By Brad Danks
Many of us are former Blackberry owners and have probably heard of former Co-CEO of BlackBerry, Jim Balsillie. More recently you may have learned even more about him through Glenn Howerton’s outstanding portrayal of him in the Canadian Content film, “Blackberry.” Apparently Balsillie called the performance “brilliant” although he said it was, in his view, 5% true and 95% fictional. However, you probably did not know that Balsillie has something important to say that is relevant to the current debate on the definition of Canadian Content.
Balsillie is now the Chairman of the Council of Canadian Innovators. This group…
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Execulink said rate reduction would improve business case for disaggregated adoption
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell and Rogers are accusing Quebecor of trying to relitigate issues on the disaggregated regime outside of the CRTC’s existing proceeding in the matter, adding the parent company of Videotron and Freedom is flip-flopping on a regime it previously thought should have been abandoned.
Quebecor filed a Part 1 application in December asking the regulator to align the access rates to large last mile fibre networks for both disaggregated and aggregated regimes in order to remain competitive. Quebecor pointed to the costs of the disaggregated…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell is accusing Quebecor of refusing to discuss issues related to a standard access agreement required to lease capacity from its wireless network, flipping the script on the telecom that filed a Part 1 to the CRTC alleging an undue delay in accessing that network.
By the time of the Part 1 application filed last month, the CRTC had already selected on October 10 Bell’s price for access to its network through an arbitration process. But Quebecor alleged in the undue preference complaint that Bell has delayed that access by requiring that it sign a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell is reiterating its claim that a building manager has illegally disconnected its services by removing some 18 feet of wire after the manager said it has not removed all the wiring in the multi-dwelling unit in Kitchener.
Bell filed a Part 1 in November asking the CRTC to get involved in restoring access to the building at 203 Mausser Ave. after it alleged the management had removed in late September its wiring and internal terminal and was seeking a “less invasive” alternative wireless solution. Bell said it was rebuffed and refused access.
The building management…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Telus announced Thursday it has launched a new trio streaming bundle for those who want certain streaming services in one package.
The newest edition to the Stream+ roster includes a Stream+ Basic option, which includes Netflix with ads, Disney+ with ads, and Prime Video, all for $20 per month; and a Stream+ Premium option that doesn’t include ads for the former two services for $38 per month.
The bundled package also includes a full membership to Amazon’s Prime fast-shipping service, which comes bundled with the ecommerce giant’s video service. Amazon announced it will be running ads…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Corus CEO Doug Murphy said on the company’s fiscal first quarter conference call Friday that the point at which there’s recovery in advertising demand and revenues is too early to tell, as he said the company is happy to put behind a rough 2023 in which it pleaded with the CRTC to reduce its regulatory obligations.
“On the one hand, we expect the return of new scripted programming to catalyze primetime marketing investments by our advertisers,” he said on the call. “On the other hand, the macro-economic environment remains uncertain while distortions related to post-pandemic normalization of many…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Members of Parliament on the industry committee said Thursday that they want a broad study on mobile wireless prices and want the heads of Canada’s major telecommunications companies in front of them after Rogers announced price hikes to service packages.
MPs said they want to invite to the committee Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri and its chief corporate affairs officer Navdeep Bains, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, and Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau.
Some members verbally agreed that they needed Champagne and Staffieri in front of them by…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Cogeco CEO Philippe Jetté doesn’t want to discuss when he expects the company will launch a wireless service.
He was pestered with questions from journalists Thursday before the company’s annual general meeting — is it a matter of weeks, months, years? — but repeatedly said that they’re working toward a launch and would announce their plans in the near future. An actual launch is unlikely in the “short term” because “some preparation work remains,” he told analysts earlier.
Jetté expressed some frustration with the length of the process, both in terms of regulatory obligations and the slow pace of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TekSavvy has filed a Part 1 application to the CRTC asking for a review of a wind down of older coaxial network technology by Cogeco that it said will affect its ability to provide service to its customers.
The large independent telecom relies on Cogeco’s last mile coaxial facilities at two interconnection locations in Burlington and Windsor, Ontario. Cogeco allegedly told TekSavvy that it is migrating wholesale customers to fibre technologies, including to radio frequency over glass technology (RFoG) at the Burlington site as soon as last week with eventual migration at both sites to ethernet passive optical…
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Various groups of public safety answering points (PSAPs) and Enhanced 911 (E911) stakeholders are asking the CRTC to have the decommissioning of legacy E911 networks delayed until the end of 2025 or later.
As part of Canada’s transition to next-generation 911 (NG911) networks, the legacy E911 networks are currently scheduled to be phased out by March 2025. The CRTC received three separate Part 1 applications in December, asking for the networks’ decommissioning to be delayed.
A group comprising E-Comm Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated (E-Comm) and its NG911 contracted partners British Columbia Emergency Health…
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