CALGARY – Freedom Mobile today announced the launch of its big Christmas season selling push, the Big Binge Bonus, a limited-time offer which gives customers 100 GB of bonus LTE data in addition to their monthly data allotment. This bonus data can be used anytime — and it all comes at no additional cost.
“We’re continuing to find new and better ways to give consumers what they want, and that includes giving Canadians the freedom to binge their data usage without incurring expensive overage fees,” said Paul McAleese, president of wireless at Shaw Communications (Freedom’s parent company). We don't ever recall any…
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OTTAWA – The Connecting Families program which was announced in June by Navdeep Bains, Minister of Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) at the Telecom Summit, in Toronto was unveiled this week.
The government is not subsidizing ISPs to provide the low-cost Internet service but is investing $13.2 million over five years to refurbish and deliver up to 50,000 computers to eligible families through the Computers for Success Canada program, as well as to develop a secure online portal through which eligible families can sign up for the initiative and access the low-cost Internet service and/or a refurbished computer.
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GATINEAU – Last week Corus Entertainment filed an application informing the CRTC that it will shut down 44 transmitters and requested an amendment to their station licences.
Twenty of those stations had not been converted to digital and Corus was required to do so, according to the conditions of the acquisition imposed by the CRTC when then CanWest Global stations were acquired by Shaw Communications back in 2010.
In the November 8th application, Corus is requesting permission to shift the remainder of the benefits money meant to upgrade the transmitters to other endeavours, and therefore not convert them to digital as it…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has struck a new partnership with the Movember Foundation to help bring awareness to men’s health and raise funds for research and programs to enable men to live happier, healthier, and longer lives.
Leveraging its slate of television networks, radio stations, and online assets, Corus said that it is helping to deepen important conversations about men’s health and provide “a national megaphone” for this important initiative throughout the month of November.
In addition, a number of Corus’ executive leaders have pledged to participate in the campaign by putting down their razors and growing a moustache for the month. They…
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IQALUIT, NU – Northwestel has expanded its new new high-speed broadband satellite network to three additional Nunavut communities.
The new 15 Mbps service, known as Katittuq 15, is available now in Cambridge Bay, Arviat and Rankin Inlet for $129 per month and includes 100 GB of monthly usage. The service launched in Iqaluit last month and is scheduled to rollout in all Nunavut communities in 2019.
“Northwestel is pleased to begin connecting customers in Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay, and Arviat to our new Tamarmik Nunaliit network in Nunavut”, said Northwestel president Curtis Shaw, in the news release. “Now, customers in…
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From Right Hand Man: How Phil Lind Guided the Genius of Ted Rogers
By Phil Lind with Robert Brehl
IN 2013, HALFWAY THROUGH its mandate, Stephen Harper’s government was looking tired and bereft of captivating political ideas for the next election. It was then that the Conservative PM wrapped himself in his “Captain Consumer” cape and launched an assault upon Canada’s big three wireless phone companies: Rogers, Bell, and Telus.
He and his government were going to lower monthly wireless bills for consumers by cracking the cartel. Harper painted us as Russian-style oligopolists who feared increased competition, which was unfair and…
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OTTAWA – While the main governmental expert panel reviewing the Telecom, Broadcasting and Radiocommunication Acts is only now getting under way, some of the most interesting conversations on the matter are happening now in front of the Senate (who knew?!).
While CRTC chairman Ian Scott appeared today (October 30) in front of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, to talk about the Regulator’s needs, last week Canadian Communications Systems Alliance CEO Jay Thomson told the senators about his members’ (115 independent carriers who serve more than 1,200 communities – lots rural – with broadband,…
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MONTREAL – Videotron has unveiled the name of its new IPTV platform based on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 platform, à la Rogers and Shaw.
Speaking at the Canadian Club of Montreal on Monday, outgoing Videotron president and CEO Manon Brouillette said that the platform will be called Helix and will hit the market in 2019.
Helix will deliver smarter and more powerful Wi-Fi, an enhanced TV experience thanks to IP technology and seamless integration of Web content platforms, as well as home automation services, she added.
"Helix is revolutionary. It is a fast-changing, adaptive ecosystem that is ready to compete with the international…
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The TV tax battle
By Phil Lind with Robert Brehl
FEW THINGS GET ME SEETHING like the Canadian television networks’ attempted fee-for-carriage cash grab, the so-called “TV tax.” After everything cable did to increase their TV licences’ value over the years, in 2006 the broadcasters ignited a six-year battle to get us to pay them for carrying their signals. It went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and they came very close to winning.
Just writing this raises my hackles. Ken Engelhart and Jan Innes would joke that fee-for-carriage was my “Wullerton.” I had no idea what they meant…
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Cable technologists embrace DAA as a complement to DOCSIS 3.1, fibre deep and other technologies
ATLANTA – Believing their industry's hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) networks have plenty of life left in them, cablecos are pushing forward with distributed access architectures (DAA) designed to enable them to boost capacity for gigabit and other advanced services.
Speaking here at the annual SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show last week, top cable technologists from North America and Europe said they are turning to on DAA and new versions of the industry's DOCSIS broadband specs to meet the bandwidth demand with their existing networks. Rather than junk their…
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