OTTAWA – In something of a surprising move, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains announced Tuesday during Question Period he planned to issue a Policy direction to the CRTC requiring it to improve the affordability of Internet and cellphone services for Canadians.
If this is truly a shift away from market forces and facilities based competition (hard to tell for sure with the legalese), then this could be the most significant shift in the federal government's thinking on telecom in decades.
Even though the CRTC is independent, the government can, according to the Telecommunications Act “issue directions…
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MISSISSAUGA and CALGARY — Early bird registration is now available for both the Canadian CommTech East and CommTech West shows, scheduled to take place this spring in Mississauga, Ont., and Calgary, respectively.
CommTech East will take place April 16–17 at the Mississauga Convention Centre in Mississauga, Ont. The CommTech Awards Gala will return to CommTech East for its second year, and is scheduled for April 15. CommTech West will take place May 28–30 at the Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary.
Early bird registration pricing is $225 for both days of the conference sessions (regular online…
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GATINEAU – “Having considered the matter in depth, the CRTC finds that it is apparent that misleading or aggressive retail sales practices are present in the telecommunications service provider market in Canada.
“These practices exist in all types of sales channels, including in store, online, over the telephone, and door to door. They occur to an unacceptable degree; they are harming Canadian consumers, in particular vulnerable Canadians; and they are a serious concern for the CRTC.”
So begins the Commission’s report on the sales tactics of the Canadian telecommunications industry, released today. The Regulator hosted a contentious hearing back in…
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TORONTO — A new original two-hour documentary celebrating the unique and vibrant Canadian Black community and its role in Canada’s modern identity will premiere this Friday on Citytv.
Cool Black North is a special two-hour presentation that will feature the personal and professional success stories of 15 Black Canadians with a wide spectrum of life experiences in the arts, entertainment, law, business, science and social activism.
Among the interview subjects featured in the film are Bay Street power broker Wes Hall, Justice Donald McLeod, singer and radio host Jully Black, social scientist Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, scientist and entrepreneur Eugenia Duodu, and Cityline…
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TORONTO – One in four Canadians tuned-in to Saturday’s 12 ½ hour marathon broadcast of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on Sportsnet, Citytv and CBC.
The broadcast, live from Swift Current, SK, reached a total of 9.6 million Canadians, up 5% from last year’s broadcast, and marked the fourth consecutive year of audience growth for the annual event.
Quoting Numeris data, Sportsnet added that the average minute audience for the Celebrating the Game pre-show was up 32% year-over-year, and that the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens was the most-watched program in Canada on Saturday with an average minute…
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TORONTO – Two guys who helped Wind Mobile get off the ground and then build its follower Freedom Mobile are the latest in a line of Canadian companies hoping to shake up the wireless market here.
Algis Akstinas (left, formerly the director of marketing and commercial strategy at Freedom) and Alex Bauman (right, formerly manager, customer base management) launched dot mobile Thursday with the goal of bringing a product and the company to market in 2020.
Dot stands for “Data On Tap” and the company aims to be just that for Canadians – a spigot of cheap,…
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LONDON, UK – With the 5G era on the horizon, all three of Canada's national mobile operators averaged impressive download speeds across their mobile broadband networks, but Telus has taken the lead for 4G availability, says OpenSignal in its most recent Mobile Networks Experience: Canada report.
The wireless mapping coverage company examined close to 1.16 billion measurements collected from 161,672 total devices between October 1 and December 29, 2018 in its update on Canada, released Thursday.
According to the report, Bell and Telus were tied in 4G availability rankings throughout 2018, not surprising given their long-standing infrastructure sharing deal that effectively…
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TORONTO – Rogers said Tuesday that it has upgraded its wireless service in parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta as part of its multi-year network plan to bring gigabit LTE and 5G to its customers.
The upgrades will impact Rogers and Fido customers in Moncton and outside of Fredericton; in Halifax, Bedford and on Hwy 101 near Bridgetown; in the Quebec cities of Gatineau, Boischatel, Québec City, Montréal, St-Eustache, Blainville and Terrebonne; and in four locations in Alberta including Belgravia in Edmonton, Strathcona Athletic Park, as well as several areas in Lethbridge including Willowbrook and Fleetwood.
The enhancements…
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OTTAWA – Stakeholders wishing to weigh in on the new production report set to replace the programs of national interest (PNI) report completed by the large English- and French-language ownership groups now have an extra month to prepare their comments.
The CRTC said Monday that comments will now due by March 6, 2019, and not February 6 as it said last month.
The move comes in response to a joint procedural request from the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada, the Quebec English-Language Production Council, the English-Language Arts Network and On Screen Manitoba, as well as a joint procedural request from…
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GATINEAU – CRTC submissions are sometimes entertaining when issues are significant, potentially polarizing and wildly debated.
However, and as we indicated previously, this new proceeding into the establishment of an Internet Code of Conduct is mostly incremental in its scope, since a lot of issues have been dealt with in prior proceedings (and in other codes).
Maybe that’s why Bell, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, provincial governments, unions and consumer groups have not bothered at this stage.
No reply phase is complete without an incumbent taking a swipe at the Competition Bureau, though. In this case…
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