TORONTO – Once fully deployed, the move to 5G wireless will fundamentally change how we live in Canada, but when and how that will happen is still open to much debate. That’s the message from a panel of telecom executives who gathered on Tuesday at the 2018 Telecom Summit in Toronto to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the next wireless revolution.
In time, 5G will power self-driving cars, but for now it’s the federal government that is driving the 5G show in Canada and it’s taking the slow lane when it comes to releasing spectrum. While Rogers, Telus, Shaw…
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TORONTO—Network innovation is not only a tough thing for service providers to carry out, it also means very different things to different people.
That certainly seemed to be the case here Monday during the first day of the Canadian Telecom Summit at the Toronto Congress Centre. In a late afternoon panel focusing on how service providers can transform their delivery networks, four leading telecom executives described network innovation in distinctly different ways and often spelled out distinctly different ways for making it happen.
Take James Buchanan, SVP and GM of Ensemble at ADVA Optical Networking. For Buchanan, network innovation calls for…
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OTTAWA – The federal government today officially launched its promised review of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts with a seven member panel of thinkers and experts who will also look at updating the Radiocommunications Act.
(So, it's not just Joly's panel, as we had surmised earlier...)
“New technology, like streaming services, has changed the way that Canadians connect with each other, do business and discover, access and consume content. Now more than ever, Canadians go online. To keep up with these changes we must modernize our legislative framework so that Canadian artists, artisans, businesses, consumers and broadcasters…
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TORONTO – It was a stark slide which showed a big red “X” beside Canada.
Ibrahim Gedeon (pictured), the outspoken chief technology officer of Telus, noted during his keynote presentation at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto Monday morning that Canada is behind other countries when it comes to the spectrum upon which much of the world will soon be deploying 5G.
In a speech where he reminded the crowd the first inkling of what 5G might be was dreamed up at a gathering of wireless CTOs in Vancouver in 2013, Canada is now behind many other countries in making spectrum…
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TORONTO – Telus is expanding its Mobility for Good program to Ontario, offering youth transitioning from foster care a free smartphone and fully subsidized plan for two years.
Thanks to a new collaboration between Telus and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada (CAFC), the program will help up to 7,200 Ontario youth to stay connected with friends, potential employers and peers, helping to prevent social isolation during a vulnerable stage of their lives as they transition to independent living.
Qualifying young people will receive a smartphone and mobile plan including unlimited nationwide talk and text and up to 3GB of monthly data…
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TORONTO – MAVTV Motorsports Network is now available to all Telus Optik TV customers on channel 962.
MAVTV offers exclusive motorsports such as the Chili Bowl, The AMA Pro Motocross series, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and NHRA Drag Racing, as well as automotive reality and custom build shows.
“This is a great moment for MAVTV Canada to get our channel on Optik TV, our live races and exclusive programming keeps heating up each month with June being no exception with six live races revved and ready” said Mike Garrow, president of MAVTV Canada, in the news release.
MAVTV Canada is operated by…
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NORTH VANCOUVER – Telus will invest $45 million to connect more than 90% of homes and businesses in the District of North Vancouver directly to its fibre optic network.
The gigabit-enabled Telus PureFibre network will enable connected residents to immediately take advantage of dramatically faster Internet speeds of up to 150 Mbps, while businesses, schools, healthcare providers, and other institutions can access even more speed and capacity, reads the news release. The network offers symmetrical service, meaning that customers can upload just as fast as they download.
Construction work is currently underway, and Telus said that it anticipates connecting the majority of homes and…
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TORONTO – While Canadians opt for online shopping for many purchases, nearly two-thirds (63%) of customers who have purchased a wireless device over the past six months did it in a physical store, according to a new J.D. Power report.
The 2018 Canada Wireless Purchase Experience Study examines wireless carriers’ performance across sales-related activities in stores, over the phone, and online. Satisfaction is measured in six factors: store representative; online purchase; phone purchase; facility; offerings and promotions; and cost of service. Fielded in February-March 2018, the study is based on responses from 3,605 wireless customers with a postpaid plan from…
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NATASHQUAN, QC – Telus will bring improved broadband and cellular service to the Basse-Côte-Nord (Lower North Shore) region of Quebec thanks to $22.1 million from the federal and provincial governments.
Under the Société du Plan Nord and the Connect to Innovate program, the Quebec and federal governments will each contribute $11.05 million and Telus will invest $1.2 million to improve access to high-speed Internet and establish cellular service for the first time in the region.
The current Basse-Côte-Nord region telecommunications network serves 14 communities spread over nearly 400 km, and the upgrade will increase the data transmission capacity of the current…
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OTTAWA – On Friday afternoon the federal government announced six companies won spectrum in the most recent wireless auction held to sell off residual blocks not claimed in prior auctions.
Blocks in the 700 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and PCS G-bands were auctioned for a total of $43.4 million.
Click here for the licenses won and regions they are located.
“Approximately 94 percent of the allocated spectrum licences went to regional providers and small companies,” said the press release from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada. Ecotel, Cogeco, Xplornet, Iris, Freedom and Telus…
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