TAGGED AS ROAMING
Quebec court denies Videotron’s appeal in Bell lawsuit
telecom | 08/23/2023 6:14 pm EDT
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...
CRTC seeks info on international roaming rates
telecom | 06/05/2023 2:30 pm EDT
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...
CRTC to review roaming charges after Champagne request
telecom | 03/23/2023 5:58 pm EDT
The CRTC said Thursday it was going to look into recently-announced hikes...
Roaming rate charge increase ‘unacceptable’: Champagne
telecom | 03/02/2023 3:09 pm EST
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s...
PIAC and Telus support Bell’s review and vary over wholesale roaming services, Videotron disagrees
telecom | 10/07/2022 3:32 pm EDT
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Telus...
Bell tries again to stop Videotron’s ‘permanent roaming’
telecom | 08/30/2022 4:56 pm EDT
BCE Inc. has filed a review and vary application seeking to overturn a May...
CNOC back regional carriers’ call for roaming rates review
telecom | 06/24/2022 5:00 pm EDT
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...
CRTC denies Bell application on Videotron roaming
telecom | 05/27/2022 3:52 pm EDT
BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility Inc. has lost an application before the CRTC about Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron...
Regional wireless carriers seek review of incumbents’ roaming rates
telecom | 05/24/2022 5:43 pm EDT
A consortium of regional wireless competitors have filed an application...
Telus revenue, subs up; continued concerns about roaming
telecom | 02/10/2022 6:07 pm EST
Roaming revenue remains among the biggest headwinds for Telus Corp.’s...
PIAC says no to permanent roaming test, Telus wants new definition
telecom | 07/05/2021 5:37 pm EDT
Telus Corp. wants the CRTC to set an industry-wide definition of...
Bell renews request for CRTC to intervene on Videotron permanent roaming claims
telecom | 05/28/2021 5:57 pm EDT
Bell Mobility Inc. is asking the CRTC to put in place new measures for...
Bell suing Videotron over permanent roaming claims
telecom | 05/05/2021 6:37 pm EDT
BCE Inc. is suing Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, escalating their battle over wireless customers allegedly...
Roam Mobility shutting down
telecom | 05/27/2020 5:25 pm EDT
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...
CRTC tells Bell and Quebecor to play nicer in Part 1 roaming decision
telecom | 02/05/2020 4:40 pm EST
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...
New iPhones to use eSIMs
telecom | 09/12/2018 4:27 pm EDT
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 pushing ahead with Part 1 despite WiFi MVNO decision
telecom | 03/28/2018 1:19 pm EDT
TNW Wireless Inc. is still hopeful the CRTC will rule in its favour in a...
Small providers, incumbents clash over WiFi-based MVNOs
telecom | 09/12/2017 5:54 pm EDT
Mandating wholesale roaming access to Wi-Fi-based mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) will encourage innovation and competition by providing...
Telecoms at odds on mandatory-roaming licence conditions
telecom | 08/22/2017 2:15 pm EDT
The CRTC’s 2015 decision to regulate wholesale wireless roaming has made...
TBayTel asks for 1-year extension for Wireless Code changes
telecom | 08/22/2017 12:56 pm EDT
The CRTC is seeking comment on whether it should grant regional...
No merit to TNW’s roaming request, telecoms say
telecom | 08/10/2017 2:17 pm EDT
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...
IoT connections to factor into roaming agreements: Juniper
telecom | 08/03/2017 1:03 pm EDT
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...
CRTC asks telecoms about MVNOs, plans for low-income customers
telecom | 07/28/2017 12:41 pm EDT
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....
CRTC consulting on MVNO rules
telecom | 07/21/2017 11:07 am EDT
The CRTC has launched a consultation on changing its wholesale wireless roaming rules, following a call...
Roaming revenues to fall 11% after EU ban: Juniper
telecom | 07/18/2017 4:49 pm EDT
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...
TNW Wireless files Part 1 over roaming agreements
telecom | 07/04/2017 3:54 pm EDT
A Northern mobile wireless provider is asking the CRTC to compel a pair of incumbents to strike roaming...
Bains tells CRTC to reconsider MVNO rules
telecom | 06/05/2017 1:51 pm EDT
TORONTO — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is directing the CRTC to reconsider a March decision in...
Ice Wireless offering unlimited data, roaming plans
telecom | 03/29/2017 5:35 pm EDT
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...
CRTC rules against Sugar Mobile in roaming dispute with Rogers
telecom | 03/01/2017 9:21 pm EST
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...
Roam Mobility launches two new U.S. roaming plans
Media | 02/23/2017 6:38 pm EST
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...
Videotron introduces flat-rate roaming
telecom | 02/15/2017 8:50 pm EST
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...
EU on verge of eliminating roaming charges
telecom | 02/01/2017 5:07 pm EST
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 to launch national Wi-Fi based wireless service
telecom | 12/14/2016 10:34 pm EST
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...
Some concern about delay in Natale start date: analysts
Media | 10/18/2016 9:38 pm EDT
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...
Analysts optimistic about Natale at Rogers after Laurence’s surprise exit
Media | 10/17/2016 9:37 pm EDT
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 court approves class action suit over data charges
telecom | 08/12/2016 9:12 pm EDT
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...
CRTC allowing off-tariff GSM agreements, for now
telecom | 08/05/2016 8:50 pm EDT
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...
Sugar Mobile partners with U.S. MVNO
telecom | 08/03/2016 8:51 pm EDT
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...
Complaints, bill shock fell after Wireless Code: study
telecom | 07/14/2016 3:22 pm EDT
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...
Ice Wireless can continue to roam until final decision
telecom | 07/07/2016 4:43 pm EDT
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 dropping Cuba from Roam Like Home service
telecom | 07/06/2016 5:28 pm EDT
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...
Rogers encouraging travellers to roam with their phones
telecom | 06/29/2016 9:59 pm EDT
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...
Bell-MTS deal could pose regulatory risk for SaskTel: report
telecom | 06/20/2016 8:43 pm EDT
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...
Videotron temporarily adds U.S. roaming to premium plans
telecom | 05/20/2016 7:58 pm EDT
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...
What does the future hold for WiFi calling?
telecom | 05/20/2016 6:47 pm EDT
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 extends $5, $10 roaming plans to Fido
telecom | 04/29/2016 3:55 pm EDT
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...
Canadians unaware of MVNO decision: survey
telecom | 04/13/2016 9:38 pm EDT
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...
Sugar Mobile model threatens facilities-based competition: Telus, Quebecor
telecom | 03/18/2016 8:47 pm EDT
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...
Rogers disconnection would set harmful precedent: Sugar Mobile
telecom | 02/24/2016 8:39 pm EST
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...
Wireless competition on federal agenda: Bains
telecom | 02/22/2016 5:17 pm EST
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....
Sugar Mobile subs have no ‘right’ to roaming: Rogers
telecom | 02/19/2016 8:47 pm EST
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...
CRTC denies call to change MVNO mandated access rules
telecom | 02/18/2016 10:15 pm EST
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...
CRTC tells Rogers not to disconnect Sugar Mobile, for now
telecom | 02/18/2016 9:04 pm EST
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 extends Roam Like Home to China, Russia, India
Media | 01/27/2016 7:11 pm EST
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...
Shaw says timing, current market dynamics made Wind deal attractive
Media | 12/17/2015 3:43 pm EST
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,...
CRTC consults on off-tariff roaming agreements
telecom | 12/16/2015 6:26 pm EST
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...
Old domestic roaming charges still being worked out
telecom | 12/09/2015 5:04 pm EST
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,...
Roam Mobility offers SIM cards for vistors to Canada
telecom | 12/04/2015 5:22 pm EST
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...
Final domestic-roaming tariffs approved, for now
telecom | 12/03/2015 8:36 pm EST
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 responsible for 72.5% of code breaches last year: CCTS
telecom | 12/01/2015 10:49 pm EST
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...
CRTC says incumbents can’t change terms in interim roaming rates
telecom | 11/30/2015 8:55 pm EST
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...
James Moore named UNBC chancellor
Media | 11/26/2015 6:16 pm EST
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...
Incumbents seek little change in domestic data roaming tariffs
telecom | 11/25/2015 11:06 pm EST
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...
SaskTel reduces roaming rates
Media | 11/24/2015 5:08 pm EST
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 adds 3rd domestic roaming partner
telecom | 11/17/2015 3:28 pm EST
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 launches $2 US daily roaming in Canada
telecom | 11/12/2015 3:52 pm EST
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...
TPP ‘consistent’ with Canadian copyright law, government says
Media | 10/05/2015 8:57 pm EDT
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...
Regulators will eventually embrace MVNOs: Audet
telecom | 09/15/2015 6:26 pm EDT
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...
Sprint provides free roaming in Canada, Mexico
telecom | 08/11/2015 2:45 pm EDT
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,...
CNOC protests wholesale-wireless ruling
telecom | 08/04/2015 3:21 pm EDT
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...
Big carriers defend interim tariff terms
telecom | 07/29/2015 8:39 pm EDT
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 launches $7-a-day U.S. roaming
telecom | 07/16/2015 5:59 pm EDT
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 to provide free roaming in Canada, Mexico
telecom | 07/09/2015 3:33 pm EDT
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...
Government repeals wireless roaming caps
telecom | 07/02/2015 3:00 pm EDT
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...
Smaller wireless carriers cry foul on interim-tariff filings
telecom | 06/25/2015 7:24 pm EDT
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...
TekSavvy’s Abramson takes on incumbents at Telecom Summit
telecom | 06/02/2015 7:36 pm EDT
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...
CRTC consulting on roaming caps it wants repealed
telecom | 05/12/2015 6:46 pm EDT
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...
Wholesale decision positive for Bell, Rogers, Telus: analysts
telecom | 05/06/2015 5:45 pm EDT
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...
Incumbents could have fared worse in wholesale wireless decision: analyst
telecom | 05/05/2015 8:10 pm EDT
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 roaming plan could point to national ambition: analyst
Media | 04/14/2015 8:53 pm EDT
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 extends Roam Like Home to Europe
telecom | 04/10/2015 5:19 pm EDT
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...
MTS reports lower Q4 revenue as wholesale wireless declines
telecom | 02/04/2015 10:01 pm EST
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...
Bell provides more data in roaming plans
telecom | 01/16/2015 3:45 pm EST
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...
CRTC, spectrum auctions among major wireless issues for 2015: analysts
telecom | 12/18/2014 6:01 pm EST
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 expands out-of-network coverage
telecom | 12/02/2014 9:37 pm EST
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 extends coverage to Mexico
telecom | 12/02/2014 8:39 pm EST
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 launches new U.S. plan
telecom | 11/12/2014 4:46 pm EST
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...
Videotron says national wireless expansion depends on CRTC
telecom | 10/03/2014 5:56 pm EDT
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...
Carriers ask CRTC to take powers from government
telecom | 10/02/2014 9:37 pm EDT
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...
Rogers takes aim at Telus, Bell network sharing
telecom | 10/01/2014 9:19 pm EDT
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...
Telus, Eastlink provide opposing perspectives on wholesale regulation
telecom | 09/30/2014 9:23 pm EDT
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,...
Internet regulation may be template for future of wholesale wireless
telecom | 09/26/2014 2:19 pm EDT
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 calls for regulated access to wireless networks
telecom | 09/25/2014 8:05 pm EDT
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....
Carriers mostly complying with wireless code: CRTC
telecom | 09/18/2014 6:43 pm EDT
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...
Regulators want investment-focused wireless industry: Natale
telecom | 09/18/2014 6:37 pm EDT
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 ‘still interested’ in Wind
telecom | 09/17/2014 8:21 pm EDT
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...
Buyout puts Wind on solid ground, says Lacavera
telecom | 09/16/2014 1:51 pm EDT
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...
CRTC pushes back wholesale wireless deadline
telecom | 09/05/2014 4:49 pm EDT
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,...
Politician says Telus refused to negotiate $20K bill
telecom | 08/25/2014 8:47 pm EDT
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 lowers domestic roaming prices
telecom | 08/21/2014 2:29 pm EDT
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...