The Quebec Court of Appeal has denied an application for leave to appeal from Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron regarding its ongoing $50 million lawsuit from BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility.
In a June 29 decision Justice Robert Mainville rejected the telco’s request to appeal...
The CRTC has issued a request for information on the rates Canadian wireless carriers charge as roaming fees for international coverage. In a June 1 letter the commission set out four questions it wants answered by the various players in the market.
First up it wants a...
The CRTC said Thursday it was going to look into recently-announced hikes...
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s...
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Telus...
BCE Inc. has filed a review and vary application seeking to overturn a May...
The Competitive Network Operators of Canada has filed an intervention in support of a Part 1 request for the CRTC to review the methodology by which the regulator sets roaming tariffs.
In a June 23 intervention, CNOC argued that the original application from a...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility Inc. has lost an application before the CRTC about Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron...
A consortium of regional wireless competitors have filed an application...
Roaming revenue remains among the biggest headwinds for Telus Corp.’s...
Telus Corp. wants the CRTC to set an industry-wide definition of...
Bell Mobility Inc. is asking the CRTC to put in place new measures for...
BCE Inc. is suing Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, escalating their battle over wireless customers allegedly...
Otono Networks Inc.’s Roam Mobility will cease operations on June 30, the company said Wednesday. Roam Mobility previously provided prepaid SIM cards for visitors to the United States and Canada. It shut down the Canadian service in January, though it continued to provide SIM cards and service...
BCE Inc. must keep providing Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron with wholesale roaming on an ongoing basis, the CRTC said Wednesday in a decision that also took the two perennial rivals to task for not first...
Apple Inc.’s upcoming iPhones will have dual SIM capability, with a physical nano SIM and an embedded SIM, or eSIM.
The company announced Wednesday the features would be available on the new iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max.
It said on its website that will allow customers to use two cellular plans with one phone -- having separate numbers for business and personal use, adding a local data plan when travelling internationally, or having separate voice and data plans, for example.
BCE Inc. is the only Canadian...
TNW Wireless Inc. is still hopeful the CRTC will rule in its favour in a...
Mandating wholesale roaming access to Wi-Fi-based mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) will encourage innovation and competition by providing...
The CRTC’s 2015 decision to regulate wholesale wireless roaming has made...
The CRTC is seeking comment on whether it should grant regional...
Most of Canada’s major wireless providers were of the same mind on an application by TNW Wireless Inc. asking the CRTC to compel BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to enter into roaming agreements with TNW, telling the regulator in interventions that its service doesn’t...
The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices means the technology will need to be included in roaming agreements in the future, according to a new report by Juniper Research. “Juniper...
The CRTC is asking wireless service providers about whether they’ve been approached by potential mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and their service offerings for low-income individuals....
The CRTC has launched a consultation on changing its wholesale wireless roaming rules, following a call...
The European Union’s elimination of roaming charges has pushed global mobile roaming revenue numbers down, according to a new report by Juniper Research. The EU recently said it was eliminating roaming charges after it came...
A Northern mobile wireless provider is asking the CRTC to compel a pair of incumbents to strike roaming...
TORONTO — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is directing the CRTC to reconsider a March decision in...
Iristel Inc.’s Ice Wireless is now selling plans with unlimited data and roaming in the United States and Mexico, the company said in a press release Wednesday. The plans “include unlimited calls, texts and...
Rogers Communications Inc. doesn’t have to provide roaming services to Iristel Inc.’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Sugar Mobile, the CRTC said Wednesday in a...
Otono Networks Inc.’s Roam Mobility is launching new monthly roaming plans for travellers in the United States. “With Roam Mobility, Canadians can get the highest value USA roaming plan with plenty of 4G LTE data, and don’t have to worry about tapping in their Canadian monthly plan’s data,” the Vancouver-based company said in a Wednesday press release. The new plans include unlimited talk, text and data service with two different 4G LTE data options — 1GB for $39.95 and 4GB for $64.95. Both plans include “unlimited 2G speed data when...
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is introducing a new service for customers to avoid bill shock when roaming internationally. The Daily Traveller Pass will allow customers to pay a flat fee — at $6 per day...
The European Union is set to eliminate mobile roaming charges within its 28-member bloc by this summer, as EU negotiators came to an agreement Wednesday on wholesale prices that would eliminate the charges by June...
Investel Capital Corp.’s TNW Networks Corp. (TNW) will soon start deploying a Wi-Fi-based mobile technology as part of a nationally available wireless service that the company is claiming will be...
It could be mid-2017 before former Telus Corp. head Joe Natale takes over as CEO at Rogers Communications Inc., according to financial analysts, some of whom said Tuesday that...
In an unexpected move, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced Guy Laurence is no longer CEO of the company and will be replaced by former Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale, a choice analysts responded to positively Monday. “He’s got a great reputation in Canada within the Canadian telecom space. He did a great job at Telus. He knows the space inside and out. From everything I’ve heard, employees like working with him and he’s just generally considered...
Quebec’s highest court has ruled that a class-action lawsuit against wireless carriers over international roaming charges can proceed. In a Wednesday decision, Quebec Court of Appeals...
The CRTC has determined that a hands-off approach to regulating roaming rates on GSM networks until it approves a final set of guidelines would not put smaller carriers in a negotiating disadvantage with larger ones. The...
Iristel Inc.’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Sugar Mobile announced Wednesday it has partnered with an American WiFi-based service to leverage existing WiFi customers who might want some access to cellular...
The Wireless Code has proved effective in the two years since its implementation, suggest the results of a CRTC-commissioned study, which reported a decline in wireless complaints as well as...
Sugar Mobile, an affiliate of Iristel Inc.-subsidiary Ice Wireless, can continue roaming on Rogers Communications Inc.’s network while the CRTC considers its final decision in a...
Rogers Communications Inc. is eliminating Cuba as a destination for its Roam Like Home service starting July 12. Andrew Garas, Rogers’ manager of media relations, said in an email Wednesday that the...
The vast majority of Canadian travellers take their smartphones with them when they go on summer vacation, a survey by Rogers Communication Inc. suggests, as the company pushes its roaming...
The biggest risk to Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. in the wake of BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is the...
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is offering Canada-U.S. roaming plans that allow customers to use their plan for up to 90 days in the United States each year without incurring roaming charges. Videotron’s website says the “Without Borders” plans include unlimited voice, including calls to the to the U.S., and unlimited texts. The plans cost $65.95 for 2 GB of data, $75.95 for 3 GB, $85.95 for 5 GB and $95.95 for 6 GB. Videotron spokesman Youann Blouin said in an email Friday the plans were launched on May 18. The Videotron website says the new plans have...
Despite the fact that large wireless carriers have been offering WiFi calling for months, the emergence of WiFi calling provider Sugar Mobile, and hinted-at-plans by Shaw Communications Inc. to integrate Wind with its...
Rogers Communications Inc. will begin offering some customers of its Fido flanker brand the ability to roam in the United States for $5 per day and in various international destinations for $10 per day. The company said in a...
A new Angus-Reid Institute survey suggests two-thirds of Canadians were unaware of a recent CRTC decision that advocates said could affect wireless rates and competition. The study, released Monday, said 61 per cent of...
Allowing Sugar Mobile to continue roaming on Rogers Communications Inc.’s network would be a “backdoor means” to mandated mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access, and “a...
Interventions filed opposing Ice Wireless' request for interim relief in its roaming dispute with Rogers Communications Inc. failed to properly address the relevant issues, instead focusing on "absurd" interpretations of statements Sugar Mobile CEO Samer Bishay made in media reports, the company said in a response to comments filed with the CRTC. "None of them have credibly refuted Ice Wireless' submissions to the effect that a denial of interim relief will result in irreparable harm" to the company — a subsidiary of Iristel Inc. — and its affiliate...
The federal innovation minister wouldn't commit to reviewing last week's CRTC decision to not mandate access by mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to wireless networks when pressed in the House of Commons on Friday....
Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. told the CRTC that Rogers has the right to disconnect Ice Wireless from its network because its affiliate Sugar Mobile is selling service outside of Ice...
The CRTC is standing by its decision to not require national wireless service providers to provide wholesale access for "full" mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), denying an application filed last summer by the...
The CRTC said Thursday Rogers Communications Inc. has to “maintain its roaming agreement” with Iristel Inc.’s subsidiary Ice Wireless and its affiliate Sugar Mobile until the CRTC...
Rogers Communications Inc. announced Wednesday that it has added more than a dozen countries to its Roam Like Home service including Russia, China, India, South Africa, Australia, Israel and Japan. Rogers spokesman Andrew Garas...
The economics of entering Canada’s wireless market through the acquisition of Wind Mobile today are better than past opportunities Shaw Communications Inc. has had to enter the mobile sector,...
The CRTC on Wednesday started a consultation that asks whether it should refrain from regulating some arrangements between incumbent wireless carriers and smaller operators regarding domestic roaming where the terms or conditions...
The CRTC has asked Canadian wireless carriers that provided roaming access to other domestic carriers — when legislation was in effect that capped domestic roaming prices to retail rates — to file new information,...
Otono Networks Inc.’s Roam Mobility, a provider of SIM cards for out-of-Canada mobile usage, announced Friday it is launching a new SIM card for visitors to Canada. The Vancouver-based company said in a press release that the Canada Travel SIM card can be inserted into any unlocked phone and customers can start using the plan as soon as they arrive into the country. A seven-day plan costs $26.95 US, the 14-day plan costs $37.95 US and the 21-day plan costs $49.95 US, the release said. All plans come preloaded with unlimited talk, text, 500 MB of LTE data, voice mail, caller ID, hotspot...
The CRTC has accepted, for the time being, tariffs proposed by the wireless incumbents for what smaller carriers in Canada have to pay to have their customers roam on the bigger companies' networks. The commission said in a...
Wind Mobile had 422 confirmed breaches of the CRTC’s wireless code last year, or 72.5 per cent of the total compiled by the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) in...
The CRTC has told Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., and Telus Corp. that the terms and conditions in interim tariffs the incumbents filed following the CRTC’s move in May to regulate some...
The University of Northern British Columbia said Thursday that former industry minister James Moore has been named its next chancellor. The Prince George, B.C.-based school said in a press release that Moore, who was industry...
The domestic roaming rates for voice and text services BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. have asked the CRTC to implement are significantly lower than what they currently charge smaller carriers, while the prices the incumbents suggested for data roaming are largely in line with tariffs that are already in effect, and even slightly higher in the case of Bell and Rogers. The companies filed their proposed tariffs and supporting cost studies Monday, as part of the CRTC’s process to determine how much the three large wireless providers can charge smaller carriers...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. announced Tuesday it is introducing new roaming rates and five new roaming add-on plans for customers traveling outside of Canada. It said in a press release that the new rates, part...
Wind Mobile said Tuesday it has added "a third major roaming partner" in Canada. It did not disclose which company is the new partner, though given that Wind's operating territory is Ontario, Alberta and British...
Verizon Communications Inc. said Thursday it has introduced a new roaming service plan for U.S. subscribers that allows them to use their existing talk, messaging and data plans in Canada and Mexico for an extra $2 US a day. It...
Details about provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that could affect Canada’s media and telecom industries remained scant Monday as the government announced the conclusion...
Cogeco Cable Inc. CEO Louis Audet said Tuesday he believes Canada's telecommunications regulators will come around to mandating access for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), notwithstanding the CRTC's decision on...
U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. announced Monday free roaming in Canada, Mexico and other countries. Sprint said in a press release that under its Free Open World program, which customers can access at no additional cost,...
The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) has filed an application that seeks to alter aspects of the CRTC's ruling this year on the wholesale-wireless market, specifically the lack of new regulations regarding mobile...
Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. took issue with a complaint by small wireless carriers that their interim tariffs include “onerous” terms and conditions, arguing the Telecommunications Act requires...
Telus Corp. on Thursday announced a $7-a-day option for U.S. roaming. It said in a press release that the service is called US Easy Roam, and that customers opting for this option will be able to enjoy their regular allotments for voice, text and data while in the United States. It added that customers using this service who exceed their limits will be charged at Canadian pay-per-use rates instead of U.S. rates. “We know our customers expect more and with US Easy Roam, customers on most monthly rate plans can easily and freely use their mobile devices just like they do at home without...
T-Mobile U.S. Inc. announced Thursday a "Mobile without Borders" upgrade that will remove roaming charges for U.S. customers when using wireless service from Canada or Mexico, and also for customers making calls to these...
The federal government has complied with a CRTC request by repealing caps imposed last year on how much wireless carriers can charge each other for domestic roaming. A notice in the Canada Gazette said that subsections 239(2) and...
Wind Mobile, Quebecor Inc. and Eastlink are asking the CRTC to require incumbent wireless carriers to re-file documents relating to interim tariffs and conditions for domestic roaming access. As part...
TORONTO — With a key decision from the CRTC on smaller service providers’ access to wireline telecommunications networks expected soon, three incumbents’ regulatory bosses took on...
The CRTC has issued a notice of consultation on domestic wireless roaming caps, despite its recommendation to the federal government that they be scrapped. The regulator on Tuesday asked for “comments to assist it in administering the wholesale roaming caps regime set out in section 27.1 of the Telecommunications Act.” The deadline for intervention is June 9. The CRTC said last week it would begin regulating the wholesale wireless rates charged by Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. It also said that “market forces should apply” outside...
Financial market analysts say Canada's incumbent wireless operators were generally left undamaged in this week's decision by the CRTC to regulate the rates they charge smaller domestic...
GATINEAU, Que. — Wireless incumbents are going to have to play by a different set of rules than smaller carriers when it comes to providing network access to competitors, though one industry...
Quebecor Inc.’s Tuesday announcement of nationwide roaming at no charge for its Videotron wireless customers could allow the company to test the waters for a national mobile service, according...
Rogers Communications Inc. on Friday said it will launch a Roam Like Home service for customers travelling to Europe that is similar to what's been available for travellers to the United States since November. Rogers...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Wednesday reported lower revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, though unlike the year-earlier period, it was profitable. The company said in a press release...
BCE Inc. said Friday it is now providing up to double the data for international roaming plans. In a press release, it said an example of its new offerings include boosting the quantity of data for data passes for Group 1 areas...
As the new year approaches, Canadian wireless carriers of all sizes await a CRTC decision on domestic roaming that could, in the words of one analyst, “disrupt” the industry with...
Wind Mobile said Tuesday it has struck a deal with another network operator to provide its customers with greater coverage when traveling outside Wind's core network in Canada. Wind did not name the company in the press...
Roam Mobility Inc., a provider of SIM cards for out-of-Canada mobile usage, said Tuesday it has extended its service to Mexico. The Vancouver-based company said in a press release that, starting Dec. 10, it will offer seven-day plans for Mexico that range from $25 for 50 minutes of talk, 50 sent texts and 50 MB of data, to $125 for 200 minutes of talk, 200 sent texts and 200 MB of data. Roam said such rates are up to 95 per cent less than roaming charges from major carriers. It said the plans can be put on the same rechargeable SIM cards used for U.S. roaming. They cost $9.95 each or two for...
Roam Mobility Inc. announced Wednesday a new roaming plan for Canadians visiting the U.S. that gives customers unlimited voice minutes, international texting and calls to Canada for $19.95 a month. Customers who want data can get...
GATINEAU, Que. — The CEO of Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron told the CRTC Friday that her company needs the regulator to lower the legislated rate for domestic roaming if it is to build a national...
GATINEAU, Que. — Two of Canada's largest wireless carriers called on the CRTC to take some regulatory power from Industry Canada at the commission's week-long hearing into the wholesale wireless market. Both Rogers...
GATINEAU, Que. — It's not always a case of the wireless incumbents battling newer entrants; Wednesday's session of the CRTC hearing into the wholesale wireless market featured one of the big three throwing its two...
GATINEAU, Que. — The CRTC on Tuesday got opposing opinions on the need for wholesale wireless market regulation from two wireless carriers with very different perspectives. Incumbent carrier Telus Corp. argued that too much regulation will deter a healthy climate for investment in Canada's wireless market, while regional carrier Eastlink said the current lack of regulation is stifling competition. At the second day of a weeklong hearing on the wholesale wireless market, Ted Woodhead,...
As the CRTC prepares for a week of hearings beginning Monday on the future of wholesale wireless in Canada, the rules regarding wholesale Internet access may be a predictor of how the regulator will...
Cogeco Cable Inc. wants the CRTC to set up regulated access to established wireless carriers’ networks, president and CEO Louis Audet said during a conference call with media Thursday....
The CRTC issued an "implementation report card" Thursday that showed mobile carriers are complying with the wireless code on most rules. Out of 28 aspects of the code evaluated, the CRTC found infractions on three parts. The...
Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale said Thursday he cannot predict what decisions will result from the upcoming CRTC hearings on the wireless wholesale market, though he feels Canadian regulators are likely...
Quebecor Inc. is “still interested” in Wind Mobile and is “certainly interested in talking with them” following the announced buyout of the carrier on Tuesday, Quebecor’s senior vice-president and...
Wind Mobile CEO Anthony Lacavera says his $285-million buyout of majority shareholder VimpelCom Ltd., announced Tuesday, brings stability to his company after years of ownership uncertainty. Lacavera will buy out the majority...
The CRTC said Friday that the deadline for final submission in its wholesale wireless review has been delayed by three days. Final submissions in this proceeding, for which hearings start on Sept. 29, will be due Monday, Oct. 20,...
Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Thomas Lukaszuk said his staff was unable to negotiate a discount from Telus Corp. when, as a deputy premier in 2012, he rang up more than $20,000 in data and roaming charges...
Wind Mobile on Thursday announced lower prices for domestic roaming as it begins using higher-quality networks for its customers travelling outside their base. The company said in a press release that data speeds will be up to 350 times faster for customers roaming within Canada, with speeds as fast as 42 Mbps. The price of that data has dropped to five cents per MB from $1, Wind added. Wind said the domestic-roaming price for voice has declined to 15 cents per minute from 20 cents, and texting is down to five cents per message from 15 cents. Wind said customers roaming within Canada will...