TORONTO – The cloud, mobile, the Internet of Things and security will be among six key business technology trends for Canada in 2015, according to a series of reports by International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Telus.
“In 2015, we are going to see a fundamental shift in how technology is embraced by Canadian businesses”, said Peter Green, SVP and president of Telus business solutions, in the news release. “Rather than focusing on hardware or software, technology is becoming entrenched as a critical component of every business decision. As cloud, mobile, analytics and Internet of Things technologies converge, Canadian…
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“I BEGAN MY CAREER AT ROGERS 45 years ago, just after the 1968 Broadcasting Act was enacted and this Commission was created,” Phil Lind told CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais during the company’s appearance at September’s TV Policy Review hearing.
“Since that time, Mr. Chairman, I have had the pleasure of appearing before you and all your predecessors. I reckon I have represented Rogers at more than 100 broadcasting hearings over the past four-and-a-half decades.” That’s right, Lind has appeared before every single CRTC chairman there has ever been. His fingerprints are all over broadcasting policy in Canada.
There are very few…
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THE CHANGES WHICH have happened in wireless market over the last five years have been stunning in their breadth, depth and speed. The explosion in popularity of the Android platform and the Apple iPhone and the implosion of BlackBerry often gobble up all the headlines, but riding those waves for half a decade now in Canada has been Wind Mobile.
The company celebrated its birthday Tuesday by using Twitter to give away 50 new Nexus phones – and by making its new CEO, Pietro Cordova (right), available to the media. He’s no Canadian neophyte, having worked here in the 1990s,…
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VANCOUVER – Industry Minister James Moore’s office announced Wednesday afternoon the minister will announce “new measures to deliver more choice, lower prices and better service in Canada's wireless industry.”
While there’s been no official word on the substance of the announcement, most are speculating it will relate to spectrum, likely the final rules on the AWS-3 auction coming in March, as well as further developments on the 3500 MHz band policy changes and perhaps a consult on AWS-4. The minister could even mention the 600 MHz band – which is…
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MONTREAL – Former Quebecor CEO Robert Dépatie is trading cable for chicken, after being named as the new head of the St-Hubert restaurant and food chain.
According to a report in the Montreal Gazette, Dépatie (pictured) will take over St-Hubert in February. Founded in 1951, St-Hubert has more than 10,000 employees and 100 chicken rotisserie restaurants mainly in Quebec, but also in Ontario and New Brunswick. Its retail division makes sauces, soups, ribs and meat pies for sale in supermarkets.
The move marks a return to the food industry for the 56 year old executive who previously worked at Heinz Canada…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media said Tuesday that Paul Ski will retire from his position as SVP and CEO of radio and regional broadcast operations, plus announced the appointment of three new members to the Rogers Media senior leadership team: Julie Adam as SVP of radio, Navaid Mansuri as VP of content partnerships, and Colette Watson as VP of television & operations.
With more than 30 years of experience, the last seven of which have been with Rogers, Ski (pictured) was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame and honoured with the Allan Waters Broadcast Lifetime Achievement Award last May. …
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TORONTO – Wind Mobile marked its five year anniversary Tuesday, a period described by newly minted CEO Pietro Cordova as a “long and successful journey”.
After first launching in Toronto on December 16th, 2009, the new wireless entrant has grown to distribute over 1,400 network sites to offer service that covers over 14 million Canadians, and to more than 800,000 active customers.
Cordova, (pictured), promised that the company, which was acquired in September by a new group of investors that include chairman and founder Anthony Lacavera’s Globealive, will continue to “redefine the wireless industry… for many more years to come”.
“We’ve worked hard to…
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TORONTO – Documentary Organization of Canada executive director Lisa Fitzgibbons is stepping down from her role on December 31, after seven years at the helm of the national arts service organization.
Fitzgibbons, pictured, leaves DOC to pursue her work in consulting and advocacy for the cultural sector, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Throughout her tenure, Fitzgibbons strengthened the association’s relationships with other industry stakeholders and increased the organization’s profile through appearances before the CRTC and various Parliamentary Committees. Among her notable achievements is the National Road Show on Fair Dealing and Documentary Production which brought together key industry stakeholders to map out…
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BACK IN 2007-08 THERE were no shortage of people in the Canadian TV industry who’d whisper, “who’s the crazy guy buying up all the music brands?”
The prevailing wisdom then said music was a shrinking, sinking business, utterly upended by the digital revolution and one to be fled by serious businesspeople, not embraced. It was certainly not something upon which to build a brand new global enterprise. Oh, there were plenty of naysayers when Eric Boyko (pictured in his Montreal office), a speed talking ball of frenetic, entrepreneurial energy, entered the Canadian TV scene. (Pour la version française, s'il vous…
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OTTAWA – There are rules which say pre-paid retail gift cards and pre-paid credit cards can not expire, but pre-paid phone cards are exempt from that legislation – and that’s a “scandalous” oversight, a consumer group has told the federal government.
Currently, prepaid wireless phone cards are exempt from both provincial and federal legislation which ban expiry dates on retailer gift cards and prepaid credit cards. However, one consumer advocacy group has been working to see that changed and is now demanding Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet intervene in the matter.
“Prepaid wireless, pay-per-use accounts should not be exempt from legislation…
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