WHILE DROPPING IN ON the CRTC’s two-week hearing into new and renewed mandatory carriage requests (on cpac.ca) – and poring over some of the transcripts since its conclusion, two thoughts bubbled up above all the facts, self-serving opinion and pure BS that is a Commission hearing: The CRTC should impose some sort of mandatory penetration based rate card, a-la Bell Media’s, upon the entire regulated TV industry – or just deregulate the whole damn thing (which is not actually an option).
Independent broadcasters (those not owned by a vertically integrated entity) have little, if any, leverage when it comes to…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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MONTREAL and TORONTO – Following on the heels of this week’s announcement about Rogers’ initiative to offer mobile credit card services, RBC and Bell today announced they have teamed up to launch a mobile payment solution that lets RBC mobile banking customers purchase goods and services with a Bell Mobility smartphone.
The new mobile payments solution, which allows customers to pay by debit or credit, will be integrated into RBC's existing mobile banking app, appearing as an additional option on the home screen. By the end of this year, the mobile payment option will…
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MONTREAL – Spend long enough in a hearing room and you’ll zone out for a bit. Yes, we admit, it’s happened to us. “I wonder if we’ll be done in time for the hockey game… I really have to cut the grass when I get home…”
Then, one or more of the parties says something that makes you say: Did he/she just say that? Sometimes those moments make it into a story. Other times, not. Here are a few of those other times: ************************* DURING ITS INTERVENTION on Tuesday, Rogers SVP of video content David Purdy told commissioners he sees…
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Story and photo by Steve Faguy
MONTREAL – After Telus, Rogers, EastLink, Cogeco and Quebecor, the last word on Bell’s failed relationship with competing BDUs went to the little guys. And they had some eye-opening facts and figures to back up their claims that Bell isn’t playing fair.
“We are not here to engage in regulatory arbitrage,” said Jim Deane, chair of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, which represents about 115 small cable companies across Canada. “CCSA members are fighting for their lives.”
Speaking as one of the final interveners in the hearing over Bell Canada?s proposed purchase of Astral Media, the…
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TORONTO – Rogers announced today a new “worry-free” wireless roaming internet rate for customers travelling to the United States.
At $7.99 per day, the new plan lets customers access 50 MB of data while in the U.S. through their smartphones or tablets. That’s enough data to view approximately 1,000 emails, 5,000-plus tweets, 50 maps, or 200 web pages a day.
“Our customers can now have the confidence and peace of mind to use their smartphones and tablets in the U.S. to access the internet, just as they would at home,” said Rogers’ senior vice-president of…
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MONTREAL – In a lengthy appearance before the CRTC commissioners on Wednesday (more than twice as long as either Rogers or Telus the day prior) Cogeco Cable left no doubt where it stood on the question of Bell Canada buying Astral Media: There can be no compromises, no new regulatory caveats that make this deal palatable, and so the merger must be denied. Again.
Cogeco’s argument was similar to the one EastLink made earlier on Wednesday, but the Montreal-based cable and radio firm offered up more detail. CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has asked the opposing interveners Tuesday and Wednesday for…
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TORONTO – SaskTel and Telus’ Koodo Mobile ranked highest in customer satisfaction for the second year in a row, according to a new study released today by J.D. Power & Associates.
Among full-service carriers, SaskTel’s score was highest at 712, which was 13 points higher than its 2012 score. The survey noted that SaskTel performed particularly well in terms of offerings and promotions, customer service, and the sales process.
Koodo Mobile from Telus scored highest among stand-alone carriers with 765 points, also up higher by 13 points from 2012. The wireless provider stood out for…
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MONTREAL – Interveners told the CRTC Tuesday that just because Bell Canada has decided it will spin off a few TV assets with this latest attempt to purchase Astral Media, that doesn’t make the deal any better for Canadians, or for them.
“This second application raises the very same concerns in the English-language television market,” Rogers SVP regulatory Ken Engelhart told commissioners on Tuesday morning. “The acquisition of Astral’s premium pay television services will threaten diversity and endanger the ability of distributors to deliver programming to Canadians at affordable rates and on reasonable terms on multiple platforms.
So for Rogers, the…
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FREMONTM, CALIF. – Cellphone-Mate, a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of cellular amplifier technology, and Dallas-based wireless communications distributor Hutton Communications have announced that the two companies have joined forces to go after Canadian business and residential customers.
“Cellphone-Mate’s global customers are recognizing the immense value to be gained by augmenting their current wireless connections,” said Hongtao Zhan, founder and CEO of Cellphone-Mate, in a release. “This alliance will broaden our reach across Canada by tapping Hutton’s proven and well-respected sales channel. We look forward to a very long and mutually rewarding relationship with the entire Hutton team.”
Cellphone-Mate manufactures TriFlex T amplifiers,…
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