VANCOUVER — Home Internet customers in Western Canada now have another high-speed option to consider, with the announcement from Telus on Wednesday it is launching its Telus PureFibre 1.5 Gigabit service for residents in B.C. and Alberta.
This follows Shaw’s announcement two weeks ago that its gigabit-speed Internet service, Fibre+ Gig, is now available to more than 99% of its residential customers in Western Canada.
Telus PureFibre 1.5 Gigabit provides up to 1.5 Gbps download and up to 940 Mbps upload speeds, according to the Telus news release. Telus says its PureFibre network is the largest 100% pure fibre-to-the-premise…
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By Greg O’Brien
OTTAWA – No one likes delay, especially when it comes to the auction of the wireless spectrum which will drive the primary advantages of 5G wireless technology.
Canadian wireless companies have been clamouring for access to 3500 MHz (3.5 GHz if you prefer) because the mid-band spectrum will deliver the speed and low latency so key to 5G’s future and all were anxious to get to this December’s auction and hit the gas on the next generation of wireless.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
While company CEOs like Joe Natale (Rogers), Mirko Bibic (Bell), Darren Entwistle (Telus), and…
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MONTREAL – Music, media and technology company Stingray today announced it has reached an agreement with Shaw Communications to renew its carriage agreement.
As part of the agreement, Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct customers will have access to Stingray Music audio channels and can enjoy the Stingray mobile app and web player for free. Music video TV channels Stingray Retro, Stingray Loud, Stingray Vibe and Stingray Country will also be available to residential and commercial subscribers.
“We are thrilled to have renewed our agreement with Shaw,” said Eric Boyko, president and CEO of Stingray. “Our partnership creates an important channel to…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Saying it is suffering from an asymmetrical marketplace, Shaw filed an application to the CRTC on May 27th, requesting interim relief from having to offer access to its network to resellers, at mandated rates while Telus and Bell/MTS have no such obligations for their higher speed offerings.
The application was filed the same day the company launched its Fibre+ Gig service, across 99% of their network.
“Five years have now passed since the last review of the Commission’s wholesale wireline framework and ILECs’ fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services continue to enjoy a regulatory holiday from mandated HSA requirements….
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GATINEAU — On Monday, the CRTC initiated a proceeding to examine the offer and promotion of accessible wireless plans by wireless service providers and the extent to which these plans meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities.
All retail wireless service providers are required to offer accessible wireless plans and to promote those plans in ways that are accessible, including through stores, websites and customer service representatives.
The aim of the proceeding, however, is to look at how wireless service providers are complying with these requirements, whether differences exist between primary and flanker brands, whether the plans currently offered and…
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TORONTO — CTV Life Channel is starting a month-long, nationwide free preview on Tuesday, June 2, which will feature a new Tuesday-night lineup of wedding series and Saturday wedding-themed movie marathons.
Running until July 9, the CTV Life Channel freeview will also see the series debut of Double Your Dish on Monday, June 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Hosted by real-life couple Chef Rodney Bowers and radio and TV personality Meredith Shaw (pictured in centre), the eight-episode, self-shot cooking series helps viewers make the most out of their meals by transforming one base recipe into two totally different dishes.
“We’re thrilled…
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Regional carriers acknowledge opportunity exists, though
By Greg O’Brien
TORONTO – It was heartening to hear from a handful of the top Canadian telecom executives on Wednesday when they detailed how their companies have, admirably, responded to the Covid-19 crisis.
Suspensions of overage fees, no disconnects, working with businesses and consumers to defer payments or re-do packages to help as they struggle financially, serious progress on remote health (especially by Telus), self-installs, employees working from home, networks which have remained robust and resilient, and charitable contributions too numerous to count, it has been an 11-week stretch like none of us have ever…
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CALGARY — Shaw Communications announced Wednesday the launch of its Fibre+ Gig Internet product, which it says is the most broadly available plan for gigabit speeds for residential Internet customers in Western Canada.
Fibre+ Gig is now available to more than 99% of Shaw’s residential customers, due to the ongoing investments the company has made to its Fibre+ network, says the news release. Shaw has offered gigabit speeds to business customers since March 2019.
“Customers today trust in and rely on their home technology like never before, which is why we have continued investing in growing our Fibre+ network and…
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By Denis Carmel
MONTREAL – In a motion filed on June 23, 2017, Rovi/Tivo accused Videotron of patent infringement on components inside set-top boxes which Videotron uses to provide programming to its subscribers.
The U.S. company, called Rovi until it purchased TiVo and changed its name in 2017 also filed similar claims against BCE on January 19, 2018, and Telus on February 2, 2018. The Videotron portion of the trial commenced on March 9, 2020, and was adjourned after four days, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The BCE and Telus portions had been scheduled for May 25th and were also pushed…
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OTTAWA — A recent Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association survey compiling data from some of Canada’s telecom providers released today gives insight into just how much Canadians’ consumption of telecom services has changed during the current health crisis, and that the country’s networks remained resilient in the face of all the traffic shifts and increases.
The CWTA collected information regarding wireline and mobile traffic, for broadband and voice, and measured it against a pre-Covid-19 baseline. Facilities-based network operators who were surveyed for the report include Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw/Freedom, Tbaytel, Telus and Videotron.
Among the data highlights of the CWTA’s report, Managing…
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