GATINEAU – Total revenue for Canada’s telecommunications sector was $53.4 billion in 2020, a decrease of 1.4% compared to 2019, the CRTC says.
This is according to the telecom portion of the CRTC’s Communications Market Report (CMR; formally the Communications Monitoring Report), released last month.
The report features data from 2020, during which the Covid-19 pandemic began, non-essential travel was curtailed and many Canadians ended up working from home. During this time, there were higher volumes of wireline voice calling, significantly increased Internet data usage and decreased mobile roaming, the report explains.
The 1.4% total revenue decrease for telecommunications in 2020 is…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Last week, the Canadian Government published the mandate letters the prime minister gives to cabinet ministers.
Mandate letters have existed in many shapes and forms for a long time but in 2015, the Liberal Government made them public for the first time. They have now become part of the government’s ritual after each election. It starts with the electoral platform, followed by the appointment of ministers, the Speech from the Throne that flows right into the mandate each minister is given.
Lobbyists and corporations work diligently to ensure their issues are mentioned. Considering the…
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MONTREAL — The latest ad campaign for Videotron’s discount wireless brand Fizz used green-screen technology in a transit shelter to let Montreal commuters star in their own Fizz ads, Quebecor’s collaborative marketing agency Qolab announced today.
The campaign ran from Sept. 28 to Nov. 8 using one of Quebecor Expertise Media’s downtown Montreal bus shelters that was decked out in the Fizz brand’s distinctive shade of green.
“Green screens are often used to create special effects or various backdrops in movie or TV productions — and the possibilities are endless! Because flexibility is a core value for Fizz, passers-by could use…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications announced today Robert Dépatie (above) will be the president and chief operating officer of the company’s new home and business division as of Dec. 6.
Dépatie has “nearly 20 years of executive leadership in telecom and media experience, including four years as a member of the RCI Board of Directors,” a press release says. He was previously president and CEO of Quebecor and Quebecor Media as well as spending 10 years as president and CEO of Vidéotron Itée.
“I am thrilled to welcome Robert to our leadership team,” said Tony Staffieri, interim president and CEO of Rogers,…
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QUEBEC CITY – Quebecor Sports and Entertainment Group announced today a new partnership agreement between Beneva and Videotron Centre.
Beneva, a large Canadian mutual insurance company, was created when La Capitale and SSQ Insurance merged. The partnership agreement announced today continues La Capitale’s previous partnership, formed in 2017, with Videotron Centre and the Quebec Remparts hockey team, according to a press release.
“The renewal of the partnership will help give the new Beneva brand visibility throughout the Quebec City area,” the release says.
Videotron Centre’s corporate section, which has been known as Le Loft La Capitale, has been renamed Le Loft Beneva….
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MONTREAL — Videotron announced yesterday a new holiday ad campaign using its “Connectés serrés” (“Closely Connected”) brand tagline that reminds families “Videotron is by their side every day to facilitate their joyous moments,” says a press release.
The campaign was developed by Quebecor’s collaborative marketing agency Qolab (formerly called Colab Studio) and is being deployed on TV and online in November, December and January.
The playful campaign “is built around two messages bearing Videotron’s distinctive tone and humour,” the press release says.
“The first execution illustrates how technology can help build a bridge between different generations, while the second debunks a common…
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Bell says there are no safeguards that will fix the problems with the proposal
By Amanda OYE
GATINEAU – Intervenors delved deeper into concerns about the impact of Rogers Communications’s proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications on local news and competition Thursday, during day four of the CRTC hearing on the matter.
At the hearing Unifor, a union that represents 5,000 workers in the broadcasting and film industries, presented the Commission with a perspective on what the approval of the transaction could mean for employment and labour in local journalism.
The “broadcast sector in Canada is facing an employment crisis,” said Katha…
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TORONTO – Accusations of unfair conduct, cautious optimism and a Ben Affleck meme – the Canadian Telecom Summit’s regulatory blockbuster panel, held Tuesday, had it all.
The panel (pictured above left to right) was moderated by Globe and Mail reporter Alexandra Posadzki, and featured Ceri Howes, head of regulatory at Opensignal, Dennis Béland, vice-president of regulatory affairs, telecommunications at Quebecor, Geoff White, executive director of Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), Paul Beaudry, vice-president of regulatory affairs at Cogeco, Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory at Rogers Communications, Samer Bishay, CEO of Iristel and Stephen Schmidt, vice-president of telecom policy…
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TORONTO – Spectrum was on a lot of peoples’ minds at this year’s Canadian Telecom Summit, which is hardly surprising given Canada’s slow pace of 5G deployment compounded by the fact ISED has yet to hand over the 3.5 GHz spectrum that was auctioned off this past summer that raised $8.9 billion.
“Four years ago, there was apparently a race to 5G,” said Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory at Rogers Communications, who spoke on the summit’s regulatory panel on Tuesday.
“For those of us in the room who are Canadians, that race is over, we lost it.” Woodhead pointed…
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By Ahmad Hathout
During the lunchtime keynote on the second day of the Canadian Telecom Summit, Bell Mobility president Claire Gillies (above) said spectrum costs charged by the federal government are too high.
Coming off the most expensive spectrum auction in its history – a nearly $9-billion investment in 3.5 GHz frequencies said to be crucial for 5G – Gillies said this is not sustainable because service providers like Bell need to use the money to continue investing in future technologies.
“We have to change this,” she said during her keynote Tuesday. “Because we want our money going into investment –…
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