By Ahmad Hathout
Eastlink is alleging that competitors using its network – who have complained to the CRTC about negligence in relation to an Eastlink network failure that affected their customers – are misrepresenting claims about the aftermath of the July outage.
City Wide, Frontier Networks, and Purple Cow Internet allege in a Part application filed last month that Eastlink disconnected their customers’ service for 24 hours starting July 3 due to an error caused by a new software update to the company’s billing system that they said incorrectly flagged all of the cableco’s third-party internet access customers as not having…
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Telecoms note spectrum cap kept prices reasonable
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Innovation Canada released the results of the 3.8 GHz spectrum auction Thursday, with Cogeco getting a piece as it prepares mobile wireless market entry and Quebecor capturing a slice for its western Canada push.
Telus took home the largest number of licences with 1430 for a price of $620 million to cover 33 million Canadians. Bell was next with a spend of $518 million for 939 licences with expected population coverage of 34.6 million Canadians. Rogers spent $475 million for 860 licences with expected population coverage of 35 million. Videotron…
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Eastlink says claims are ‘inaccurate’
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Third-party competitors using Eastlink’s network are asking the CRTC to find the cable company guilty of negligence when a network outage this summer that affected tens of thousands of Canadians allegedly caused “significant economic and reputational harm” to them.
Competitors City Wide, Frontier Networks, and Purple Cow Internet allege in the Part 1 application dated November 9 that Eastlink disconnected their customers’ service for 24 hours starting July 3 due to an error caused by a new software update to the company’s billing system that they said incorrectly flagged all of the…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink last week launched a new brand platform and updated brand look in collaboration with its new agency partner, Trampoline Branding.
“We’re really excited to work with Trampoline on the evolution of our brand, which in this phase maintains the core of our customer-centric approach while expanding our focus on flexibility for the customer,” Rob Curley, vice-president of sales and marketing at Eastlink, said in a press release.
“Our goal was to develop a brand platform that gets to the heart of why people should choose Eastlink and why it…
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KAPUSKASING, Ont. – Eastlink has acquired internet service provider NeoTech, which is located in Kapuskasing, Ontario, according to a press release Thursday.
“We are delighted to welcome NeoTech customers to the Eastlink family,” said Eastlink CEO Jeff Gillham. “This purchase is a natural fit for us as the NeoTech team has served its customers with a similar commitment towards delivering care and excellence to its customers.”
Gillham said Eastlink will work closely with the Neotech team to ensure that Neotech customers are smoothly transitioned.
Eastlink said it has invested $180 million in Northern Ontario over the past decade to connect hundreds of communities…
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OTTAWA – The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) announced Tuesday a number of changes to its board of directors that include long-time board member Jim Deane assuming the role of chair.
Until his retirement from Regina-based Access Communications earlier this year, Deane had served as Access CEO since 2000. He has been a CPAC director for more than 20 years “and brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the role” of board chair, says a press release announcing CPAC’s board changes.
Pam Dinsmore, vice-president of regulatory for cable at Rogers Communications, is joining the CPAC…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied Tuesday an application requesting that the regulator increase the price of the basic television package from $25 to $28 per month and to index the price to inflation.
The application, filed by Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel, was denied on the basis that there was insufficient evidence provided to suggest that the $25 price was no longer economically viable for the providers, the regulator said, noting the “strength of the BDU industry.”
Ironically, the CRTC argued inflation actually provides more justification for a price cap on the cost of the mandatory carriage package because consumers…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink announced Thursday the launch of mobile services in the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick.
The expansion is part of the company’s existing investments into its mobile wireless infrastructure and follows the network’s expansion into Miramichi and Bathurst. The company has invested more than $255 million in the past five years and over $55 million in the last year.
“We’re laser focused on the continued growth of our mobile service,” said CEO Jeff Gillham in a press release. “We’ve invested heavily and consistently since we launched 10 years ago and are committed to continue that investment.”
The company has also…
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HALIFAX and DALLAS – Eastlink and Nokia announced Wednesday a multi-year deal that will see the Halifax-based telecom use Nokia’s AirScale portfolio, including 5G RAN, for its mobile radio access network.
This will enable Eastlink to boost the speed, performance and capacity of its mobile network serving communities across Canada, a press release says.
“The partnership includes new site expansion and existing site upgrades. The first site using Nokia technology is expected to go live in August,” the release reads.
In May, Eastlink announced it was extending its existing 10-year partnership with Continue Reading
Large telecoms emphasize need for mobile wireless projects
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Service providers are providing mixed responses to the CRTC’s proposal to use the Broadband Fund to subsidize the ongoing cost of operating networks it helps build, with responses ranging from not expanding its use beyond its current boundaries and allowing for its use for that purpose.
The CRTC launched a proceeding in March to broaden the scope of the $750-million fund supported by telecom revenues, from which three rounds of funding had been opened.
The commission – surveying the influx of other federal broadband programs since the emergence of…
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