HALIFAX — Eastlink announced today its new “Rollover Data” plans that allow mobile customers to keep their unused data by automatically rolling it over to the next month.
In addition, customers can share Rollover Data plans with family members who are on an Eastlink mobile plan, says the company’s press release.
“We are excited to bring customers our latest innovation,” said Eastlink CEO Deborah Shaffner, in the release. “Rollover Data delivers on what our customers want — it’s simple and is great value for money.”
According to Eastlink’s website, starting prices for its Rollover Data plans range from $50 per month for 8GB…
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By Amanda Oye
LARGE INTERNET SERVICE providers have been the recipients of the vast amount of funding from the Universal Broadband Fund that had been allocated as of June 30th, 2021.
Jay Thomson, CEO of the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), compiled publicly available data, which shows Videotron, Cogeco, Bell, Telus and Rogers have been the major winners of UBF funding (see chart below).
The data takes into account two sets of funding. The first is funding from the UBF’s Rapid Response stream and the second is from the Canada-Quebec Operation High-Speed project, which received half of its $826.3-million funding from…
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HALIFAX — Eastlink, which started out as a small cable company in rural Nova Scotia when it was established in 1971 by John Bragg, has of course since grown into a communications company serving small towns across Canada, and is celebrating 50 years in business this year.
“We are proud to come from humble beginnings,” said Deborah Shaffner, CEO of Eastlink, in a press release today. “We’ve grown from a hometown cable company that got its start in Amherst, Nova Scotia with just a handful of people to a team of over 1,300 people serving hundreds of small towns across…
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Want faster, cheaper piracy measures
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The country’s largest broadcasters and telecoms want new copyright legislation to include provisions that give the courts the ability to order website-blocking, prevent the CRTC from overruling blocking orders, and to expand authority over other intermediaries to choke off infringers.
Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor, SaskTel, Eastlink, and the Canadian Communications System Alliance also want the legislation to reflect the courts’ ability to unilaterally order search engines to de-index infringing websites, social media platforms and to force hosts, like Cloudflare, to take down infringing services and not direct users to it,…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink said today it will present a special day of programming on its local community stations on June 21st celebrating the cultures and contributions of our First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada, which will begin with a moment of recognition in honour of Canada’s residential school children.
“We are so pleased to share this meaningful and important programming in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day,” said Deborah Shaffner, CEO of Eastlink in the press release.
“We hope our viewers will be inspired by the beauty and resiliency of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and communities while taking the opportunity…
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Auction starts today
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The strings attached to the federal government’s 3.5 GHz spectrum, whose auction beginning today will repurpose portions of it for mobile wireless use, include a speed-to-deployment component that complements federal policy to accelerate connectivity throughout the country by the end of the decade.
Winners of the auction, which Innovation Canada said will take “several weeks,” will have to deploy the spectrum largely within the 2030 timeframe for which the federal government hopes to provide access to all Canadians to high-speed internet.
While the focus is largely on what the 3.5 GHz spectrum will do for…
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CEO Péladeau has already said he is interested in Freedom Mobile
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau has been making headlines in recent weeks by suggesting he is interested in acquiring Freedom Mobile in the event that condition is forced by regulators as part of a Rogers-Shaw merger. Now, he’s sending lobbyists west to familiarize the brand.
During a conference call related to his company’s first quarter earnings report this month, Péladeau expressed interest in taking Videotron’s brand nationwide. He said regulatory conditions are better now, following the CRTC’s decision to give regional carriers access to the wireless…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC today denied an application by Xplornet to review and vary the Commission’s 2019 decision which created the Internet Code, specifically regarding the policy covering the conditions under which Internet service providers can disconnect customers.
In the Internet Code (Telecom Regulatory Policy 2019-269), the disconnection conditions set out by the Commission say an ISP can disconnect customers who fail to pay a past-due account only if the amount owing exceeds $50 and if the account has been past due for more than two months.
During the proceeding which resulted in the Internet Code, the Commission initially drafted…
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By Greg O’Brien
MONTREAL and OXFORD, N.S. – Should the Competition Bureau decide Freedom Mobile must be sold as a condition of Rogers Communications being able to purchase Shaw Communications, count Eastlink founder John Bragg and Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau as interested.
During his company’s first quarter conference call with financial analysts today, Péladeau said the Commission’s new wireless policies, coupled with the potential for Freedom Mobile coming on the market, could mean conditions are right for the company to move beyond its home province.
“We’re pleased with the CRTC decision allowing facilities-based MVNOs, as it confirms the importance…
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CRTC focuses on accelerating regional carrier network builds. Eyes now on Cogeco if regulatory conditions satisfy mobile entry
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – In requiring the country’s largest telecommunications companies to negotiate access to its wireless network with regional carriers, the CRTC has signaled its desire to bolster the fourth players and help accelerate the expansion and deployment of those networks, the Commission’s head Ian Scott said Thursday.
But the Regulator will not require those regional carriers to come to commercial arrangements with smaller players on that leased capacity, with Scott only saying they are permitted to do so.
In essence, Thursday’s decision…
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