WHILE THE LOBBYING intensifies here as everyone awaits word on whether Verizon will venture north in advance of the 700 MHz spectrum auction, the American cellco is doing lobbying of its own, Stateside, as the industry there prepares for a spectrum auction in the 600 MHz band.
A research report which is part of the U.S. wireless industry’s lobbying efforts actually casts doubt on our own government’s assertion it is bringing more competition to the Canadian wireless market with restrictive auction rules.
Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan noted in a report to clients what could be…
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Wind Mobile’s subscriber base may have increased by almost 19,000 customers in its second quarter, but parent company Orascom Telecom Holding said it is continuing to explore the possibility of selling the company.
Wind Mobile added 18,732 subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total number to 620,451 customers, representing a 35.8% year-over-year increase compared to Q2 2012. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter was at $28.30.
Orascom said that its strategic planning for Wind is ongoing, according to the company’s second quarter report, released today. (The company pulled its application off…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has found that a news report on CTV News Channel breached two industry organizations’ codes of ethics and has ordered the channel to issue a correction on air because that is where the error occured.
Today’s decision from the CBSC centred around two news reports broadcast on CTV News Channel on February 25, 2013 entitled “Clashes Erupt in West Bank”. Both segments reported that tensions had risen following the death of a Palestinian man in an Israeli jail who had been participating in a hunger strike when he died.
On…
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A WACKY LONG WEEKEND of published and advertised wireless truths, half-truths, information and disinformation has likely moved the public opinion needle on Verizon’s potential entry into Canada not at all.
With the federal government seeming to have said its final word on the matter last week – noting it will stick by the screwy rules it has set up (rather than full, open, foreign investment in Canadian telecom) to govern the Canadian wireless market – the incumbent wireless companies, as well as their supporters and detractors, went into full froth over the August Civic Holiday weekend.
On…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund is hitting the road on a cross-country tour to meet with various industry groups and stakeholders and get input for strategic planning about how best to support content creation in the future.
The CMF’s cross-country consultation begins this fall and will travel to 18 cities (see below) throughout Canada in a series of focus groups, industry groups and advisory committees.
With the current two-year program guidelines coming to an end, the CMF hopes to use stakeholders’ feedback to shape policy for 2014-15 and beyond.
The focus groups will provide a…
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TORONTO – CBC Revenue Group has appointed Rebecca Shropshire as its new director of digital sales.
Shropshire was previously VP director of digital communications at UM Canada. She has also held positions with Modem Media, Labatt Breweries of Canada and Astral Media.
“Rebecca’s reputation in our industry is second to none,” said Alan Dark, general manager, CBC Revenue Group of the appointment. “With her extensive background and leadership in the digital space, Rebecca will be a tremendous…
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OTTAWA – Content providers, regulators, policy makers, and industry experts are invited to attend this year’s IIC Canada 2013 Conference in Ottawa on November 18 and 19, 2013.
The Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications will host the two-day conference at the Ottawa Convention Centre. This year’s theme is “The Communication of Politics and the Politics of Communication.”
Some of the notable themes and questions to be addressed in this year's IIC Canada conference include:
How are technology and social media changing the coverage of politics and public life, and how are…
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TORONTO – Claude Galipeau has been named country manager for Yahoo Canada, the company announced late Friday.
Galipeau will be responsible for sales and operations for Yahoo Canada and will be based in Toronto.
Regarded as a digital media industry veteran, Galipeau most recently headed his own consulting firm, Galipeau Group. He was also COO at Syncapse Corp., a social media management company.
Prior to that Galipeau was SVP and GM of digital media at Rogers before departing abruptly in February 2011.
Galipeau has also held management positions at Astral Media, Alliance Atlantis…
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IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE all-hands on deck round of public pleading from our big wireless companies will not shake our meddlesome federal government from its wireless policy path. After all, there are no votes in it for Ottawa to alter course – and potentially big, big money in simply plowing ahead.
As everyone knows, the most recent Canadian spectrum auction in 2008 brought five new wireless companies to life in Wind Mobile, Public Mobile, Mobilicity, Videotron Wireless and EastLink Wireless. Regulatory intervention set aside some spectrum then which was purchased more cheaply than that which…
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TORONTO, MONTREAL, and VANCOUVER – Industry Minister James Moore made it official yesterday that Ottawa was not going to budge on its wireless policy framework, but that hasn’t put an end to the public lobbying campaign mounted by Canada’s Big Three incumbents, who issued new pleas today calling on the federal government to close what they say are loopholes that give preferential treatment to major US wireless carriers.
Bell, Rogers, and Telus each issued press releases Thursday urging Ottawa to reconsider the wireless rules that currently would allow a U.S. carrier like…
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