It’s the first residual auction in four years
OTTAWA – Canada’s largest telecoms have applied to be in a sealed-bid auction held by Innovation Canada for left-over spectrum licenses.
Innovation Canada posted on its website Friday the applicants for the residual spectrum in the 600 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands, mid-band spectrum that was auctioned in the summer of last year and is used for 5G services. The slices of spectrum went unsold in previous auctions or were returned to the department.
The auction will be in a sealed bid format, meaning telecoms will submit their bids…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – The CRTC should look into the existing agreements and structures in place that deal with network reliability issues before it does anything hasty, according to panelists at the Canadian Telecom Summit, after the chairman said yesterday the commission plans to hold proceedings on the matter.
During his keynote speech on the first day of the conference yesterday, CRTC Chairman Ian Scott said the regulator will be planning proceedings that could examine issues related to reporting of major network outages, including enhancing network resiliency, access to emergency services, consumer communication and compensation, and penalties on providers.
But…
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ESSEX COUNTY – The governments of Ontario and Canada announced today that in partnership with Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) they are investing over $5.3 million to bring high-speed Internet to over 3,400 homes, farms and businesses in Essex County.
“The federal and provincial governments are each committing $1.4 million to support the construction of broadband infrastructure that will provide access to high-speed internet service for 1,600 homes, farms and businesses in the communities of Edgars, Gesto, Marshfield, Pleasant Valley, Arner, East Harrow, Levergood Beach, Belcreft Beach, Comet, Seymour Beach, Lypps Beach, and Ambassador Beach by June 2023,” a Continue Reading
TORONTO — Organizers of the Canadian Telecom Summit (CTS) announced today details of the regulatory blockbuster panel (above), taking place at the annual conference on Nov. 22 at 4:15 p.m.
Ed Antecol, vice-president of professional services with COMsolve will moderate the panel. Panel participants include:
Stephen Schmidt, vice-president telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel, Telus
Samer Bishay, CEO of Iristel and Ice Wireless
Geoff White, executive director and general counsel, with the Competitive Network Operators of Canada
Rob Malcolmson, chief legal and regulatory officer, BCE and Bell Canada
Paul Beaudry, vice-president, regulatory affairs, Cogeco
Ted Woodhead, chief regulatory officer…
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TORONTO — Organizers of the 2022 Canadian Telecom Summit (CTS) announced today the details of an environmental sustainability panel, taking place during the conference on Nov. 21 at 11 a.m.
“Environmental, social and governance issues loom ever larger across the telecommunications sector,” a description of the panel on the conference website says. “The panel of industry experts will delve into the some of the most pressing, including the connections between connectivity and energy efficiency, ensuring sustainability throughout supply chains, accessing capital through green and sustainable financial instruments, navigating evolving rules for ESG disclosure and powering communications with renewable energy.”
The panel…
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Cogeco said terms are “positive step”
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has defined the boundaries for regional mobile virtual network operators to lease wireless space from the networks of the large incumbent operators, stipulating carriers wanting to operate such an MVNO must actively be offering services to retail customers, not just have spectrum and facilities.
The regulator earlier today released its long-awaited terms and conditions for an MVNO regime, which emerged out of its April 2021 decision to allow established regional virtual operators with spectrum and existing facilities to lease network space from Rogers, Bell, Telus, and SaskTel.
The terms and…
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SEATTLE — Telus was the fastest mobile operator among Canada’s national providers in Q3 2022, and Rogers was the fastest fixed broadband service provider in the country during the same quarter, according to the latest report from Seattle-based broadband and mobile network testing company Ookla.
The report, released today, says Telus achieved a median mobile download speed of 76.03 Mbps (please see the chart above) during Q3 2022. The median download speeds for Canada’s other two national mobile providers, Bell and Rogers, were 73.3 Mbps and 59.86 Mbps respectively, according to the report.
Rogers achieved the fastest median upload speed for…
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Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel asking for $3/month increase to skinny basic packages
OTTAWA and GATINEAU — Six years after skinny basic TV packages were first introduced in Canada, with a CRTC-mandated price cap of $25 per month, a group of TV service providers has asked the Commission to increase that cap to $28 per month.
Bell, Cogeco Communications, Eastlink and SaskTel filed a joint application in January 2022 making the request, which also asked for subsequent yearly adjustments based on inflation, according to a CRTC press release today.
“They indicate that the proposed annual increase to the price of the…
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By Connie Thiessen
OTTAWA – New data shows the Canadian Energy Efficiency Voluntary Agreement (CEEVA) for Set-Top Boxes has resulted in a 58% drop in average energy consumption since the program’s launch in 2017.
Five of the largest Canadian Pay TV service providers (Bell Canada, Cogeco, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, and Videotron) are signed on to the program in addition to manufacturers (CommScope, EchoStar Technologies, and Technicolor, soon to become VANTIVA), the Consumer Technology Association and CableLabs. A second program was launched in 2019 for small network equipment (SNE), such as modems and routers.
According to a new independent annual report, the program has resulted in a fifth consecutive year of…
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TORONTO – Consolidation on the wholesale front in Canada’s telecom industry is not reducing competition, Bell’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer Glen LeBlanc (above, right) told BMO Capital Markets media and telecom analyst Tim Casey (above, left) at BMO’s 23rd annual Media and Telecom conference yesterday.
“There’s a very large reseller market… I think there’s 950 competitors in Canada,” LeBlanc said. “The barriers to entry are minimal, the largest is still in business – TekSavvy – and appears to have zero intention of selling.”
LeBlanc’s appearance at BMO’s conference comes not long after Bell announced it reached an agreement to…
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