GATINEAU – Cartt.ca reporter Perry Hoffman will be in the media lockup this afternoon at 2:30 prior to the CRTC release of its latest decision on wholesale Internet usage-based billing.
Whatever the decision, brace yourselves for waves of misinformation on what the decision means, especially since the decision will likely take time and a lot of number crunching to figure out what it all means. The decision is the result of a re-think of the Commission’s prior wholesale UBB decision, which federal cabinet made many noises about forcing the Regulator to re-visit after enduring a substantial public outcry.
However, in the end, the…
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READERS MIGHT HAVE sensed with my column Thursday that I am taking the issue of getting broadband to low-income families very seriously. I called the fact that we have nothing in Canada to help the poor get broadband in their homes embarrassing, especially when compared to the ambitious and comprehensive Connect 2 Compete program that was launched in the United States this week by the Federal Communications Commission, numerous cable companies and other firms.
Then, reporter Peter Nowak reports today that Canada is the ONLY country in the G8 with no assistance…
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OTTAWA – Industry Canada should open up the TV white spaces spectrum in the broadcast band below 698 MHz on an unlicensed-basis, many companies are telling the department in its consultation on the as-yet used spectrum.
Earlier this summer, the department kicked off a consultation seeking input on the best ways to make the spectrum available. Cartt.ca reported on SMSE-012-11 in September. Companies tell Industry Canada that making white space spectrum licence-exempt will benefit consumers because of its ability to increase communications options.
Shaw Communications, which recently abandoned plans to deploy a mobile…
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TORONTO – National Geographic Channel has kicked off a new national advertising campaign highlighting the 125-year-old yellow frame synonymous with the brand.
The campaign, which began this week, replaces the letter ‘O’ with the yellow frame in the words “whOa,” “mindblOwing,” “heartpOunding” and “explOsive” in the creative. A combination of visuals and captions promotes the channel’s fall lineup which includes series such as Locked Up Abroad, Frontier Force, The Indestructibles, Rocketmen and Mad Scientists.
The marketing elements include print advertisements in the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal plus an online buy on specific life and entertainment-centric websites. A 30-second promotional commercial…
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CALGARY – Shaw has launched its new inter-city fibre-optic network capable of carrying Internet, voice, video and data at 100 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s).
Shaw said Tuesday that the network has the capability of carrying up to eighty-eight 100 Gbit/s channels over a single pair of fibres, meaning it can handle up to 133 million voice calls, 440,000 HDTV channels, or transmit 44 Blu-ray Discs in one second.
Enhancements to the fibre-optic network will benefit both residential and business customers by providing new services, speed and reliability that is part of the Shaw Internet experience, the company’s announcement continued. The launch follows…
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GATINEAU – The chairmanship of the CRTC is often said to be a thankless job, so, many of the leading regulatory folks in Canadian telecom set about to change that this week, getting together to thank outgoing CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein for his yeoman’s work these past five years.
When he came on board as chair in 2007, von Finckenstein promised an open, accountable and transparent Commission. With dozens of public proceedings and many new ways to include the public in the debate launched under his watch, we got that in spades under von Finckenstein, who oversaw his final…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications said Tuesday that it will try out a leaner basic programming package that it claims will provide its cable customers with the choice and flexibility that they have been asking for.
Available November 8 as a trial in London, ON, the Rogers Digital Starter Pack will offer a standard set of 86 core TV channels, including government mandated channels, for a base price of $20.29/month excluding taxes. Customers can order the Digital Starter Pack and may then choose any additional 15, 20 or 30 channels from more than 100 options, starting at $26.38/month, plus taxes. The Digital Starter…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications said Thursday that it is gearing up to test out its Wi-Fi strategy known as HotSpot 2.0.
The trial will be conducted in several Shaw locations and will test, among other things, automatic and secure authentication for Shaw customers equipped with HotSpot 2.0 devices such as smart phones and tablets.
With HotSpot 2.0, Shaw's broadband Wi-Fi-enabled customers will automatically connect and authenticate to the Wi-Fi network without having to manage complex configuration settings on their devices. The system also enables encryption, ensuring that Wi-Fi access is secure and that customers' data is protected.
The results of the trial…
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CALGARY – Despite a jump in revenues, profits at Shaw Communications dropped for its fourth quarter and 2011 fiscal year ended August 31.
The Calgary-based media giant said Thursday that consolidated revenue for the three and twelve month periods of $1.18 billion and $4.74 billion, respectively, was up 26% and 28% over the comparable periods in 2010. It credited the improvement to the acquisition of Shaw Media, as well as price changes and growth in its cable and satellite divisions.
Net income, however, fell to $82.5 million for the quarter, down 32% from $121.6 million in the same period last year. …
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TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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