By Greg O’Brien
YELLOWKNIFE – Saying the federal broadband subsidy which has allowed it to offer broadband and wireless in Nunavut has run out, and the federal government has been silent on its replacement, SSi Canada says it can no longer support the business on its own and will have to increase prices soon, without help.
The company offers local broadband services in the territory under the Qiniq brand and wireless service under the brand SSi Mobile.
In a press release November 5th, the company says it “regrets to inform Nunavummiut that the federal broadband subsidy supporting the vast majority of Nunavut…
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By Ahmad Hathout
VANCOUVER – Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said Friday the company’s roll-out of 5G technology, which now has 150,000 subscribers, isn’t based on necessity because its current generation of wireless technology is presently the best available.
“It’s not a situation where we’re deploying 5G out of necessity when we’re already leading the world on wireless speeds, coverage and reliability with our 4G networks,” Entwistle said during a third quarter conference call. “Our 4G technology is beating 5G technology in other jurisdictions as it relates to speed, coverage and reliability, which is an exceedingly good position to be winning on…
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Transparent measure follows Telus
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Bell Canada may begin formally separating its mobile phones from tablets and other connected devices in future financial reporting, which will better isolate subscriber figures for 5G-connected peripherals and enhance transparency and comparability with competitors in the industry.
Back in 2018, Telus – which had trailed its competitors on paper when it came to new wireless subscribers – declared that it actually had similar, if not better, smartphone-specific new additions in its base versus its major competitors for certain quarters. The problem was that it, and its competitors, didn’t separate the “quality” smartphone…
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And why we must address the real challenges facing Canadian broadcasting
By Kevin Goldstein
IN A RECENT CARTT.CA opinion piece, OUTtv CEO Brad Danks claims Canadian broadcasting policy is biased in favour of vertically integrated (VI) companies and has failed because it has not resulted in the exportable Canadian services that he suggests the CRTC intended with its 2015 Let’s Talk TV policy. Both these claims are at odds with reality.
First, it’s clear the international success intended by the CRTC was for Canadian programming, not Canadian programming services. And a large measure of that success has been achieved. Bell Media,…
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TORONTO – After a query by the CRTC about an old tangible benefits package sent Corus Entertainment back into its files for a look-see, the company discovered a payout it never made – and so the Canadian Media Fund will soon be getting an additional $525,355.35.
Back in 2009, Corus bought SexTV: The Channel (now the Cooking Channel) and Drive-In Classics (which became the now-defunct Sundance Channel) for $40 million from CTV (which had purchased the channels when it acquired CHUM Ltd. in 2007). In order to approve such ownership changes, CRTC regs require the purchaser to create a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Some of the country’s largest carriers have lost an appeal challenging the process by which the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) set higher pole attachment rates they say could hamper the delivery of broadband services.
Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor and Bragg (Eastlink), among others, didn’t like the consultation process that saw the rate to attach their cables on structures jump from an annual rate of $22.35 per attachment set in 2005 to $43.63 across the province. They argued in the province’s divisional court in late September that the OEB had not provided them with the appropriate…
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And can we please deal with all the delays?
By Lynn Greiner
TORONTO – The regulatory world is a strange and often not-too-wonderful place, and annually the ISP Summit’s regulatory panel takes a look at its current state. The panel’s theme this year: To Compete or Not Compete in Canada’s Telecom Sector – That is the Question.
This year, moderator Greg O’Brien, editor and publisher of Cartt.ca was joined by panelists Christian Tacit, principal, Tacit Law; Dr. Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, University of Ottawa; Laura Tribe, executive director of OpenMedia, a community-driven organization that…
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Briefing call shows urgency, sticking points, for large players on broadcast changes
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – As major Canadian broadcasters fired off rote responses to media requests saying they are still reviewing proposed changes to the Broadcasting Act announced Tuesday, Cartt.ca has obtained early reactions to potential landmark amendments that could see the CRTC enforce foreign online contributions to the benefit of Canadian content.
On Tuesday, Heritage held separate technical briefings with reporters and industry about the proposed amendments under Bill C-10, with Cartt.ca obtaining audio of the latter. The comments and questions in that call suggest an industry in relief,…
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TORONTO – The day after the Heritage Minister tabled amendments to the Broadcasting Act in the House of Commons, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains, “attended” the ISP Summit virtually in a somewhat stilted, and awfully short, Q&A session with Matt Stein, chair of Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) and CEO of Distributel.
The questions seemed read and planned before the questions were asked – and it was over in seven minutes.
That is called controlling the message.
The Minister reiterated his stance that in response to the appeal of the August 2019 wholesale rates decision…
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By Matt Stein
THERE’S NO LONGER ANY question that telecommunications is an essential service. Turn off the Wi-Fi in your house and you’ll see what happens!
The pandemic, as we all know from personal experience and from our daily lives, our interactions with our customers and our employees, really underscore just how vital affordable, high-quality communications is.
Everybody says this. But think about whether or not the Canadian communications sector as a whole is delivering on that. Are Canadians getting what they need? The services, the speeds, the packages, the pricing, they demand? Are they being treated fairly?
Fair pricing, fair service, and…
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