rebate itself. I suppose we should thank them for bringing more attention to the $100 offer—it's a good deal,” Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis wrote in an email. In August, the CRTC directed Bell to rebate...

Alberta consults on SuperNet expansion

telecom | 12/08/2010 6:56 pm EST

As the Alberta government consults on plans to expand its SuperNet broadband network, industry observers say the network could play a bigger role in increasing access and competition. Launched in 2000, the Alberta government funded the creation of SuperNet to bridge the digital divide between unconnected remote communities and more populated served by...

Foreign ownership bill now a long way off, industry insiders say

telecom | 12/08/2010 12:22 am EST

It may be a year or more before the telecom industry sees a serious policy move to liberalize the sector’s foreign ownership limits, industry insiders say. The predictions about a delayed process follow Industry Minister Tony Clement’s Nov. 22 update on the digital economy strategy, when he announced a...

Shaw, Quebecor call for combined 700 and 2500 MHz auctions

telecom | 12/03/2010 11:08 pm EST

Industry Canada should hold a combined auction for the 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands, Shaw Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. said in interviews Friday. “We’ve always argued for both combined. We’re making million dollar investments, so we need to know how much bandwidth we’re going to have five...

Industry players say they should develop their own code of conduct

telecom | 12/01/2010 11:38 pm EST

GATINEAU—Industry players say that they, not the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), should be called upon to develop an industry code of conduct that would provide clarity for consumer complaints. “Establishing codes without industry buy-in is regulation. If the commission...

Government must clarify length of spectrum licence fee freeze, report says

telecom | 12/01/2010 8:06 pm EST

Industry Canada should clarify its position on spectrum licence renewal fees, independent consultant Ian Munro says in a new report on the wireless industry published by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. “If they do something too provocative with the existing licences or keep everyone guessing and...

Telcos opposed to monthly CCTS publicity on bills

telecom | 11/30/2010 11:25 pm EST

GATINEAU—Publishing a monthly informational message about the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) on customers’ bills would be “overkill,” costly, and too technical, telecom providers told the CRTC at a public hearing this week. “By making it a monthly occurrence on the bill, I...

Inukshuk expected to use Vecima spectrum for national LTE services

telecom | 11/29/2010 11:04 pm EST

The Inukshuk Wireless Partnership is expected to use the spectrum it is purchasing from Vecima Networks Inc. to deploy national next-generation LTE wireless services. “They need that territory to be able to call themselves a national carrier for LTE services,” Michael Rozender, head of telecom consultancy...

CCTS mandate, mandatory membership, under debate at CRTC

telecom | 11/29/2010 10:41 pm EST

GATINEAU—The mandate of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) should be expanded to cover all broadcasting and telecommunications services, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) told the CRTC at a public hearing Monday. “[Consumer groups] have grave problems with...

‘Tide turning’ for broadband as basic service, researcher says

telecom | 11/26/2010 11:21 pm EST

A U.K. researcher working on a charter of human rights for the Internet says broadband access is receiving an increasing amount of international recognition as a basic service right. “More and more people are beginning to look at it in that way, so the tides are beginning to turn,” Dixie Hawtin, a researcher at Global Partners & Associates, said in an interview. Global Partners, which promotes democratic politics, effective governance and human rights, is working on the charter as part of the international Internet Rights & Principles Coalition. The Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet, based primarily on the Universal Declaration of Human...

Howard Maker meets his maker, the CRTC

telecom | 11/26/2010 9:58 pm EST

Howard Maker will be before the CRTC next week defending the role, even existence, of his office. Maker, the first Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), was appointed in August 2008 to deal with customer complaints about telecom services, including home telephone, wired and wireless Internet, directory assistance,...

Third-party IPTV providers to struggle under usage-based billing, Mediatube says

telecom | 11/25/2010 3:08 am EST

The CRTC's usage-based billing decision doesn't account for the “last mile” from DSL loops to the customer, which may prevent small competitors from offering Internet protocol television (IPTV) services, says Ted Chislett, president of Mediatube.tv. Mediatube.tv is in the process of applying for a...

Industry Canada to issue spectrum release plan, begins mobile broadband study

telecom | 11/23/2010 11:57 pm EST

OTTAWA—Industry Canada will issue a spectrum release plan next year, Helen McDonald, the department’s assistant deputy minister, said Tuesday. “That will let users know what spectrum will be made available, and when or over what timeframe, in advance for possible reallocation or any other actions we...

Clement announces 700 MHz spectrum auction in 2012, delays foreign ownership policy

telecom | 11/22/2010 11:57 pm EST

OTTAWA—Industry Canada will launch a consultation on a 700 MHz spectrum auction to be held by the end of 2012, Industry Minister Tony Clement said Monday. But the minister did not announce any new policies resulting from his summer consultations on foreign ownership in the telecom sector. “With respect...

Distributors, CBC quarrel over efficacy of partial, ‘omnibus’ channel solutions

Media | 11/18/2010 11:49 pm EST

GATINEAU—Offering local programming on partial or “omnibus” satellite channels could serve as an interim solution to capacity shortages, Bell Canada and Shaw Communications Inc. told the CRTC Thursday. “We certainly recognize it’s imperfect. Unfortunately it’s the only [solution] we have up until such time when we’re able to invest in further capacity,” Heather Tulk, Bell’s senior vice-president of residential products, said. Thursday was the final day of the commission’s hearing to review its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television distribution policy. During the hearings, broadcasters CBC and Rogers Communications...

CRTC’s satellite carriage rules an ‘incomplete tool’ for Quebec, says CBC

Media | 11/17/2010 10:15 pm EST

GATINEAU—The CRTC’s proposed guidelines for satellite television distribution come up short in the French-language, Quebec market, CBC/Radio-Canada told the commission Wednesday. The CBC told the commission that its satellite television policy does not require the distribution of enough...

Lakehead University changes stance on campus WiFi

telecom | 11/17/2010 9:34 pm EST

Under new administration, Thunder Bay’s Lakehead University will install WiFi Internet access on campus following almost a decade without it. Lakehead’s previous president, Frederick Gilbert, whose term ended in August, had originally decided to ban WiFi on campus in the early 2000s because of the potential health affects associated with...

Hard handoffs the norm in North America, Rogers and Bell say

telecom | 11/16/2010 11:06 pm EST

Seamless roaming from one wireless network to another isn’t the norm in North America, incumbent wireless carriers Rogers Communications Inc. and Bell Canada say. “When Rogers’ customers pass from Rogers’ network to third party networks, their calls also drop as do those of other carriers,”...

Shaw plans transition to new satellite technology; Bell says it’s ‘impractical’

Media | 11/16/2010 9:41 pm EST

GATINEAU—Shaw Communications Inc. said Tuesday it plans to move to a new, more efficient compression technology for its satellite distribution services, but Bell Canada said high costs are holding it back from making its own transition. On Tuesday the CRTC opened a hearing to review its...

‘We are competing with each other in areas where we should be working together’: Cogeco

telecom | 11/16/2010 9:30 pm EST

TORONTO—Canadian telcos should collaborate to meet infrastructure needs and focus their energies on better knowing their customers, Tony Ciciretto, president of data services at Cogeco Cable, said during a breakfast speech Monday in Toronto. Speaking to executives and business leaders in the...

Péladeau’s quest for exclusive Nordiques content

Media | 11/15/2010 4:06 pm EST

When Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume announced plans to build a $400-million hockey stadium in the city in September, Pierre Karl Péladeau looked on, the NHL on his mind. It’s hard to know precisely what competitive strategies Péladeau has been thinking about lately. But to take an educated...

Lawful access bills lack clarity on compensation, telcos say

telecom | 11/12/2010 10:23 pm EST

Telecom companies say they are concerned the federal government’s new lawful access legislation will require them to provide a more extensive range of services to law enforcement agencies without proper compensation. “There’s some movement towards compensating for costs, but there’s still not a...

The telecom subsidy regime: One of life’s great mysteries, explained

telecom | 11/12/2010 9:43 pm EST

When the CRTC opened its hearing on access to basic telecom services last month, there were more than enough topics for debate. Whether the commission should mandate broadband as a basic service, modify its subsidy regime, or increase price caps, were among the many points of contention. But during the two-week long...

New wireless players call for review of tower sharing policy

telecom | 11/10/2010 3:36 am EST

OTTAWA—Industry Canada’s tower sharing policy should be tweaked so that incumbents and new wireless players can reach sharing agreements more quickly, new entrants Public Mobile, Wind Mobile and Mobilicity said Tuesday at the Canadian Telecommunications Forum in Ottawa, hosted by Insight Information. “I’d ask the incumbents how many towers they have shared, the answer is very, very few if any,” Mobilicity's chief operating officer, Stewart Lyons, said during a panel discussion about the "state of play" in the wireless market. “That’s just objective evidence of failure in that policy.” Lyons said the company has “40-plus requests out there” for tower sharing but it has not “made too much headway” on them....