OTTAWA – Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Videotron are headed to mediation with the Competition Bureau at the end of the month, the Competition Tribunal confirmed today.
Earlier this year, the Commissioner of Competition applied to the tribunal to have the proposed merger of Rogers and Shaw blocked. Since then, Rogers and Shaw have come to an agreement with Quebecor subsidiary Videotron for the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to try to assuage concerns about the potential impact of the merger on wireless competition.
“Given the public interest in this proceeding, the Competition Tribunal confirms that a mediation is scheduled to…
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SEATTLE — Telus was the fastest mobile operator among Canada’s national providers in Q3 2022, and Rogers was the fastest fixed broadband service provider in the country during the same quarter, according to the latest report from Seattle-based broadband and mobile network testing company Ookla.
The report, released today, says Telus achieved a median mobile download speed of 76.03 Mbps (please see the chart above) during Q3 2022. The median download speeds for Canada’s other two national mobile providers, Bell and Rogers, were 73.3 Mbps and 59.86 Mbps respectively, according to the report.
Rogers achieved the fastest median upload speed for…
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Globalive (and Wind Mobile) founder adamant national wireless only player the solution
TORONTO – Canadians are more fed up with the nation’s telecommunications industry than they are with airline delays and real estate prices, according to the 2022 Canadian Telecom Sentiment Report, released late last month.
The survey, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by Globalive, shows 59% of Canadians “are angry or annoyed when they think of telecom companies, the highest of all major Canadian industries surveyed,” a press release announcing the report says.
Furthermore, 71% of Canadians “are angry about telecom bills specifically, the third highest of 13 cost-of-living…
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BPF reviewing whether it will continue awarding funding to CMAC moving forward
OTTAWA – A month and a half after the federal government announced it was cutting funding it awarded to the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is trying to figure out why the organization received the funding – to develop an anti-racism strategy – in the first place.
Funding was cut to CMAC’s project after numerous concerns were expressed about antisemitic and other racist tweets posted by Laith Marouf, a senior consultant with the organization.
At a meeting last Friday, committee members, who argued CMAC…
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SEVERAL CANADIAN TELECOMS are currently waiving fees to help their customers stay connected to their loved ones in Iran.
Xplore posted on Twitter today to say it is waiving all home phone long-distance calls to Iran from now until the end of the month.
Telus announced on Sept. 27 it (and Koodo) would be waiving all long-distance calling and text messaging to Iran until Oct. 14.
On Sept. 28, several more companies including Rogers (and Fido and Chatr), Bell (and Virgin Plus) and Shaw (and Freedom Mobile) announced they would be waiving long-distance fees for calls and texts…
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CALGARY — Shaw Communications announced today the launch of Shaw Stream, a new 4K device “that allows Shaw Fibre+ Internet customers to access their favourite streaming apps in one place on their TV, and makes them easy to navigate with Shaw’s powerful voice remote,” a press release says.
Shaw Stream can be added to Shaw Fibre+ Internet plans starting at $5 per month. Separate subscriptions for the streaming services are required, the release explains.
With Shaw Stream, Shaw Fibre+ Internet subscribers can “seamlessly access top streaming apps, including Netflix, Hayu, Prime Video, Tubi, YouTube as well as games and music apps,…
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TORONTO — Toronto-based live television app toober, announced today it launched 12 more channels in September, expanding its arts, travel, esports, sports, music and entertainment content.
toober “aims to fill a gap in the live streaming market by providing subscribers access to all of their favourite channels from around the world at one low price,” a press release says.
The new channels include:
Scream Flix — an English-language channel from Jungo featuring Asian, European and Hollywood horror films.
Front Row — an English-language music channel from Jungo featuring “the biggest acts performing in the biggest gigs from around the globe”,…
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TORONTO – Amazon’s Prime Video today announced production has started on a new Canadian Amazon Original documentary on the life and career of Ernie Coombs (above) – or as he is more commonly known, Mr. Dressup.
The feature-length documentary, which is currently untitled, will celebrate “the origins and history of Canada’s favourite children’s show, Mr. Dressup, which built a legacy of kindness, patience, inclusiveness, and creativity in 4,000 episodes across 29 years on CBC in Canada,” a press release says.
“The documentary will combine never-before-seen archival footage, interviews with series puppeteers and musicians, the Coombs family, and other notable Canadians, all sharing the impact the series…
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By Connie Thiessen
TORONTO – Radio broadcasters from across the country are once again coming together on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Friday, Sept. 30 with A Day To Listen 2022.
This year’s 12-hour broadcast will be hosted by JUNO Award-winning Indigenous singer-songwriters William Prince and Celeigh Cardinal. Airing from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. local time, it will feature stories from Indigenous leaders, residential school survivors, elders, musicians, and teachers centred around the theme of “Messages of Hope.”
Produced by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), in partnership with Orbyt Media, last year’s A Day To Listen captured the Broadcast Dialogue Canadian Radio Award for Continue Reading
MONT-TREMBLANT – Free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) is “going to be the dominant system all around the world,” Alan Wolk (above), co-founder and lead analyst at TVREV told attendees of the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Connect 2022 conference yesterday.
At the moment, we are living in a hybrid environment, which will be around for a while, Wolk said, explaining in Canada, 51% of people are subscribing to both linear and streaming services.
“The thing about hybrid that’s interesting is that it’s not necessarily one or the other all of the time,” he said. There will be some people who watch mostly…
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