OTTAWA – Many wireless providers are telling Industry Canada that it should restrict Inukshuk Internet’s ability to fully participate in the 2500 MHz spectrum auction.
MTS Allstream, Quebecor Media Inc., Shaw Communications, Telus Corp., and EastLink all suggested in comments to the 2500 MHz licensing process that it would be unfair to allow Inukshuk unfettered bidding in the auction because it owns 98% of licensed 2500 MHz bandwidth and a considerable chunk of the overall band. Inukshuk is a joint venture between Bell Canada and Rogers Communications.
For MTS, it’s no longer a question of whether competition is…
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TORONTO – The company has had its hiccups, but as of Thursday, Public Mobile has been open for a year.
The wireless start-up with the spectrum, G-band, that so few wanted (and some quite unique advertising that stands out from the crowd by cleverly using their very customers) has battled the incumbents and new competitors in the marketplace, in front of regulators and in the courts and emerged energized, says Bruce Kirby, the company’s vice-president of strategy and business development.
“It’s been a lively year,” he told Cartt.ca in an interview. “There has been some interesting behaviour by the incumbents who…
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TORONTO – While one analyst made waves yesterday predicting the potential Canadian entry of Mexican wireless giant America Movil, another today says such a move is unlikely.
UBS Securities analyst Philip Huang was quoted in the Globe and Mail yesterday saying the company (headed by Carlos Slim, considered to be the world’s richest man) which has over 220 million customers has asked the incumbent Canadian operators what sort of arrangements can be made so that America Movil (AMX) can launch as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) here.
An MVNO sees a competitor basically rent space from a network owner…
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OTTAWA – One year after its launch, 25,000 Canadians now subscribe to the wireless Amber Alerts program, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
The free text message service assists Amber Alert agencies in providing the public with immediate and up-to-date information about a child’s abduction, and solicits the public’s help in the safe and swift return of the child. The program is administered by Canada’s wireless telecommunications industry, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Ontario Provincial Police and Amber Alert agencies across the country.
The Amber Alerts program is available to cell phone users in all 10…
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OTTAWA – Encouraging competition in Canada’s wireless industry should be top of mind during future spectrum auctions, according to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
The consumer group said that its comments come in response to some telco incumbents requests to Industry Canada to drop the practice of reserving spectrum for new entrants during the auction of spectrum in 2500 MHz band.
Noting that “the Big Three” currently hold the rights to 85% of the total available spectrum, and that Bell, Rogers and their joint affiliate Inukshuk own nearly two thirds of the 2500 MHz spectrum, PIAC said that Industry Canada must continue…
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OTTAWA – The country’s big Internet service providers will be required to provide static Internet protocol (IP) address allocation for their third-party Internet access (TPIA) services, the CRTC has ruled.
A static IP address is a number that is assigned to a device, such as a computer, to be its permanent address on the Internet. An ISP assigns the address when it provides an Internet access service to an end-user.
Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron originally told the Commission that it is unclear whether the managed router solution they use to provide static IP addresses for business customers would work for their TPIA…
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THIS MONTH, CARTT.CA INVESTIGATES is analyzing the myriad changes underway in television advertising. Two weeks ago, we found the appetite for new ways to reach consumers via the TV platform is growing rapidly. Last week we dove into the progress addressable ads are making (or not).
This week we look at interactive, mobile and an ol’ standby and find that while new technology is changing consumer habits, neat content integration and other tech is ready to capitalize on it.
THE IDEA BEHIND INTERACTIVE television advertisements is that interactive options will not only improve…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered the country’s telcos to pay over $215,000 to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in order to cover its costs during the obligation to serve hearing last fall.
The consumer group asked the Commission that it be reimbursed for legal fees, consultant fees, expert witness fees, disbursement fees and tax while representing the organizations Canada Without Poverty, Option consommateurs, and Rural Dignity of Canada, an amount that it said totaled $216,795.66.
On Monday, the CRTC agreed that PIAC should be paid $215,276.46, and that the amount should be divided up among all telecommunications service providers…
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TORONTO – The future of TV in the digital age will be debated by senior representatives from Telus, Rogers, Corus, the Canadian Media Production Association, Google TV and Boxee at this year’s Banff World Media Festival.
Moderated by Michael Hennessey, chair of the Festival’s Foundation in addition to SVP regulatory and government affairs at Telus, the panel will discuss what role traditional television infrastructure and new digital technologies will play in the living room of the future, as well as what is at stake for the Canadian and international media ecosystem in these changes.
Panel participants will include David Purdy, vice-president…
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CALGARY – According to almost 1,000 Calgarians who took the “Mobilicity Network Challenge” over the last two weeks, administered by the company, most found the new network as good as or better than what they hear on the networks of the likes of Telus, Rogers or Bell.
“In fact, 41% of participants in the western city could not tell a difference between the Mobilicity network and a Big Three carrier network. And, of those who said they could tell a difference, 78% preferred the call made on the Mobilicity device,” says a Mobilicity press release.
"The fact that over 40% of…
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