LONDON and MARKHAM, Ont. — Despite deeming Huawei to be a “high-risk vendor”, the British government announced it will allow the Chinese telecom company to play a limited role in building the U.K.’s 5G wireless networks.
In keeping with guidance from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the U.K. government issued a news release Tuesday outlining how high-risk vendors such as Huawei will be allowed to participate in 5G and gigabit-capable infrastructure builds in the country. “High risk vendors are those who pose greater security and resilience risks to U.K. telecoms networks,” reads the UK government release.
The…
Continue Reading
KITCHENER — Telus Ventures is heading up a $120-million minority investment in Miovision, a Kitchener, Ont.-based company that uses computer vision, artificial intelligence and advanced modelling to offer cities a modernized approach to traffic management.
The Telus Ventures investment was supported by a syndicate of investors led by McRock Capital and includes both new investors and existing investors who chose to increase their support for Miovision, the company said in its news release.
This funding will help Miovision to accelerate the growth of its smart traffic platform, hiring the talent needed to quickly develop new product capabilities and bring…
Continue Reading
PHILADELPHIA – Comcast executives said Thursday that its subsidiary’s upcoming Peacock service, combined with the cable division’s Xfinity Flex streaming device, will make the most effective revenue-generating streaming ecosystem available anywhere.
Peacock is a streamer which will fill what the company calls a “white space” in the market: a hybrid between a subscription and ad-supported service. It will be a largely ad-supported service with three tiers: 7,500 hours of ad-supported content for free, 15,000 hours of ad-supported content for US$5 (but it, too will be free if you subscribe to a pay-TV company), and an ad-free version of the…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — In a climate where the prevailing feeling is wireless prices in Canada are still too high, a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) suggests Canadians spend less on wireless services than their counterparts in other countries.
In its new report, Understanding affordability of consumer mobile wireless services in Canada, PwC compares wireless spend in Canada to the U.S., Australia and the U.K. for what it calls a “high-level relative wireless affordability comparison against Canada.” When looking at the percentage of income spent on wireless in each of the countries, PwC found that, in 2016, an average Canadian household…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Another day, another Quebecor-Bell dispute.
While Bell Media announced today a new bi-lingual Crave service – which includes its French-language pay-TV channel Super Écran – Vidéotron is calling the move “another anticompetitive maneuver by Bell.”
The Quebecor-owned cable company said in a press release Tuesday afternoon it “has been forced to discontinue on-demand access to Super Écran content for its customers,” and that “as of today. Bell is also blocking access to its Super Écran Go app… for Videotron customers who subscribe to Super Écran.
“Videotron is disappointed that Bell is again using its market dominance to place its…
Continue Reading
CALGARY — Following up last week’s launch of its Mobile Health Clinic program in Ottawa and Waterloo Region in Ontario, Telus announced Tuesday it is expanding its Health for Good program in Calgary with the launch of The Alex Community Health Bus, powered by Telus Health.
Telus is partnering with The Alex healthcare hub to bring its Mobile Health Clinic to Calgary’s most vulnerable citizens, including at-risk youth and individuals living with complex needs. The Mobile Clinic is a specially equipped clinic on wheels that will provide primary medical and mental health care, including electronic medical records, directly to…
Continue Reading
HAIDA GWAII — Telus will become the sole provider of TV and Internet services on Haida Gwaii after the recent acquisition of a local service provider, according to a report in the Haida Gwaii Observer on Monday.
Gwaii Communications announced on January 16 in an email to its customers that a deal with Telus was reached on December 31, 2019, and would see the Mascon brand of Telus, which oversees its cable operations, take over the local Internet and television service provider, the report says. Telus purchased Mascon three years ago.
In 2017, Gwaii Communications bought QCIslands Net and…
Continue Reading
Interveners will have to sign NDA
MONTREAL and OTTAWA — Bell is ready to test an artificial intelligence-based system it has developed for blocking fraudulent phone calls, and says last week’s decision by the CRTC regarding its application brings it a step closer to launching its technology trial.
According to a Bell news release Friday, its AI-based network technology could potentially block an estimated 120 million more scam calls per month than Bell is able to stop using call-blocking methods currently mandated by the CRTC.
“Our industry has made solid progress in combatting these scam calls, and Bell’s innovative new AI…
Continue Reading
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – When the Competition Bureau filed in November its intervention to the CRTC’s wireless policy review, it was expected that the reactions would be spirited, and they are.
First, some objected because the Bureau (and its specially commissioned Matrix Report) reached conclusions based on confidential information and asked that some information be shared. In that regard, Bell and Rogers got what they wanted while CNOC and Telus are still waiting for word from the Commission when it comes to that data. Telus has warned the Bureau’s intervention should be deleted from the record for…
Continue Reading
By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Quebecor is demanding the CRTC order CBC/Radio-Canada’s Tou.tv Extra paid streaming service to “cease its activities” because it goes outside the mandate of the public broadcaster and is an unfair competitor against Videotron and other regulated television service providers.
The CRTC isn’t about to go that far, but it has decided to look into whether there is an undue preference case to be made, in particular with a deal Radio-Canada has with Telus that provides Telus’s Quebec customers “exclusive” free access to the service.
Tou.tv Extra is the $7/month paid version of Tou.tv, which offers premium video…
Continue Reading
