TORONTO – Telus and Rogers Communications may disagree on many things. But they both strongly favor a national consumer protection code for the telecom industry.
Echoing the call by Rogers communications divisional president Rob Bruce on Monday, Robert McFarlane, executive vice president and CFO of Telus, urged the federal government to adopt a national regulatory standard for protecting mobile phone customers. In Tuesday’s opening keynote at the Canadian Telecom Summit here, McFarlane argued that the country needs a single national code rather than “a patchwork of provincial rules” covering wireless contracts and services.
“It has been 20…
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MONTREAL – Telus will invest $840 million in Quebec over the next three years to expand and enhance its wireless and wireline networks.
The telecom company said Monday that the bulk of the investment will be put towards expanding its 4G LTE wireless network in the Montreal and Quebec City regions, and potentially into rural areas of the province depending on the outcome of the pending spectrum auction.
Telus also said that it will enhance its wireless and wireline networks for business customers, create 75 new wireless sites across the province, and extend the reach of its Optik TV and Internet services. In…
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VANCOUVER – Telus withdrew its share conversion proposal just hours before the plan was to be put to a vote at its annual general meeting of shareholders on Wednesday morning.
The company said in a statement that it decided against the move in large part because of a campaign led by the U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital Management which it accused of using empty voting trading tactics designed to defeat the plan. Empty voting is buying shares to vote them while simultaneously short selling shares in the same company, a practice that Telus called “troubling” noting that it gives a fund more…
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EDMONTON – Telus has announced plans to spend $2 billion in Alberta over the next three years to further expand its wireless and wireline broadband networks.
In addition to hiring 750 people across the province this year, the investment will also help to extend its 4G LTE wireless network to seven new communities, connect 18 remote and geographically challenging communities to its broadband Internet, and further extend its Optik TV service to reach almost 70% of Alberta households by the end of this year.
"We will continue to expand wireline broadband access to rural and remote communities and deliver 4G LTE, the…
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OTTAWA – The use of a package-based auction bidding format could benefit all participants, says the head of Wind Mobile, but he still has questions about whether Bell Canada and Telus Corp. will be allowed to bid separately under Industry Canada's proposed new 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction rules announced last week.
In an interview with Cartt.ca on Friday, Anthony Lacavera, chairman and CEO of Wind Mobile, notes based on the definition of associated entities contained in the consultation, it’s still not clear whether Bell and Telus will be considered one bidder or two. “This is…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is giving TV viewers more to ‘Tweet’ about with a free Twitter app on its Optik TV service.
The app wraps around part of the perimeter of the television screen, allowing users to Tweet while simultaneously watching TV programming and even follow what others are saying about their favourite show through 'TV Tweets'. Offered free as part of the Optik TV subscription, the Twitter app uses the standard Optik remote control.
“We are committed to enabling a truly connected home, offering new ways for our Optik TV customers to stay connected with their friends while still enjoying television," said chief marketing officer David Fuller, in the…
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Perry Hoffman
GATINEAU – Telcos Telus and MTS Allstream are urging the CRTC to remove vertically integrated broadcasters/distributors from eligibility under the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF).
While Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor all want the LPIF program eliminated, Bell Media Inc. is neither for or against continuing the program. However, each have local stations who are collectively getting millions from the LPIF fund.
Ann Mainville-Neeson, director of broadcast regulation at Telus, noted during her opening remarks, that of the large vertically integrated providers, only Bell is clinging to LPIF despite the fact that it could save more than $1 million if the…
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TORONTO – Telus has introduced a new service that allows businesses to take full control of their cloud environment.
Called AgilIT Virtual Private Cloud, the service provides organizations with access to computing resources on-demand including a full-featured portal that enables 24×7 remote access to view and manage their cloud.
"Telus has taken a quality-based approach to cloud computing by providing customers with secured, guaranteed capacity of computing power while maintaining the flexibility to create, change or suspend their computing jobs as required through a centralized view of their cloud infrastructure," said VP of business products and services, Tony Krueck, in the…
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LAVAL, QC – Telus opened the doors on its first consumer-focused retail store Tuesday in Carrefour Laval, in the city of Laval.
The remodelled stores are designed to allow customers to get hands with the technology, offer live demonstrations of various devices, interactive monitors, and learning centres to help customers get the most from their wireless devices.
"Today's wireless smart phones and tablets are loaded with technology and features that can simplify and enrich our lives in ways we couldn't have imagined a few years ago, and we are improving our stores to reflect the new reality," said Joe Goodbaum, SVP and…
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VANCOUVER – Telus will once again support Earth Hour this Saturday night.
The company pledged to turn off all non-essential lights at 8:30 pm local time on March 31 at 27 of its major buildings across Canada in response to Earth Hour 2012's global call to action to address climate change.
"By participating in Earth Hour, we are joining the global village in raising awareness of the need for us to work as one to support our environment," said Josh Blair, EVP of Telus’ human resources, in a statement. "Earth Hour is yet another way for the Telus team to stand…
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