Telecoms generally against ISED proposal for restricted areas around airports
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – Comments submitted to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s (ISED) Consultation on a Policy and Licensing Framework for Spectrum in the 3800 MHz Band, show Canada’s telecoms are divided on which, if any, pro-competitive measures should be adopted for the 3800 MHz spectrum auction, expected to be held in 2023.
ISED proposed three options for competitive measures for the 3800 MHz auction – a 50 MHz set-aside, a 100 MHz cross-band cap (this would apply across the 3500 MHz and 3800 MHz bands), or both.
The set-aside option…
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By Ahmad Hathout
COGECO CEO PHILIPPE JETTÉ (above) said today his company has been in “constant conversation” with Canada’s telecom regulator about when the industry can get the terms and conditions required for establishing a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), and is expecting something in ‘late spring, early summer.’
In April last year, the CRTC decided regional telecoms can force negotiations with the big three national telecoms for access to their mobile wireless networks, thereby allowing these smaller entities to establish services beyond their existing territory – so long as they have spectrum and infrastructure in the target area.
But the regulator has…
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CANADIAN TELECOMS ARE helping customers connect to family and friends in Ukraine by waiving charges for calls and texts from Canada to Ukraine, and in some cases they are waiving roaming charges for customers currently in Ukraine as well.
Companies that have made such announcements include:
Sasktel announced today it will automatically waive long-distance charges for its wireless, landline, and business calls from Canada to Ukraine, international text messaging fees for texts sent from Canada to Ukraine, and roaming charges for calls, text and data overages for its customers who are currently in Ukraine.
Cogeco tweeted today it is waiving…
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MONTREAL — Music service provider and broadcaster Stingray announced today a partnership with TikTok to launch TikTok Radio on Stingray Music on TV, web and mobile platforms, starting today in the United States and tomorrow in Canada.
“Listeners will enjoy hearing music the TikTok community loves, including viral hits, throwbacks, and songs from the next generation of rising stars. To truly reflect the TikTok experience, the channel will also feature trending sounds and introductions from some of TikTok’s popular artists and creators,” reads a Stingray press release.
The curated TikTok Radio channel “will be refreshed several times a week with songs…
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TORONTO — Just in time for Family Day weekend, WildBrain Television announced it will premiere three new exclusive series during its upcoming free preview across WildBrain’s entire English network, which includes Family Channel and Family Jr.
The freeview runs from Feb. 18 to March 31 for all Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Telus, Eastlink and Cogeco subscribers, and from March 1-31 for Videotron subscribers.
On Sunday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy will premiere exclusively in Canada on Family Jr. Commissioned by WildBrain in July 2021, this 26-episode cabaret-style show is hosted by Toronto…
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PERTH COUNTY and WELLINGTON COUNTY, Ont. — The Ontario government and Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) announced today Cogeco Connexion has completed construction of a fibre-to-the-home network in Wellington County, Ont., and work is now underway on broadband projects in Perth County by Mornington Communications, Tuckersmith Communications and Wightman Telecom.
In Wellington County, a new $976,000 fibre network built by Cogeco Connexion in the community of Eden Mills is now providing 350 homes, farms and businesses with access to high-speed Internet service, according to an Ontario government press release.
A separate press release from SWIFT says high-speed Internet service…
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MONTRÉAL — Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. announced today the appointment of Linda Gillespie (above) to the position of senior vice-president and chief human resources officer, effective April 4.
Based at the company’s head office in Montréal, Gillespie “will lead the human resources team in empowering colleagues across the organization and foster a highly collaborative, engaging and inclusive work environment,” reads a Cogeco press release announcing her hiring.
Gillespie is a senior human resources professional with more than two decades of experience in various industries including telecommunications, according to the press release.
Most recently, she was senior vice-president of human…
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MONTRÉAL – Cogeco announced today the company and its employees raised $496,000 for the United Way through their participation in the annual United Way campaign in Ontario and Centraide campaign in Québec.
“Firmly committed to its communities and driven by a profound desire to give back, Cogeco has been involved for many years in the United Way/Centraide fundraising campaign, which aims to raise and invest funds locally to break the cycle of poverty and exclusion,” a press release explains.
Cogeco is committed to its corporate social responsibility program, having invested over $16.7 million in cash donations and airtime to 700 North…
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Shaw still fastest fixed broadband provider in latest quarter
SEATTLE — Telus Communications was once again the fastest mobile operator among top providers in Canada in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Seattle-based mobile and broadband network testing company Ookla’s most recent quarterly report on the Canadian market.
Released today, Ookla’s Q4 2021 Speedtest Global Index market analysis for Canada also shows Shaw Communications retained its top ranking as the country’s fastest fixed broadband provider.
Using its Speedtest Intelligence data for Q4 2021, Ookla gave Telus a speed score of 98.29 for its mobile network performance (see chart above), which…
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MONTRÉAL – Cogeco has wanted to move into wireless for several years now, and while progress has been made towards that goal, it has been a marathon, not a sprint.
This was clear last Friday during an annual press briefing prior to the company’s annual general meeting, when Cogeco president and CEO Philippe Jetté highlighted the continued development of the company’s mobile wireless plans as one of its achievements of the year. (While Jetté gave his speech in French, Cogeco provided an English translation.)
Jetté listed Cogeco’s acquisition of 38 new spectrum licences last July and the CRTC’s decision last…
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