Telecom Act takes precedence when it comes to rights of way, siting, etc.
CALGARY – The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta told the city of Calgary in no uncertain terms that it has no right to regulate where, when, why and how telecom infrastructure can be installed in the city.
In January Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Telus Corp. filed a motion to strike down a bylaw passed by the city to regulate the process for, access and use of municipal rights of way for telecommunications providers.
In a decision released Friday, the court agreed with the four large…
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CALGARY – Freedom Mobile is expanding its Extended Range LTE rollout to select areas of Edmonton and B.C.’s Lower Mainland, including Vancouver, after first launching in Calgary earlier this month.
The Shaw-owned carrier says that customers with compatible devices in those regions will have better LTE coverage, including stronger indoor reception, now that it is deploying the 700 MHz spectrum that it bought from Quebecor Media last year.
A Freedom Mobile spokesperson confirmed to Cartt.ca that Extended Range LTE will soon arrive in southern Ontario, including the Greater Toronto Area.
More information on Freedom Mobile’s Extended Range LTE is Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The program put together by the organizers of this year’s International Institute of Communications Canadian Chapter conference should attract a good crowd this Halloween.
Scheduled for October 31st and November 1st at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, the annual policy and legal gathering looks to take a deep dive into the federal government’s Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review – and will feature the first public appearance of the expert panel examining the Broadcasting, Telecom and Radiocommunication Acts.
All seven members of the panel, announced in June, will close the two-day event on November 1st in…
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CALGARY – Freedom Mobile customers in Calgary will soon have better LTE coverage, including stronger indoor reception, now that the Shaw-owned carrier has begun rolling out its Band 13 700 MHz spectrum in that city.
“Freedom Mobile’s Extended Range LTE leverages Band 13 700 MHz spectrum to provide customers with farther-reaching coverage and stronger indoor wireless reception than anything we’ve been able to offer to date,” said Shaw’s wireless president Paul McAleese, in Tuesday's news release. “The deployment of additional spectrum is our latest step in creating an improved wireless experience that includes seamless connectivity, the latest handsets, and the high-speed…
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BURNABY – Children’s channel BBC Kids will cease operations at the end of the year.
A joint venture between B.C. public broadcaster Knowledge Network Corporation and BBC Studios, the channel was relaunched in 2011 without commercials after being sold off by Jasper Junior Broadcasting Inc., then a division of Shaw Media.
“After seven successful years of operations, we have made the difficult decision to close the channel”, reads a joint statement by Knowledge Network Corporation president and CEO Rudy Buttignol and Ann Sarnoff, president BBC Studios. “Both companies continue to share a commitment to quality children’s content that educates and…
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OTTAWA – The Copyright Act review resumed in Ottawa on Monday, where representatives from Telus had the opportunity to discuss the company’s stance. The company’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology followed last week’s presentations by Bell, Rogers, TekSavvy and Shaw.
Like TekSavvy, Telus is in the somewhat unique position of not being vertically integrated, something that Ann Mainville-Neeson, the company’s VP of Broadcasting Policy and Regulatory Affairs highlighted at the outset of the presentation.
“We are purely an aggregator and distributor of the best content there is to offer,” she explained.
As such, Mainville-Neeson…
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Better to leave it to various Acts review
GATINEAU – The CRTC announced this morning it has dismissed a proposed website-blocking regime which would address copyright piracy, dubbed FairPlay Canada by its backers.
The Commission ruled it does not have the jurisdiction under the Telecommunications Act and so it did not consider the merits of the proposal, saying in a release this is best considered under the Copyright Act, over which it has no jurisdiction.
The Copyright Act, is under review, on which Cartt.ca has been reporting on Continue Reading
CALGARY – Shaw Communications has launched a new networking solution that it says gives businesses the ability to share business data and critical applications between head offices and their branch locations at up to half the cost of traditional networking solutions.
Shaw Business’ Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) service will remove the headaches and costs associated with IT and the Multi-Protocol Label Switch (MPLS) hardware typically required to keep head office and branch offices connected, reads the company’s news release. As a result, companies of all sizes will have the ability to connect their offices together with an efficient and…
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OTTAWA – Three of Canada’s largest wired and wireless operators, and one independent, assembled on Parliament Hill Wednesday afternoon to discuss revisions to the Copyright Act.
Independent ISP Teksavvy had the stage first and vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs, Andy Kaplan-Myrth, reiterated his company’s commitment to network neutrality and the privacy rights of their customers, including when it comes to copyright. He reminded the politicians on the committee TekSavvy’s appearance at the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, was as a far different operator than the likes of Bell, Rogers and Shaw. Teksavvy is just an ISP and…
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TORONTO – To compete with OTT players, does ad-funded TV in Canada need a ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal’ to focus the entire industry? If so, what would that rallying cry look like?
The BHAG was one of the stated aims of an industry panel session on the future of ad-funded TV in Canada at the Future TV Advertising Forum Canada at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto last week.
The panel did not unite over a single big hairy goal, but did identify some smaller furballs – like broadcasters needing to collaborate more on content creation, strengthening channel branding and…
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