OTTAWA — Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has added SpaceX’s Starlink low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to its list of foreign satellites approved to provide fixed-satellite services (FSS) in Canada.
The list was updated November 6, the same day this tweet announced ISED had granted regulatory approval for Starlink’s LEO satellite constellation.
As we’ve reported previously, Starlink’s Basic International Telecommunications Services (BITS) licence was approved by the CRTC in October, but SpaceX could not operate commercially in Canada until it either acquired spectrum for use in the country or was authorized by the Canadian government to provide…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC today granted final approval for Northwestel to increase the data usage allowances for several of its terrestrial Internet service packages, which had been approved on an interim basis in June.
In an application at the beginning of June, Northwestel had proposed increasing the data caps on certain residential and business cable, DSL and fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) Internet packages by 7% to 100%, without any increases in the retail rates. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, Northwestel said it had seen a substantial increase in DSL and residential cable usage in particular.
In its submission, the far north telecom…
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Bell takes top speed spot
NEW YORK — Bell is the fastest wireless carrier in Canada, according to PCMag’s annual Fastest Mobile Networks Canada 2020 report, released today.
Bell is regaining the fastest mobile network title this year, after Telus topped the list for the last three years.
To test the country’s mobile networks, PCMag’s Canada-wide testers drove through 20 cities, some as large as the Greater Toronto Area and as small as Sudbury, Ont., and Drummondville, Que., as well as rural areas in parts of Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The tests were conducted from September 14 to October 15.
Overall, PCMag awarded…
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GATINEAU — As the CRTC continues to assess an accusation by Iristel that Rogers has been manipulating caller ID information for some of its mobile customers in order to give itself an undue advantage, the Commission has asked both companies to provide more information for the file.
In July, Iristel alleged Rogers has manipulated caller ID info to make it appear as though mobile calls are originating from the U.S., in order to circumvent routing restrictions and benefit from “more advantageous” termination rates. Most of the phone calls in question appeared to come from a single 212-475-#### phone number…
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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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