WHILE THE CANADIAN WIRELESS world and the politicians who oversee it spent the dog days of summer 2013 barking at each other over policies they said were either wrecking the business or boosting competition (depending on your point of view) one player, Halifax-based Eastlink, remained largely silent.
While Eastlink is a big deal in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island especially, and does daily battle down East with Bell Aliant, CEO, Lee Bragg told Cartt.ca in a recent interview that adding his own voice to that cacophony would have accomplished little. And besides, even though he can’t side with government…
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TORONTO – The potential sale of Mobilicity to one of the wireless incumbents could come down to a battle between Industry Canada and bankruptcy court, according to one analyst.
A research note by Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan speculates whether Mobilicity, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, could use the bankruptcy proceeding to get around Industry Canada’s five-year limit on the transfer of its wireless spectrum. That limit is set to expire in February 2014.
“We are not certain whether the bankruptcy court has sufficient power to effectively overrule IC's (Industry Canada’s) decisions”, reads the note. “But Mobilicity stakeholders may have limited…
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MONTREAL – The versatility of Canadian talent will be on display at MIPCOM, the largest annual global market for entertainment content across all platforms, which this year is scheduled for October 7 – 10, 2013 in Cannes, France.
This year, MIPCOM is exploring the phenomenon of creators traditionally associated with feature films who are just as talented in television production in order to benefit from the small screen’s new golden age. Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund will be facilitating a panel on the topic which will include Christina Jennings, chairman and CEO Shaftesbury Films (The Listener); Jocelyn Deschênes,…
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TORONTO – Cineflix Media on July 25 surprised the production industry by saying it was restructuring as it pulls back from Canada to focus on the U.S. and U.K. markets. The reason given for the pivot was an "in-depth evaluation of our operations and our broadcasting client requirements."
Translation: Cineflix Media's business model on the factual side to create original series and intellectual property (IP) and sell those shows worldwide is being undermined by localized format adaptations like Big Brother Canada and Amazing Race Canada both of which have been hits for their Canadian broadcasters. "The general consensus in the…
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TORONTO – Telus is readying the latest generation of Telus Link, its Push To Talk (PTT) service, that promises to connect teams faster, in more places and on more devices.
Using Telus’ 4G HSPA and LTE networks as well as Wi-Fi, Telus Link will provide instant 'walkie-talkie' voice communication with an individual or a team as well as standard wireless service, enabling members of a work team to connect in less than one second wherever they are. Customers can also roam in the U.S. and around the world with enhanced coverage via PTT over Wi-Fi.
The service will roll out in…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Network Operators Consortium has filed an application with the CRTC asking that a number of new regulations be applied to cable company ISPs who are not fairly treating its members acting as third party internet access providers.
The independent TPIAs (such as Teksavvy, Primus and Telnet) who provide internet service to their customers by purchasing wholesale high speed access service from the likes of Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron say that either through malice or indifference their businesses are being seriously harmed by the cable companies and the CRTC must step in.
“This is necessary because ISPs,…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless industry has released a national blacklist of lost or stolen devices in an effort to help crack down on the theft of wireless devices.
Effective immediately, the authorization of any GSM, HSPA, HSPA+ or LTE wireless device on any participating Canadian carrier's network will require verification that the 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the device has not been reported as lost or stolen on that network or any other participating Canadian network as of September 30, 2013. The blacklist will also include devices that have been reported as lost or stolen by U.S. carriers…
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TORONTO – Mobilicity filed for bankruptcy protection late Monday, but said that it’s business as usual for its wireless customers – and that it has a buyer at the ready.
The company issued a statement after the markets closed confirming that it applied for and received protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) ("CCAA"). The move will allow it “the necessary time and financing to advance and complete a going-concern transaction, which is before Industry Canada for its review and approval”, the statement reads. “Mobilicity believes that the proposed transaction is in the best interests of its stakeholders and hopes…
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TORONTO – Rogers is rolling out the country’s first all-you-can-read subscription digital magazine service next month which will offer tablet users unlimited access to a catalogue of more than 100 Canadian and U.S. titles.
Known as Next Issue Canada, the service will cost $9.99 per month and will feature Rogers publications such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Today's Parent, Sportsnet and Canadian Business alongside access to U.S. titles such as Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and Time. In conjunction with the launch of Next Issue Canada, Rogers's magazine titles will be available to U.S. subscribers of Next Issue.
Next Issue Canada launches October 15 on iPads,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – While more Canadians report consuming content online, traditional television and radio services continue to hold their own, according to the 2013 edition of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report
The report, released Thursday, provides an overview of the Canadian communication system. In 2012, Canadians listened to an average of 17.5 hours of radio each week, compared to17.7 hours in the year before, and watched an average of 28.2 hours of television per week, down slightly from 28.5 hours. Collectively, they watched 931.3 million hours of television per week, 48.9% of which were Canadian programs.
At the same time, more than…
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