OTTAWA – The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) is crediting government policies that promote facilities-based competition for Canada’s status as a “global 4G superpower with the fastest wireless networks in the G7.”
The lobby group, which represents companies that provide wireless services and products, referenced reports such as November’s Ookla Speedtest Global Index that found that Canadian wireless networks have download speeds that are 144.3% faster than the global average, making Canada's networks the fourth fastest in the world and tops amongst G7 nations.
CWTA president and CEO Robert Ghiz also highlighted CRTC data from its 2018 Communications Monitoring…
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OTTAWA – While increased competition has helped to push down mobile wireless plan prices, Canadians still pay more than most G7 countries and Australia, according to an annual telecom services price comparison report commissioned by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).
Prepared by Wall Communications, the 2018 edition of Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions examined the five main telecom categories of fixed telephony, mobile wireless telephony, fixed broadband internet, mobile wireless internet and bundled services to provide a comparative price analysis of these services in Canada relative to the United…
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By Denis Carmel
The First Law of Economists: For every economist, there exists an equal and opposite economist; The Second Law of Economists: They’re both wrong…
An economist is someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about — and make you feel it’s your fault…
AS WE NOTED EARLIER, ’tis the season of the Price Comparison Reports. We had mentioned the CRTC Telecommunications Monitoring Report (which was released Thursday), the OECD Digital Economy Outlook Data (not quite yet) and the price comparison report commissioned by Innovation, Science and Economic Development – which is now produced by…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians’ increasing use of Internet and mobile services helped to drive up telecommunications revenues 3.2% to $50.3 billion in 2017, slightly faster than the five-year average annual growth rate of 2.9%, the CRTC said Thursday.
In the telecom portion of its 2018 Communications Monitoring Report (CMR), the Commission said that over half (58.2%) of the total revenue share was earned by the country’s large incumbent TSPs, while 34.0% was generated by cable-based carriers, which it defines as the former cable monopolies that currently also provide telecommunications services. Resellers earned 3.6%, other service providers generated 3.2%, and small…
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New low-cost data only plans to be in market within 90 days
GATINEAU – The CRTC announced today it has accepted the revised low-cost data only mobile wireless plans offered – at the demand of the Commission on the impetus of federal government – by Rogers, Bell and Telus.
Further to a public proceeding launched in March, where the big national players responded by initially offering plans the Commission told them were not good enough and to try again, the wireless providers came back with better offers in September which the CRTC said…
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Telus, Shaw, say no licence should be granted, and especially not to Bell or Rogers
GATINEAU – On Wednesday, phase II and III of the hearing into a mandatory carriage licence for a national, news oriented multilingual and multi-ethnic television service was the opportunity for the applicants and then outside intervenors to tell commissioners why they believe certain applications are not special enough to warrant a license under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act.
Four of the eight applicants chose not to make any presentations Wednesday (perhaps keeping their powder dry for Thursday’s final public reply day) but each of Rogers…
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CCTS Annual Report shows troubling trends
OTTAWA – Just over a month after the telecom industry was raked over the coals for their sales practices by the CRTC, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) released its annual report showing such complaints about wireless, broadband, telecom and TV carriers are on the rise.
Today, the CCTS reported a 57% increase in the number of complaints received during its 2017-18 year (ended July 31st) from Canadian telecom and TV customers, following an 11% increase the prior year. Canadians complained most often about non-disclosure of information, which accounts for almost 15%…
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“THE WORST ENEMY of a regulatory lawyer is the marketing guy,” said Willie Grieve to me during a break at a hearing once. Perplexed, as a new CRTC communications person at the time, I said, “How so?”
“At the beginning, marketing guys come to you asking: Can I do this promotion? And we always say no. So, they stop coming and I get in trouble,” he added, and he walked away.
Those were the days when incumbents telephone companies were not allowed to lower their rates, in order to give a chance to competitors, even for promotions (the bread and butter…
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MONTREAL – Telus has sold its managed web services activities to Alithya, a Quebec-based information technology and consulting service provider with offices in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
The transaction, which closed November 1st, includes the transfer of all customers of Telus Managed Web Services as well as the transition of a small group of employees to Alithya's existing web team. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We are very excited to acquire the Managed Web Services business from Telus and to welcome the Web experts who have made this service evolve and shine in recent years," said…
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But interim ruling means squabble not over yet
OTTAWA – Noting that the issue of calls not being completed must be addressed in “an expeditious manner”, the CRTC Friday waded into the dispute between Telus and Iristel over failed phones calls to the North.
Specifically, the Commission approved, in part, interim relief request from both companies. Telus was ordered to ensure that calls to Iristel’s users with in the 867 numbering plan area (NPA), or calls that transit through TCI’s network and terminate on Iristel’s network in that NPA, reach Iristel’s network within 10 days of the decision (by Monday, December…
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