GATINEAU – Perhaps not a full U-turn, but the CRTC did alter the way it allows Bell Canada to implement usage-based billing on certain wholesale gateway access service (GAS) customers. And small ISPs believe the Commission made the wrong decision.
Speaking with Cartt.ca on the floor of the CRTC’s obligation to serve hearing in Gatineau, Michael Garbe, president of Accelerated Connections Inc. (ACI), says the decision (an approval of Bell Canada’s request to review and vary the original decision) will still create serious trouble for the small and medium business Internet provider.
“It absolutely creates a significant negative impact on…
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GATINEAU – Expanding the basic service objective to include broadband would have substantial negative financial impacts on their businesses, a group of small independent ISPs told the CRTC on Monday during the fourth day of hearings into the obligation to serve and other telecom matters.
This is the second week of the hearing, which moved back to Gatineau after three days in Timmins, Ont.
David Buffet, president of Radiant Communications Corp., said that creating a new subsidy regime to fund broadband expansion would turn a slight profit the company generated in 2009 to a net loss. Revenue…
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TORONTO – While subscriber numbers are being held back for now and legal challenges from its competition are in progress, wireless brand chatr has gained a strong foothold in the Canadian market as it heads into a crucial two-month sales stretch, according to Garrick Tiplady, chatr’s senior vice-president.
“We’re not releasing (subscriber numbers) now but what I can say is we’re quite pleased with the results – and when you step back… we’re seeing strong results across the country in all the markets we’ve launched in,” Tiplady said in an interview Tuesday afternoon with Cartt.ca.
Chatr is so far…
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OTTAWA – Wireless services and their providers topped the list of approximately 3,700 complaints received by Canada’s Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) last year.
In its annual report, which covers the period from August 2009 through July 2010, the organization noted that the majority of complaints pertained to cellphone contracts and billing. Of the 3,747 complaints that it accepted last year, Bell (including Virgin and Solo) had 1,661; Rogers (including Fido) had 782; and Telus (plus Koodo) had 716.
“The wireless business has the highest rate of growth, the greatest pace of change, and the greatest degree of complexity – at least…
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TIMMINS – On Wednesday everyone, save one company, told the CRTC that adding broadband delivery to the telecom industry’s basic service objective is something that the Commission must do.
And a few even said nevermind those paltry 3-4 Mbps goals, we need to aim at 10, at least (but we’ll get to that in a bit).
MTS Allstream, as we detailed here, not only said the CRTC should make broadband a BSO, but even tied a number, $7 billion over 10 years, which would pay for broadband to every single Canadian household – because letting market forces take care of…
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TORONTO – Canada’s telco TV providers say that they are getting better and better at eating their cable competitors’ lunch, so to speak. And, they have no intention of easing up any time soon.
Bell Aliant, MTS, SaskTel and Telus met with broadcasters and content providers this week in Toronto to chat about their successes and plans for the future. And, they introduced a new member of their informal consortium, TbayTel, who recently began offering digital TV in Thunder Bay, ON.
The majority of the telcos extolled the virtues of their Microsoft Mediaroom platform, particularly how it allows them to offer functionality…
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TORONTO – Third quarter profits at Rogers Communications dropped 24% as Canada’s largest wireless company began to feel the impact of new wireless competitors.
Net income fell to $370 million in the three month period ended September 30th, down from $485 million at the same time a year earlier, while on an adjusted basis, net income was down 6% to $476 million. Revenue increased 3% to $3.1 billion.
"The third quarter 2010 results demonstrate continued steady growth in new subscribers, revenues and free cash flow, and the return of significant amounts of cash to our shareholders through dividends and share buybacks," said…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s major cable companies and telcos are squaring off against MTS Allstream and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre over the CRTC’s authority to mandate broadband as an essential service in the so-called “Obligation to Serve” CRTC proceeding beginning Tuesday in Timmins, Ont.
Comments filed with the CRTC in late August show that Bell Canada, Telus and all of the large cablecos are, not surprisingly, opposed to any Commission intervention on this matter, while PIAC and MTS firmly believe that the CRTC can make broadband essential.
The issue has become a central theme in the proceeding which will cover…
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OTTAWA – Mobilicity is ratcheting up its marketing as it prepares to launch in three more major urban centres: Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. Service in Ottawa will be available in the next few weeks with Edmonton and Vancouver later in the month. As well Calgary will go online early in 2011.
The upstart mobile carrier, currently only available in the Greater Toronto Area, recently unveiled a new marketing campaign dubbed FMyBill (it stands for Fix My Bill and can be viewed at www.facebook.com/mobilicity) to push its “unlimited everything” pricing plan in preparation for the new city launches….
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GATINEAU – Since all of the country’s biggest broadcasters (save CBC) will soon all be owned by Canada’s biggest carriers, the CRTC has announced a new proceeding to examine safeguards to prevent anti-competitive behaviour.
The proceeding will include a public hearing starting on May 9, 2011, in Gatineau, Que.
“The broadcasting industry is being significantly reshaped by a series of major transactions,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC, in the press release. “As a regulator, it’s only prudent that we study the implications to ensure we have the right tools to deal with competitive concerns as they arise….
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