WINNIPEG – MTS Allstream continued to record modest growth for its MTS TV product, broadband and wireless for its third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
Digital TV revenues increased by 10.2% for the quarter based on 6.4% subscriber growth and increased ARPU. MTS Ultimate TV, which is the company’s premium television service, now represents 34% of its TV customer base.
At the end of the third quarter, the company had more than 30,000 subscribers to its MTS Ultimate TV service, as compared to approximately 25,000 at the end of the second quarter of 2010. In total, it reported 89,604 digital…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The small incumbent telcos in Ontario lashed out at the cable companies during the rebuttal phase of the obligation to serve hearing Wednesday, telling the CRTC that it has no business taking any advice from them because they have never had an obligation to serve any community.
Tracy Cant, director of finance and regulatory matters at Ontera, told commissioners that the small incumbent local exchange carriers (SILECs) have respected the regulatory bargain that their costs would be covered for serving their communities. The cable companies, he noted, have not had an obligation to serve for “one single…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The country’s largest cable companies want the CRTC to treat them the same as Bell and Telus. At least, as far as the Commission’s rules on speed matching go.
In a petition submitted to Cabinet last week, Cogeco, Quebecor on behalf of Videotron, Rogers and Shaw asked that the Governor in Council vary, rescind, or refer back to the Commission its decision on Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-632 issued on August 30, 2010.
That decision, as Cartt.ca reported, was based on a public proceeding launched in May 2009 to consider whether incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and cable…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
