MISSISSAUGA – “Years ago we would have thought, as smaller operators, there's no way in hell we can keep up with them . But times have changed. We can actually surpass them,” according to Stephen Sacks, president, MDL Communications.
“Delivering broadband is now the main killer app” and advances in streaming technologies has levelled the playing field so that even operators with no traditional video experience now sell video. Sacks presented his findings at Commtech East in Mississauga on how streaming is helping operators of all sizes compete.
Comcast now has 38 million Xfinity subscribers (broadband plus video and…
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Canadians still want loads of video, and are getting it from many sources
WHILE CANADIANS CONTINUE to pull back on their traditional subscription TV services, their interest in video overall shows no signs of shrinkage as they add tens of thousands of subscriptions to various over-the-top providers (but yah, mainly Netflix).
According to new research from Victoria, B.C.’s Convergence Research, cord-cutting in Canada is proceeding at about a 2% rate per year right now. “We estimate 2018 saw a decline of 204,000 Canadian TV subscribers, 2017 a decline of 210,000 TV subscribers, and we forecast a decline of 253,000 for 2019,”…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has expanded its broadband network to B.C.’s Bowen Island, one of the 23 local authorities that comprise Metro Vancouver.
Working with the Bowen Island Municipality, Shaw began expanding its broadband network to the island in September 2017 with the installation of a high-capacity submarine fibre optic cable from West Vancouver. Shaw teams completed network installation earlier this month and are now ready to roll out the company’s residential products and services across the entire island.
“Connectivity is the fuel that powers our daily lives, and as a trailblazer of broadband in Western Canada, we understand how important…
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MONTREAL – Former CRTC chair and Astral Media president André Bureau succumbed to cancer on Friday, April 12. He was 83.
A lawyer and communications business executive, Bureau was the illustration of a generation of smart, ambitious and well-connected young French-Canadian men that emerged after the “Révolution Tranquille”.
Born in 1935, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he studied Law at Université Laval in Québec City and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1959. He also received a doctorate in comparative law at the Sorbonne, in France, in 1960.
In private practice from 1960, he practiced in his home town, where Le Nouvelliste (the…
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Industry, others, provide feedback
OTTAWA – On February 26th, the Government of Canada proposed new CRTC Policy direction to put Canadians at the forefront of future telecommunications decisions, as Cartt.ca reported.
By law, this proposed Order must be put for comments for a period of 30 days after being published in the Canada Gazette. April 8th was the deadline for intervenors to make their comments known to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
(Ed note: By law, the federal government doesn’t have to listen to any of the recommendations, if it has already made up its mind,…
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Expect a pressure-packed, high-demand, 3500 MHz auction in 2020
BAY STREET’S TELECOM industry analysts were a little surprised at the $3.47 billion collectively shelled out by Canada’s wireless carriers for 600 MHz spectrum (except for Bell, which shelled out nothing for no 600 spectrum) in the federal government’s just-completed auction.
“(I)t appears the competition amongst (the big three) was far fiercer than expected, driving the price up to $1.89/MHz-pop and leading to a total spend of $2.65B,” wrote Canaccord Genuity’s Aravinda Galappatthige in a note to investors, which said he had expected the trio of Rogers, Bell…
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Auction raises $3.47 billion
OTTAWA – The results of Canada’s 600 MHz spectrum auction were announced after the markets closed Wednesday afternoon.
Rogers Communications acquired the most licences, 52, for a whopping $1.725 billion. “We are proud to make leading and meaningful investments to build the 5G ecosystem in Canada and to help drive our country’s global competitive advantage,” said Joe Natale, president and CEO, in the company press release. “This 5G spectrum is a precious and scarce resource that will benefit Canadians and Canadian businesses across the country.” Rogers was awarded licences in the A and…
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SQUAMISH, BC – Squamish Cable TV founder Lloyd Ingraham passed away on March 24 at the age of 102.
Born September 5, 1916 in Vegreville, Alberta, Ingraham arrived in Squamish in 1919 and worked in a pulp mill in Woodfibre before becoming an electrician. He returned to Squamish in 1955 as an electrical contractor and started the Squamish Cable TV system two years later.
“At that time I believe, there were three TV sets in the valley” wrote Ingraham in Stan Thomas’ 1992 anthology ‘Cable, Vision of the Pioneers’.
“The next level of nonsense was achieved when I purchased a set. The…
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CALGARY – Despite adding fewer wireless customers than this time last year, Shaw Communications saw second quarter profits return to the black.
For the three month period ended February 28, 2019, the company posted net income of $155 million up from the $175 million net loss posted in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue dipped 1.0% to $1.32 billion year-over-year, and operating income before restructuring costs and amortization increased 13.7% to $549 million due to continued growth in its Wireline and Wireless segments.
Shaw said Tuesday that it added approximately 47,800 net Wireless revenue generating units (RGUs) in the quarter, consisting of 64,700 postpaid additions and…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications CEO Brad Shaw today affirmed his company’s stance against the federal government’s and CRTC’s desire to see new, non facilities-based wireless competition in Canada.
In February, as readers will recall, the CRTC launched a new review into the wireless market and noted its view was to mandate mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs – or third party carriers who lease space on incumbent networks) to operate in Canada since few have launched under the existing regs. Those who would like to launch an MVNO in Canada have said the wholesale rates proposed by…
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