The CRTC on Tuesday launched a proceeding requiring Bell, Telus and Rogers to show cause why fees they have introduced recently are not in violation of the telecom regulator’s prohibition on activation and modification fees, which came into effect on June 12.
The proceeding, open to comments from the public, is being launched following CRTC warnings to Bell over its new $40 device handling fee, to Telus over its $15 SIM purchase fee, and to Rogers over its $40 device setup fee — charges…
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By Connie Thiessen
As excitement around the FIFA World Cup continues to grip audiences, Stingray is attempting to unite global soccer fans with the launch of a new pop-up music channel dedicated to the world’s biggest sport.
Running through July 31, with launch dates varying by platform, Stingray Soccer Anthems features “the world’s most iconic stadium songs, global hits, and fan-fueled chants that define the spirit of the game.”
Tailored to local audiences, outside Canada and the U.S., the channel will be branded as Stingray Himnos del Fútbol in Mexico and Spain, and Stingray Hinos de futebol in Brazil.
Musical selections will span…
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A week after questioning Rogers about its new device setup fee and other charges to customers, the CRTC has sent the wireless giant a new letter asking about its intention to add a $5 monthly charge to its customers’ bills starting next month.
“I have been informed today that Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers) informed its mobile wireless customers through a note on their billing statement that it intends to add a $5 monthly charge to their mobile wireless customers’ bills as of 15 July 2026, calling it…
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The Telus Friendly Future Foundation announced Monday its third annual Together for Tomorrow Gala on June 18 in Toronto raised a record-breaking $3 million to support underserved youth across Canada through post-secondary bursaries and community programs.
More than 800 guests gathered for an evening headlined by four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie, whose exclusive performance “underscored the urgency of supporting youth facing unprecedented mental health challenges, employment barriers and financial hardship,” Telus said in an emailed announcement. The gala brought together hundreds of leaders from Canada’s business, philanthropic, technology and arts communities, Telus said.
The funds…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A paper published in the Canadian Bar Review last spring that called federal jurisdiction over online streamers “suspect” was studied by Canadian Heritage, according to heavily redacted briefing material obtained by Cartt, and the author believes the Online Streaming Act is “inevitably going to be challenged” on that basis.
Michael Ryan, a lawyer specializing in Canadian telecommunications and broadcasting law and regulation, told Cartt in an interview that he was “expecting, frankly, somebody to come forward and challenge this law before now they inevitably will.
“It’ll be an American streaming company or somebody else who feels that they’d…
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Outgoing Telus CEO Darren Entwistle has been appointed to the Order of Quebec in a ceremony on Wednesday.
The appointment recognizes “individuals whose achievements have profoundly shaped Québec’s development and influence,” according to a press release announcing the news.
Entwistle has spent over 25 years at the telco, which has blossomed from a regional telecom to a national and international player with tentacles in businesses as diverse as health and AI.
Entwistle was appointed an officer in the order, meaning his work is recognized as having major repercussions with international scope in one or more fields.
“Throughout…
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It was probably only a matter of time, but the CRTC has now turned its attention to new device setup charges and SIM fees that Rogers is charging customers, following the telecom regulator’s ban on activation fees that took effect June 12.
The CRTC has already taken Rogers competitors Bell and Telus to task over new fees those two telcos recently introduced that the commission has said do not appear to fall under the exemption for optional services and products in its new policy prohibiting fees for activating, modifying and cancelling mobile and internet plans.
In a Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor’s Videotron is asking the CRTC to get involved in adjusting the wholesale roaming access prices charged by SaskTel, which would reverse over a decade of regulatory forbearance.
In a Part 1 application with redactions made public Monday, Videotron is claiming it is being forced to pay unfairly high wholesale roaming prices to the dominant wireless service provider in Saskatchewan with no regulatory avenue because the CRTC in 2015 excluded the Crown corporation from the policy that regulated those rates for market power players Rogers, Bell, and Telus. However the regulator “retained the power to…
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On the day the CRTC’s new prohibition on fees for activating, modifying or cancelling wireless and internet service plans came into effect this past Friday, the commission sent letters to Telus and Bell asking the telcos if they have stopped charging customers new fees that it had previously warned could be in violation of the new rules.
Last Tuesday, the CRTC told Telus via a letter its new $15 SIM purchase fee may be considered to be an activation fee that would be prohibited as of Friday. In a Continue Reading
Having become aware that Telus planned to introduce a $15 SIM purchase fee for both physical SIM cards and digital eSIMs later this week, the CRTC in a letter Tuesday informed Telus such a fee may be in violation of the commission’s new rules eliminating activation fees.
Telus is set to start the new practice on Thursday, June 11, just one day before the CRTC’s prohibition on activation, modification and cancellation fees comes into effect on Friday.
The Canadian Press on Tuesday reported on Telus’s planned $15 SIM…
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