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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GATINEAU – A number of companies are worried about Bell getting bigger.
In July 2019, Groupe V Media announced it was selling for $20 million its five conventional stations to Bell Media. V, previously known as TQS, has had a long story of financial and regulatory problems and its acquisition by Bell had been rumoured for quite some time. (Photo at right are the stars of the V show Ne Jamais Faire à la Maison, or Never do this at Home, Marie-Soleil Dion and Jonathan Roberge.)
On October 29th, the CRTC issued it Notice of Hearing with a short intervention period ending…
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Innovative broadband policy is driving investment
By Ken Campbell and Reef Read
U.K. LABOUR LEADER, Jeremy Corbyn recently announced, as part of his election platform, he would nationalise the telecom broadband infrastructure in that country and provide free broadband to all residents.
This sent a shockwave through the U.K. telecom industry.
Planned investments from the many new private fibre companies entering the market were stalled and pending transactions were stopped as investors reconsidered fibre infrastructure investment until after the U.K. election.
For his part, Tory party leader Boris Johnson has announced his government would force an accelerated deployment of fibre to all U.K. residents…
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OTTAWA – Delegates gathered in Ottawa last week to discuss spectrum policy and best practices from around the world.
A workshop, organized by the International Telecommunications Society (ITS) with local host Telus, focused primarily on auction design and spectrum policy as it pertains to the rollout of 5G services. The heavy pace of 5G auctions continues globally, with many administrations releasing new spectrum to support the introduction of next-generation wireless networks.
Telus’ VP of telecom policy Steven Schmidt, who also chairs ITS, invited Adam Scott to provide introductory remarks from a Canadian perspective. Scott is the director general of the spectrum…
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