TAGGED AS RURAL BROADBAND
Telesat inks deal for high-speed modem chip for satellite broadband
telecom | 03/10/2021 4:10 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. announced a new agreement with satellite communications technology developer SatixFy Israel Ltd. Wednesday morning, as Telesat moves towards launching its Lightspeed satellite broadband service in Canada. Under the deal, Telesat will gain early access to SatixFy’s second generation Sx3099 modem chip, capable of transmitting “multiple” gigabits per second in both directions. According to a Telesat Canada press release announcing the deal, the chip “can...
Monsef: encouraging competition will be a factor in UBF funding
telecom | 02/18/2021 5:14 pm EST
Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef said that the federal government is hoping to promote competition within the telecommunications sector as it awards funding for projects from the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF). “Our government also believes in competition...and connecting as many Canadians as quickly as possible, we’re working very closely with communities themselves to move this forward,” Monsef said during a press conference on Thursday at which she announced the funding of $6.75 million worth of broadband projects in southern British Columbia. Monsef pointed...
Northern TPIA access for SSi should be expedited: competitors
telecom | 02/10/2021 4:35 pm EST
The CRTC should move quickly to set wholesale prices in the North for SSi Canada's access to BCE Inc.’s Northwestel, according to an intervention by TekSavvy Solutions Inc. In an intervention...
Telesat announces LEOS constellation Lightspeed to launch in 2023
telecom | 02/09/2021 5:39 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. announced today that the company will partner with French-Italian company Thales Alenia Space for the manufacture of post of its low-earth orbit satellite (LEOS) constellation,...
CRTC Broadband Fund approves five transport projects
telecom | 02/04/2021 3:43 pm EST
The CRTC has awarded up to $26.7 million to five transport projects that will improve broadband connectivity in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan as part of the second funding call for its $750 million Broadband Fund. ...
CRTC hears divided opinions about internet service in North
telecom | 01/27/2021 9:56 am EST
Local governments and advocacy groups are urging the CRTC to take action to...
Bell joins call for centralized rural broadband fund
telecom | 01/26/2021 4:39 pm EST
Spectrum auction revenues should be reinvested in rural broadband initiatives and the multiple broadband funding programs run by federal government programs should be combined into one program, representatives from BCE Inc. told the House of Commons industry committee...
SSi Canada announces new satellite capacity for north
telecom | 01/19/2021 1:16 pm EST
SSi Canada says a partnership with satellite and connectivity services provider SES S.A. will deliver a “large, large amount” of extra capacity for its QINIQ broadband and mobile services in the country’s north, allowing SSi...
Residents want CRTC to allow more competition in ‘monopolistic’ North
telecom | 01/13/2021 11:19 am EST
Canadian residents in the North want the CRTC to allow enhanced competition...
As he steps down, Bains says telecom affordability ‘won’t go away’
Media | 01/12/2021 7:58 am EST
The affordability-focused initiatives Navdeep Bains put in place will...
Xplornet acquires Metro Loop
telecom | 12/15/2020 1:27 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. has acquired the southern Ontario fibre-based service provider Ocdotus Inc., Xplornet announced Tuesday. Ocdotus -- which operates under the name Metro Loop -- is based in Hamilton and provides...
ISED proposal to displace spectrum for fixed wireless divides ISPs
telecom | 12/11/2020 11:37 am EST
A pair of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada proposals on changes to midband spectrum allocation that would affect fixed wireless service has drawn a mixed response from telecoms....
Create a broadband czar to coordinate funding: PIAC
telecom | 12/08/2020 6:05 pm EST
The disparate broadband funding programs administered across different federal government departments...
LEO satellite service pricing still uncertain, conference hears
telecom | 11/30/2020 6:28 pm EST
While much of the conversation about rural broadband in Canada has recently centered on low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the business is a very expensive one, with huge capital costs and...
Gov. rural broadband funding lacks strategy, cohesion: Execulink CEO
telecom | 11/30/2020 10:36 am EST
The recently launched package of funding opportunities for rural broadband...
Post-bankruptcy OneWeb plans to offer Canadian broadband by 2022
telecom | 11/25/2020 5:12 pm EST
OneWeb Ltd. is still planning to offer broadband internet service in Canada, following its recent exit from bankruptcy protection. The company intends to use a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to offer broadband service in Canada’s North next year. “While we did pause operations this last year due to Chapter 11, we are ramping back again and getting on track to deliver commercial services to areas of Canada as early as late 2021,” a OneWeb spokesperson wrote in an email to The Wire Report. OneWeb had originally planned to offer “fiber-like connectivity” on a...
Going public gives ‘more optionality’ for funding LEOS, Telesat CEO says
telecom | 11/24/2020 7:04 pm EST
A corporate restructuring that will see Telesat Holdings Inc. go public and...
UBF won’t have fixed affordability requirements
telecom | 11/19/2020 5:30 pm EST
Government officials have indicated that the newly-launched Universal Broadband Fund will seek to allow for affordable internet pricing across Canada, although it will not impose many firm or fixed affordability requirements on...
LEO providers aiming to meet gov’t connectivity goals within 3 years
telecom | 11/18/2020 2:36 pm EST
Telesat Holdings Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) both said Tuesday they plan to provide broadband connectivity to remote and rural areas of Canada seven years ahead of the...
CRTC to release report on impact on online services on TV soon
Media | 11/17/2020 6:27 pm EST
The CRTC will release a report detailing the impact of online services on the state of video and television and video distribution in Canada and some nine other countries before the end of the year,...
CIB, UBF to collaborate on projects that fall between market cracks
telecom | 11/13/2020 12:08 pm EST
The $2 billion Canadian Infrastructure Bank rural broadband fund will seek to fund projects that fall in the gap between profitable connectivity projects the market could...
Telecoms object to Telesat’s proposal to auction 3800 MHz spectrum
telecom | 11/10/2020 5:48 pm EST
A number of Canadian wireless providers have objected to a proposal that...
Feds boost Universal Broadband Fund by $750M
telecom | 11/09/2020 12:57 pm EST
The federal government announced the launch of its long-awaited Universal Broadband Fund Monday morning,...
CRTC opens consultation on telecom service in the North
telecom | 11/02/2020 6:08 pm EST
The CRTC Monday announced a consultation on the state of telecommunications in the North, and is in particular seeking input on the service offered by BCE Inc. subsidiary Northwestel. The...
Cogeco acquiring Quebec telecom for $405M
telecom | 10/21/2020 6:07 pm EDT
Cogeco Inc. is buying Quebec cableco DERYtelecom for $405 million, the company announced Wednesday. The acquisition will see Cogeco add around 100,000 customers in various regions of the province, including Estrie,...
Private sector interest in Infrastructure Bank broadband funds ‘limited,’ PCO told
telecom | 10/16/2020 2:39 pm EDT
The federal government was told telecom companies...
CRTC hears differing pitches to fix lagging disaggregated regime
telecom | 10/13/2020 6:04 pm EDT
In order to make its disaggregated wholesale regime work, the CRTC should...
Infrastructure Bank earmarks additional $1B for rural broadband
telecom | 10/01/2020 7:46 pm EDT
The Liberal government is doubling the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s...
Throne speech reiterates rural broadband, web giant promises
Media | 09/23/2020 2:54 pm EDT
In Wednesday’s throne speech kicking off Parliament’s return, the...
Back to Parliament: your (pandemic) preview
Media | 09/22/2020 12:43 pm EDT
Given the precarious situation around the now-escalating COVID-19 pandemic, what will actually be included in Wednesday’s speech from the throne, and in the government’s priorities in the following weeks, is more uncertain than ever. With a day to go, even the details of...
Rural broadband ‘public policy priority’ for CRTC, Scott says
telecom | 08/12/2020 8:08 pm EDT
As the CRTC announced the first recipients of its $750-million rural...
Comp. Bureau signs consent agreement with WESCO over pole line hardware merger
telecom | 08/07/2020 12:48 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau has reached a consent agreement with electronics distribution and services company WESCO International Inc., which will see the company divest its utility and datacom businesses...
Two new CTI projects announced in Quebec
telecom | 08/04/2020 5:25 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development on Tuesday announced that it would be funding two separate projects in rural Quebec under its $585 million Connect to Innovate program. In a release, ISED said it was giving just...
UBF should focus on both backbone, last mile, ISPs told ISED
telecom | 07/28/2020 2:22 pm EDT
At a discussion about Ottawa’s now-delayed Universal Broadband Fund with...
Bell upping internet speed for some rural customers to 50 Mbps
telecom | 07/23/2020 4:25 pm EDT
BCE Inc. announced today that it is increasing the speed of its fixed wireless home internet service for some 300,000 rural homes, and will expand the service into parts of Atlantic Canada. Fixed wireless customers will be boosted to speeds "up to" 50 Mbps for download, and 10 Mbps for upload, which is the CRTC's universal service objective — the minimum speeds it said in 2016 that all Canadians should have access to. Both rollouts are set to begin this fall, according to a Thursday release. "The intense usage of Wireless Home Internet and positive feedback from our rural...
Broadcaster pushes for new multilingual channel as COVID lobbying continues
Media | 07/14/2020 3:33 pm EDT
An Ontario-based ethnic broadcaster lobbying the government for funding to...
Indigenous communities will be left behind without funding overhaul: ISP
telecom | 06/11/2020 5:07 pm EDT
As the question of how to connect rural communities across Canada to increasingly essential high-speed broadband internet continues to occupy the minds of policy makers and telecom companies, one...
Xplornet says Stonepeak sale will lead to accelerated broadband investment
telecom | 06/11/2020 2:37 pm EDT
Xplornet Communications Inc.’s sale to U.S. based Stonepeak...
Community ownership key to connectivity: Winnipeg Municipality Region
telecom | 06/09/2020 5:57 pm EDT
Winnipeg Municipality Region executive director Colleen Sklar says the...
Universal Broadband Fund applications to open in ‘coming days’: Monsef
telecom | 06/08/2020 7:18 pm EDT
The federal government will open applications for its $1.7 billion...
Monsef tight-lipped on rural broadband funding announcement
telecom | 06/05/2020 5:01 pm EDT
Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef says “precise...
2025 offered as connectivity target as pressure to fast track rises
telecom | 05/19/2020 2:01 pm EDT
Universal connectivity at the CRTC’s universal service objective speeds...
Wholesale debate moves to transport in CRTC rural broadband consult
telecom | 05/15/2020 2:33 pm EDT
The familiar argument over wholesale access has made its way to a CRTC consultation on how to remove barriers to rural broadband rollouts, with smaller providers arguing the regulator should mandate...
Spectrum funds could achieve broadband targets before 2030: telecoms
telecom | 05/14/2020 9:35 pm EDT
An NDP plan for the federal government to add money raised from past and upcoming spectrum auctions to existing broadband funding could achieve universal connectivity well...
No hexagons for UBF, Monsef confirms
telecom | 05/11/2020 9:28 pm EDT
The federal government’s upcoming $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund won’t use the...
COVID-19 accelerating rural/urban connectivity divide: CIRA
telecom | 05/08/2020 5:49 pm EDT
Rural home internet speeds during the first full month where Canadians shifted to working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic were almost 12 times slower than the median speed for urban Canadians,...
Conservatives call for universal rural broadband by 2021
telecom | 05/06/2020 6:45 pm EDT
Under a rural broadband policy platform put out for public consultation by...
Provinces also looking at speeding up rural broadband rollouts
telecom | 05/01/2020 1:10 pm EDT
As the federal government and individual companies work on accelerating...
Cogeco to bring back overage fees as of May 1
telecom | 04/30/2020 2:10 pm EDT
Cogeco Inc. will again start charging overage fees to its home internet customers who exceed their data limits as of Friday, with the company instead focusing on other measures it considers to “be more essential” to its customers. It’s the first internet service provider to confirm its suspension of data overage charges will end. A Cogeco spokesperson told The Wire Report that its suspension of data overage charges — introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Mar. 20 — would end on Thursday as it prioritized other temporary measures. “We have decided to focus...
Federal government to accelerate rural broadband funds: Monsef
telecom | 04/29/2020 3:49 pm EDT
The federal government will speed up its rural broadband funding in...
Deadline for Broadband Fund applications extended again
telecom | 04/27/2020 4:53 pm EDT
The CRTC has again extended the deadline for telecommunication service providers to apply to the regulator’s $750 million Broadband Fund in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing back the deadline...
Bell speeding up rural broadband rollout
telecom | 04/23/2020 3:30 pm EDT
BCE Inc. will be delivering its fixed wireless internet to some 137,000 more homes than it had planned to...
ISED pushing Bell to show progress on CTI rollout: docs
telecom | 03/27/2020 4:35 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) will be...
CRTC approves Northwestel’s waiving of overage fees
telecom | 03/24/2020 2:44 pm EDT
The CRTC has given interim approval to BCE Inc.’s Northwestel application for urgent relief that will allow to it waive data overage charges for its cable and fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) internet...
Broadband Fund deadline extended to April 30, others remain suspended
telecom | 03/20/2020 3:47 pm EDT
The CRTC has extended the deadline for telecommunication service providers to apply to the regulator’s $750 million Broadband Fund to April 30, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial...
Price commitment applies to wireless, but not road coverage: CRTC
telecom | 03/12/2020 3:08 pm EDT
The CRTC has clarified that the pricing commitment in its $750-million Broadband Fund will not apply to funds used only for new mobile wireless coverage along major roads. BCE Inc. had filed an...
Xplornet confirms sale to U.S infrastructure firm
telecom | 02/27/2020 2:20 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. has confirmed it has signed an agreement for it to be purchased by U.S. based Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. In a statement, Xplornet said Stonepeak would acquire a controlling stake in the...
Xplornet to be sold to U.S. company for $2B: report
telecom | 02/25/2020 6:41 pm EST
Xplornet Communications Inc. will be bought for some $2 billion USD by a U.S.-based investment firm, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Asked if the government was aware of the reports of the transaction, a spokesperson for Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains wrote in an emailed statement: “our government is committed to ensuring Canadians pay fair prices for mobile and wireless services, regardless of their postal code. We monitor transactions in Canada from a competition and regulatory perspective and conduct reviews as appropriate.” There are indications the government...
BTLR on telecom: a Q&A with Janet Yale
Media | 02/14/2020 5:31 pm EST
In a phone interview with Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel chair Janet Yale,...
Potential spring launch for Universal Broadband Fund: ISED doc
telecom | 02/14/2020 12:31 pm EST
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada could launch its $1.7-billion rural broadband fund as early as this spring, according to a briefing note obtained through Access to Information....
Regions call for overhaul of broadband funding criteria
telecom | 01/27/2020 5:25 pm EST
Investment in rural broadband infrastructure should be focused on improving...
Big Three united in call for scrapping CRTC pricing guarantee
telecom | 01/23/2020 5:01 pm EST
BCE Inc.’s push for the CRTC to remove a provision that would require...
$1.7B broadband fund to launch in 2020, no formal consultation: ISED
telecom | 01/07/2020 6:33 pm EST
The federal government won’t hold a formal consultation on the development of its $1.7-billion Universal Broadband Fund for rural connectivity, as it aims to wrap up the...
Delete wireless price commitment in Broadband Fund: Bell
telecom | 01/03/2020 2:58 pm EST
BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to remove some of the pricing stipulations on...
Bell subsidiary must provide TPIA service to Videotron: CRTC
telecom | 12/16/2019 4:37 pm EST
The CRTC has denied an application by BCE Inc. subsidiary Cablevision du Nord de Québec to eliminate its wholesale internet service, and ordered the company to sell that service to Quebecor Inc.’s...
Telesat hires new CFO
telecom | 12/12/2019 3:40 pm EST
Satellite service provider Telesat Holdings Inc. has named Andrew Browne as its new chief financial officer on Thursday, following the retirement of Michel Cayouette. ...
CRTC consulting on barriers to internet access in remote areas
telecom | 12/11/2019 4:19 pm EST
The CRTC is asking all telecoms about what barriers exist that would hinder their ability to deliver the basic service objective for internet access established three years ago. A consultation...
CNOC’s Stein pitches municipal-ISP cooperation to roll out rural broadband
telecom | 11/15/2019 3:34 pm EST
NORTH BAY, Ont. — President of the Canadian Network Operators Consortium...
CRTC speeches preview 2019 CMR numbers
telecom | 11/14/2019 6:32 pm EST
Canadians are continuing to consume media from traditional broadcasters, while the percentage of households who have access to basic service standard speeds has increased slightly, according to figures from the 2019 edition of the...
Hydro pole rates a problem for rural connectivity: CCSA vice-chair
telecom | 11/14/2019 5:26 pm EST
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Higher rates telecom providers must pay to connect to hydro poles in Ontario are especially onerous in rural areas, Angela Lawrence, vice-chair at Canadian Communication Systems...
Not enough money for rural broadband, conference hears
telecom | 11/13/2019 9:50 pm EST
NORTH BAY Ont. — The CRTC announced on Wednesday that it is now accepting...
CPC plans for Netflix, rural broadband still unclear days ahead of vote
Media | 10/17/2019 12:54 pm EDT
Despite Conservative leader Andrew Scheer indicating throughout this fall’s election campaign that he would make sure Netflix Inc. pays its “fair share,” his party is...
Conservatives propose three-per-cent tax on tech giant revenue
Media | 10/11/2019 11:29 pm EDT
The Conservative Party has now specified its plan to make web giants “pay...
Election 2019: watch for price caps, Netflix regs, Huawei ban
Media | 09/10/2019 12:03 pm EDT
Even before the federal election campaign officially kicked off, telecom...
OneWeb says it will begin LEO service in Canada next year
telecom | 09/04/2019 7:23 pm EDT
OneWeb’s constellation of low-earth orbit satellites will offer service in Canada’s North starting in 2020, the company said Wednesday. It will launch with 16 hours of service a day by the end...
Telecom reaction to CRTC wholesale decision was expected: analyst
telecom | 08/27/2019 4:44 pm EDT
Analyst notes published this week confirm much of what was already known about the impact of new CRTC wholesale broadband rates on incumbent carriers. Namely, the new wholesale rates will hit the...
On wholesale rates, companies cry foul, but analysts aren’t convinced
telecom | 08/21/2019 5:07 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron and Shaw Communications Inc. added their voices this morning to the list of telecom companies upset about the CRTC’s new wholesale broadband...
ISED using CIRA speed test to inform Universal Broadband Fund design
telecom | 08/21/2019 11:44 am EDT
Innovation Canada is asking Canadians to use a tool designed to test internet performance in order to inform how it designs its $1.7-billion Universal Broadband Fund. The initiative, announced...
Feds put $151 million toward new fibre cable for Nunavut
telecom | 08/19/2019 3:19 pm EDT
The federal government is spending $151 million to lay some 1,700...
Telesat to detail supplier contracts for LEO constellation this year
telecom | 08/01/2019 7:09 pm EDT
A week after Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced an $85-million investment and a memorandum of understanding that tips as much as $600 million in federal government investments over the next...
CTI project funding rolling out again
telecom | 07/26/2019 5:35 pm EDT
The last two months have seen a glut of project funding announced under the Connect to Innovate (CTI) program, with $29 million being funneled to 13 projects: three in New Brunswick; two each in Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and...
‘Many’ in the North to get 50 Mbps+ speeds: Bains
telecom | 07/24/2019 8:01 pm EDT
OTTAWA — As part of its strategy to tackle rural broadband in Canada,...
CCSA lauds Ontario gov’t promise to review hydro rates
telecom | 07/24/2019 6:40 pm EDT
The Ontario government’s $315-million plan to improve connectivity in the...
Any gov’t ban unlikely to affect Huawei partnership: Iristel
telecom | 07/22/2019 6:04 pm EDT
OTTAWA — With the federal government’s decision on whether to ban...
Newly-acquired WireIE helping maximize ISED CTI funding: CEO
telecom | 07/19/2019 5:28 pm EDT
WireIE Holdings International Inc., a wholesaler of enterprise telecom services, has been helping telecoms across the country deliver internet and TV services to underserved areas, an effort that will...
Gov’t denies SWIFT request to amend CRTC broadband fund
telecom | 07/15/2019 12:15 pm EDT
The federal government has declined an application by SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc. asking for changes to the CRTC’s rural broadband fund. SWIFT -- a non-profit organization that plans to construct a fibre-optic broadband network across Southwestern Ontario, Caledon and the Niagara Region -- asked the federal government to amend the fund by order-in-council last December. Among other requests, it wanted the government to remove restrictions on applications by municipalities and community-based intermediary organizations. “Rather than empowering underserved...
ISED officials frustrated with competing MB fibre project, emails show
telecom | 07/05/2019 5:32 pm EDT
The federal government approved spending on a fibre project in Manitoba...
EORN funding to improve cell service in 102 communities
telecom | 07/05/2019 10:51 am EDT
The federal government will contribute $71 million to a project from the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) that aims to improve mobile connectivity in the region. “Once completed, the...
Connectivity strategy repeats budget promises, offers no details
telecom | 06/27/2019 2:57 pm EDT
The connectivity strategy released by Rural Economic Development Minister...
Few surprises in BTLR ‘what we heard’ report
Media | 06/26/2019 10:30 am EDT
The blue ribbon panel in charge of reviewing Canada’s communications legislation has released its...
ISED missed internal CTI deadline despite ‘considerable pressure’: docs
telecom | 06/24/2019 5:40 pm EDT
The federal government failed to meet an internal goal by which it aimed to have nearly all of the contribution agreements signed for its Connect to Innovate (CTI) rural...
Industry committee dissents from ISED spectrum clawback plans
telecom | 06/18/2019 8:09 pm EDT
The House of Commons industry committee has endorsed Xplornet Communications Inc.'s call that the ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) should not claw back any of the 3.5...
Final CRTC policy direction references rural connectivity, investment
telecom | 06/18/2019 4:54 pm EDT
The government’s new policy direction to the CRTC — first proposed in...
32% of Indigenous households at below 5 Mbps: gov’t projections
telecom | 06/17/2019 6:35 pm EDT
The federal government expected contributions from its broadband programs,...
Effect of 3.5 GHz clawback on rural broadband to vary across Canada
telecom | 06/14/2019 5:03 pm EDT
In recent weeks, telecom issues haven’t escaped the increased rhetoric...
CRTC broadband fund rollout criticized at industry committee
telecom | 06/07/2019 1:16 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Liberal MP William Amos, the MP who brought forward a motion compelling the House industry committee to study the issue of rural broadband, said Thursday that he's "very disappointed" with...
3.5 GHz auction will mean a level playing field for 5G: ISED
Media | 06/05/2019 7:56 pm EDT
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Innovation Canada will give existing holders of 3.5...
‘Logical’ to start CRTC broadband fund focusing on North: Scott
telecom | 06/03/2019 7:33 pm EDT
TORONTO —The CRTC chose to initially target its long-awaited broadband...
Broadband strategy coming before the election: rural minister
telecom | 06/03/2019 11:43 am EDT
OTTAWA — The new rural economic development ministry will release the...
Connect to Innovate applicants should hear back soon: Jordan
telecom | 05/16/2019 5:16 pm EDT
OTTAWA — After details emerged last week that 60 per cent of applicants to the federal government’s Connect to Innovate (CTI) program still hadn’t been informed about whether their applications were successful, rural economic development minister Bernadette Jordan said...