OTTAWA – Bell Canada has filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada seeking a judicial review of wireless spectrum policies and changes to conditions of license recently enacted by Industry Canada.
Bell has asked for an order saying the Minister of Industry doesn’t have the jurisdiction to “(i) require roaming and sharing in respect of the Applicant’s networks, antenna towers and sites; and (ii) to prohibit the inclusion or require waiver of specific terms in the Applicant’s agreements or arrangements with others with respect to roaming and sharing in respect of the Applicant’s networks, antenna towers and sites,”…
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TORONTO – One could get a sense (even via webcast) of the frustration Bell Canada and BCE CEO George Cope feels after a summer’s worth of wireless industry bickering.
Tensions between the big three wireless players, the federal government and Canadians in general have rarely been higher, thanks to some serious differences of opinion on wireless policy (we’re not going to link all the background we’ve done here, just search our web site for the word “Verizon”.)
It’s been a time-consuming, tiring few months featuring back and forth public relations campaigns to either battle against or support which would have (and…
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AMID THE SWIRLING STORM surrounding the impending 700 MHz spectrum auction, a certain fact is often cited – followed closely by often obtuse, naïve assumptions which have served to warp the spectrum debate.
The fact we’re talking about is how Rogers, Bell and Telus own 85% of the existing spectrum licensed for wireless services in Canada. It’s a big number. It’s the correct number. When you put it in a pie chart (as the Industry Canada web site has), it looks daunting and very important. However, those who use that number to say the big three…
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NEW YORK – Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told Bloomberg News on Monday that his company will not be entering the Canadian wireless marketplace after all and that it wasn’t all that interested in the first place.
He told the news organization in no uncertain terms the company is not interested in investing here and all the speculation that it might enter the Canadian market was “way overblown”. He told Bloomberg that Canada held some limited appeal for the company, but now that it announced it will pay British telco Vodafone $130 billion…
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OTTAWA – Just months after unveiling a new wireless code of conduct designed to regulate carriers by capping fees on cancellation fees and data overage charges, the CRTC may be getting ready to do the same with wireless roaming rates.
In an email letter today distributed to 36 companies, the CRTC has asked the country’s large and small carriers to provide information about their Canada and U.S. wireless roaming rates, terms and conditions, as well as revenues dating back to 2007 for voice, data, and text messaging services.
“Over the past year, the…
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TORONTO – Since a $2.5 billion investment in Canada seems awful small compared to the $130 billion Verizon is reportedly set to pay Vodafone to buy out its 45% partnership in Verizon Wireless, Canadian wireless industry types are wondering now just what that means.
According to Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan, it still means the chances of Verizon making a market entry into Canada is sub-50%
“On the surface, many may say the VZW (Verizon Wireless) transaction should not impact VZ’s ability to invest in Canada given that Canada would not be that material,” he wrote in a note to…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund’s cross-country consultation tour kicks off September 12 with stops in 18 cities in all provinces and territories to get input from industry stakeholders about best practices for supporting content creation.
First announced August 6, the CMF has now finalized venue and time information for focus groups taking place at each stop along the tour. The focus groups will provide a forum for stakeholders to discuss issues surrounding policy on funding, CMF-supported activities, criteria for defining eligible Canadian content, and more.
With the current two-year program guidelines coming to…
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OTTAWA – Telus has fired another legal salvo in its fight against the federal government’s wireless policy, this time challenging the Industry Minister’s authority to set the eligibility requirements for parties participating in the 700 MHz spectrum auction.
The carrier filed an application with the Federal Court on August 20 asking for an order to prohibit Industry Minister James Moore from setting any other eligibility criteria than what is set out in the Radiocommunications Act when issuing licenses for spectrum access.
This is Telus’s second attempt to legally challenge the federal government’s wireless policies. Continue Reading
TORONTO – The CBC the Toronto International Film Festival announced a new content partnership Thursday that will see some of TIFF’s top industry and public events held at the Corp’s Glenn Gould Studio and hosted by CBC on-air personalities including George Stroumboulopoulos and Anna Maria Tremonti.
The venue will host TIFF’s Industry Moguls series, Keynote Conversation, Doc Conference, telefilms Canada PITCH THIS! and Master Class as part of the festival’s broader conversation series.
CBC is also co-host and broadcast partner of TIFF’s annual inivitation-only Canada Party event to be held at the CBC Broadcast Centre…
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TORONTO – Tony Lacavera said he would have been happy to just ignore the “ridiculous” campaign waged by Canada’s incumbents about the supposed unfairness of the government’s 700 MHz auction rules.
That changed, however, once the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association joined the fray with messaging supporting the incumbents arguments.
In a post on Wind Mobile’s blog Tuesday, Lacavera weighed in with his own take on what competition from a U.S. carrier might mean for Canada’s wireless industry.
“I decided to correct the gross misrepresentations that they’re making in the marketplace,” said Lacavera.
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