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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OTTAWA – While telecommunications service providers continue to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the CRTC is seeking more information on how they prepared for and responded to the storm.
The Commission sent a request for information last week to Bell, Eastlink, Rogers and Telus. By Oct. 7, the companies are expected to submit information including “a high-level estimate of the number of customers affected by service outages of 24 hours or more caused by the hurricane, for each of the phone, mobile wireless, and Internet access services,” as well as “The status to date of any…
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IT HAS BEEN nearly two weeks since Hurricane Fiona devastated Canada’s east coast, despite which some Canadians continue to be without telecommunications services.
This is not because service providers failed to plan ahead or because restoring service was not prioritized. Rather, it goes to show just how bad the storm was when it hit.
“Hurricane Fiona was the biggest storm ever to hit anywhere in Canada,” a Bell spokesperson told Cartt.ca via email. “Our preparations ensured our core networks remained largely operational throughout, but the damage to our infrastructure in the field is the worst we have ever seen in this…
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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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ATLANTIC CANADA – Telecommunications service providers are working hard to restore service to parts of Atlantic Canada impacted by Hurricane Fiona over the weekend.
“While service has begun to restore for some of our customers in Atlantic Canada, there are many who remain impacted by this weekend’s hurricane,” Eastlink posted on Twitter yesterday afternoon. “Continued power outages as well as downed trees, poles and lines may still be impacting your service. Our crews are working hard to gain safe access to affected sites so that we can get you back up and running.”
Rogers also tweeted yesterday to say…
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Says it’s an opportunity for government to support competition and consumer choice
OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is supporting City Wide’s petition to the Governor in Council, which asks it to vary the CRTC’s decision to deny City Wide’s 2020 application regarding Eastlink’s third-party Internet access (TPIA) point of interconnection (POI) in Nova Scotia.
City Wide wants the CRTC to order Eastlink to move its TPIA POI from the rural community of Pennant Point to a location in the core of Halifax, or alternatively, for the CRTC to regulate the rate the company charges for its…
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City Wide petitions the Governor in Council to vary the decision
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – Eastlink is arguing Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based independent Internet service provider City Wide Communications merely restated its original argument in its application to have the CRTC review and vary its decision to deny its request to order Eastlink to move its third-party Internet access (TPIA) point of interconnection (POI) in Nova Scotia.
Eastlink’s TPIA POI in Nova Scotia is currently located in the rural community of Pennant Point but City Wide has been asking for it to be moved to a location in the core of Halifax.
The…
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SUDBURY, Ont. — Eastlink, owned by Halifax-based Bragg Communications Inc., today provided more details about its Ontario government-funded broadband project announced last week.
A total investment of $125 million will bring high-speed Internet to almost 10,000 homes and businesses in the Ontario communities of Huron, Bruce and Lambton as well as the Greater Sudbury area, Eastlink says in a press release.
“This is part of the Government of Ontario’s Accelerated High Speed Internet Program (AHSIP), which is contributing $69M towards the total investment,” explains Eastlink’s press release.
A backgrounder that accompanied the Ontario government’s announcement last week said the…
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OTTAWA – After meeting with representatives from several Canadian telecommunications service providers, Innovation, Science and Industry minister François-Philippe Champagne announced he has directed them to take immediate steps to address network resiliency in Canada.
The meeting, attended by representatives from Rogers, Telus, Bell, Videotron, Shaw, SaskTel and Eastlink, comes as Rogers continues to work to restore its networks, which are close but not quite fully operational, following a nationwide outage that began early Friday morning.
“I’ve demanded that they take immediate initial steps to improve the resiliency of our networks,” Champagne told reporters during a conference call this afternoon…
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Rogers continues to monitor the situation, is aware of ongoing issues for some customers
TORONTO – Over the weekend Rogers Communications continued to make progress on getting its networks fully operational and explained what caused the nationwide outage on Friday.
“We now believe we’ve narrowed the cause to a network system failure following a maintenance update in our core network, which caused some of our routers to malfunction early Friday morning,” reads a letter from Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri, which was posted on the company’s website on Saturday.
“We disconnected the specific equipment and redirected traffic, which allowed…
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