TORONTO – The newly announced rules for the pending 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction and on foreign ownership could damage the credit ratings of the country’s three wireless incumbents, according to Moody's Investors Service.
The ratings agency said Thursday that the government’s new rules are credit-negative for Baa1-rated Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp.
Conversely, those rules are credit-positive for Canada’s five regional service providers and the three wireless-only new entrants.
www.moodys.com
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has named Jim Little as its chief marketing officer, effective April 26.
As CMO, Little will lead the strategic direction for the overall marketing and brand experience for all lines of business at Shaw. He will oversee all marketing activities to strengthen corporate brand, maximize sales, increase market share, and maintain industry leadership across all aspects of the business.
Little has held senior marketing, brand and communications roles with organizations including Bell, Alcan, Bombardier, and most recently as the chief brand and communications officer for RBC.
"We're pleased to welcome Jim to the senior leadership team at Shaw,"…
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RUSSELL, ON – All stakeholders with an interest in the pending 700 MHz and 2500 MHz spectrum auctions got a little of what they wanted Wednesday afternoon in a set of highly anticipated rules released by Industry Canada.
Speaking from Russell, just outside of Ottawa, Industry Minister Christian Paradis confirmed that Canada's 700 MHz auction will take place in the first half of 2013, and that the sale of 2500 MHz bandwidth will follow within a year.
While new entrant wireless providers such as Wind Mobile and Mobilicity didn’t get the set-aside of spectrum they were seeking, they will be guaranteed a slice…
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TORONTO – Despite how the rules to be applied to the auction of 700 MHz wireless spectrum have yet to be announced, one telecom industry analyst believes (taking all variables into account) the federal government can expect to earn about $3.5 billion when that auction finally does take place.
In a note to clients last week, Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan took into account potential changes to foreign investment rules, the possibility of a cap on the amount of spectrum to be purchased by any one company and the potential for certain blocks of spectrum Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Industry Canada has officially acknowledged receipt of the appeal filed by many of Canada’s independent phone companies over recent CRTC decisions around the introduction of local competition.
As Cartt.ca reported, 21 telcos represented by the Ontario Telecom Association (OTA) plus the nine members of Quebec’s Association des companies de telephone du Québec (ACTQ) want the CRTC to keep the subsidy mechanism that was in place prior to the ‘Obligation to Serve’ decision, and to make changes to the local competition regime. In addition, the telcos are seeking a stay of the CRTC’s…
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MONTREAL – The world’s leading minds in information communications technology (ICT) will converge upon Montreal this Fall to discuss the future of digital society at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT).
WCIT 2012 will be held from October 22 – 24, 2012 at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, and will feature more than 100 high-profile speakers, up to 3,000 delegates, and media from more than 80 countries. This is the first time since 1986 (in Toronto) that the WCIT has been held in Canada.
Convened under the theme of ‘One Vision for a Global Digital Society’, WCIT 2012 will…
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SLAMMING THE CBC has become a too-easy sport for many Canadians (second only, perhaps, to slamming the CRTC). That harsh, hot criticism should be expected, however.
The CBC gets more than a billion dollars a year from Canadians (an amount that is likely to take a hit, come the March 29th federal budget), has to be made available to all of us everywhere and serve a mandate written into law – to be all things to all Canadians. Satisfying that mandate has been nearly impossible to fulfill for most of the CBC’s lifetime. So coast-to-coast-criticism, as those who work at…
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EXTON, PA – Arris’ Christopher Skarica has been named as the 2012 recipient of the SCTE Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year Award.
The annual award honors an engineering professional who resides in Canada, who is an SCTE member, and who has displayed outstanding technical achievements and contributions to the advancement of the cable telecommunications industry.
Skarica, who is account vice-president, strategic sales, Canada, will be presented with the award at SCTE Canadian Summit 2012 in Toronto during the event’s luncheon on March 27. Cartt.ca is the media partner for the event.
A 23-year industry veteran, Skarica has held various engineering and…
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TORONTO – Former CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein has joined the C. D. Howe Institute as an Institute Senior Fellow.
The C. D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit organization that aims to raise Canadians’ living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Wednesday’s announcement said that von Finckenstein’s areas of focus are communications law, dispute resolution, competition law, and mergers and acquisitions.
“Konrad von Finckenstein possesses extraordinary policy depth and range”, said Finn Poschmann, the Institute’s vice-president of research, in the announcement. “His record of public leadership is remarkable and his deep knowledge base will add tremendous capacity to our…
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TORONTO – Rogers Digital Media is the exclusive Canadian online advertising representative for brands Time.com, InStyle.com, RealSimple.com, CookingLight.com, and MyRecipes.com.
The partnership with parent Time Inc. gives Rogers Digital Media a leg-up with Canadian advertisers looking to align with its women and news and business channels, according to the announcement. Time Inc., a division of Time Warner, is one of the largest branded media companies in the world with magazines reaching more than 110 million Americans each month, and websites that attract nearly 50 million unique visitors each month.
InStyle.com is billed as the ultimate destination for celebrity style, trends and service that…
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