Wants independent experts to examine Competition Bureau’s confidential information
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Telus has asked the CRTC to again delay the public hearing portion of its wireless policy review hearing because it says the Competition Bureau’s handling of confidential information filed with to the Commission in November is unfair to other participants.
In its November 22nd submission to the CRTC’s wireless policy review proceeding, the Competition Bureau, “makes a number of findings that directly contradict Telus’s own submissions,” reads a document sent to the CRTC on December 23. “These findings are based on data that certain providers were directed…
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By Etan Vlessing
SAN FRANCISCO – The march to 5G promises the newest and fastest networks where wireless carriers can offer next generation applications like VR, better and faster online gaming, driverless cars and improved VOD and TV to consumer and business subscribers.
But how to get the Canadian carriers and service providers from here – current 4G LTE networks – to future 5G and more G deployments as Moore’s Law slows and the operating cost and complexity of Internet plumbing grows?
Cisco, insisting it has tackled the network challenges slowing the race to 5G (which needs significant, deep, fibre backhaul), in…
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MONTREAL – When Cogeco Connexion announced in 2018 its next generation video platform would come via MediaKind’s MediaFirst TV Platform, it said the new product would be in the market by the end of 2019.
While it is currently being tested in employee and other friendly homes, the company won’t be taking it to its Ontario and Quebec customers until sometime in the first quarter of 2020, a spokesperson told Cartt.ca this week.
“We’re getting ready to launch it progressively in 2020,” said Marie-Hélène Labrie, the company’s senior vice-president of public affairs and communications in an interview. Once launched, the…
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TORONTO — With the much-anticipated premiere of Star Trek: Picard scheduled for January 23 and the return of Doctor Who on New Year’s Day, CTV Sci-Fi Channel is giving viewers an early Christmas present with the launch of a nationwide freeview that starts December 19 and runs until January 30. CTV Sci-Fi Channel also has a number of blockbuster marathons scheduled to wrap up 2019.
The all-new Star Trek: Picard series will see Patrick Stewart reprise his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard. During the 10-episode first season, Stewart will be joined by other familiar faces from the Star Trek franchise,…
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No surprises in the documents
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – As expected, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, Cogeco and Eastlink have filed an official Review & Vary application with the CRTC, requesting changes to Telecom decision 2019-288—the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services (HSA).
The themes are similar to what was filed with their appeals to the courts and to federal cabinet.
The cable carriers focused on “new facts and circumstances and on errors of fact and principle” that questions how the Commission arrived at its much-delayed decision.
“The Commission has announced an imminent review of its approach to setting…
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GATINEAU – Canadians hate it when the phone rings and it is someone or a machine trying to sell them something they don’t need and the CRTC was given the mandate to deal with these nuisance calls through legislation back in 2005.
As the callers are becoming more sophisticated or rather as technology allows them to easily circumvent the rules, the regulatory bodies around the world have been struggling to keep up with the task at hand.
One of those method to circumvent the rules is called ID/spoofing. Spoofing occurs when callers deliberately falsify the caller identification (e.g. telephone number)…
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GATINEAU – While everybody else was requesting an extension to the 90-day deadline to file a R&V with the CRTC over its decision on wholesale internet access rates, Telus quietly filed its own application on November 13th.
It requests the Commission to vary some determination of the Telecom Order 2019-288.
The following excerpts are highly technical. Mature audiences only.
To determine the rates Telus must charge its resellers, the Commission relies on Phase II costing methodology, but Telus argues, however, “the effectiveness of Phase II hinges on adhering to and implementing the underlying principles of this methodology. If…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced late Wednesday it has agreed, through its Telus International division, to acquire privately-owned Competence Call Center (CCC) for approximately $1.3 billion, consisting of debt and equity, subject to customary closing adjustments.
CCC, says the press release, is a “provider of higher-value-added business services with a focus on customer relationship management and content moderation. Telus International is the Canadian carrier’s customer experience company. It “designs, builds and delivers next-generation digital solutions for global brands,” says the release.
This comes on the cusp of another recent report which said Telus has acquired the 45% of…
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MONTREAL — Telus Health is expanding its LivingWell Companion personal emergency response service (PERS) with the acquisition of Quebec-based DirectAlert, which now makes Telus the largest Canadian-owned PERS provider, the company announced Wednesday.
The Telus LivingWell Companion service is designed to support the 85% of Canadian seniors who report they want to age in their own homes, while also offering peace of mind to their family and loved ones with the assurance of safety and security.
DirectAlert will continue providing service under the new DirectAlert by Telus Health brand into early 2020, ensuring a smooth transition for current customers so they…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today launched an online survey in an attempt to better understand the needs, behaviours and habits of Canadians regarding their mobile wireless services.
The survey, announced this morning, forms part of the CRTC's review of mobile wireless services, which began in February 2019. “The survey results will help determine whether further action is needed to ensure that the needs of Canadians are being met in the mobile wireless market,” says the press release.
Canadians have until December 31, 2019, midnight PST to complete the survey.
The CRTC will hold a public hearing starting on February 18, 2020, in…
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