MONTREAL – The federal government and CRTC should allow “competitive pressure” to spur the telecommunications industry’s investments in new broadband infrastructure, and not repeat the “mistakes" caused by intervening in the wireless sector, says a new report released Thursday by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).
“Critics who note that access to high-speed Internet is limited in some regions of Canada, or among less advantaged socioeconomic groups, invariably conclude that government intervention will be necessary to close the gap, but what they consider a market failure is actually just the normal course of technology adoption”, reads the 2016 edition of The State of Competition in…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is selling 35% of its international call centre and business process services subsidiary Telus International to an Asian private equity firm in a deal worth about $600 million.
Telus said Thursday that it will retain its 65% majority ownership position in Telus International, which it said is valued at $1.2 billion based on the price paid by Baring Private Equity Asia.
Launched in 2005, Telus International provides customer service, IT, and business process services to the telecommunications, utilities, high tech, gaming, finance, retail, e-commerce, travel and logistics, and health care sectors. It has more than 22,000…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Telecommunications service providers cannot charge for a service that is not, and cannot be, provided following a cancellation, the CRTC stressed Thursday.
The Commission made the comments after issuing two decisions relating to its prohibition of 30-day cancellation policies, a move designed to make it easier for consumers to switch service providers. In the first decision, the Commission denied a request by Telus to direct Shaw Communications to cease requiring the payment of liquidated damages when small business customers cancel retail local voice or Internet services before service installation work has begun.
Noting that Telus’ focus on a single service…
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TORONTO and OTTAWA – Telus will invest $62 million in new infrastructure and facilities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and $30.5 million in Ottawa, Hull and Gatineau this year, the company said Tuesday.
The investments, part of Telus’ pledge to spend $1 billion in Ontario through 2019, will increase wireless speeds and capacity, enhance high-speed Internet for businesses, and help to deliver better healthcare solutions.
Specifically, Telus said that it will build new wireless sites to add capacity and extend the reach of its wireless network throughout the province, while enhancing and extending LTE to more than 99% of Ontarians. …
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TORONTO – BCE’s proposed acquisition of MTS will not only contradict the previous government’s push for four wireless players in every market, it could open the door for further consolidation in the rest of the market.
Canaccord Genuity Corp. analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said approval of the $3.9 billion BCE/MTS deal would “set a significant precedent, as it would reduce Manitoba to a three-player wireless market from four.”
“As a result, we also believe that this would give Shaw a potential exit strategy in wireless should it decide to sell Wind”, he wrote in a client note Monday. “In addition, we…
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MONTREAL and WINNIPEG – BCE Inc. is buying Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) in a transaction valued at $3.9 billion, the companies announced early Monday.
The combined company's Manitoba operations will be known as Bell MTS, recognizing the power of the MTS brand in the province. Winnipeg becomes Western Canada headquarters for Bell and, with the addition of MTS's 2,700 employees, Bell's Western team grows to 6,900 people.
Bell pledged to invest $1 billion in capital throughout Manitoba after the transaction closes to extend the availability of its Gigabit Fibe Internet, rollout Fibe TV and expand its LTE wireless network. MTS' data…
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TORONTO – Telus’ Koodo Mobile ranks highest in wireless customer satisfaction, followed closely by Videotron and SaskTel, says an annual study by J.D. Power & Associates released Thursday.
According to the J.D. Power 2016 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study, customer service differentiation continues to be top of mind as wireless carriers face a maturing and potentially saturated market.
The study measures wireless customers’ perceptions of their carrier’s performance and is based on responses from more than 5,500 wireless customers collected in August – September 2015 (Wave 1) and March 2016 (Wave 2). Satisfaction is measured across four factors (listed in order of…
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TORONTO – Nearly half of Canadian businesses have no plans to implement Internet of Things technology, while the other half is ready to jump on board, says a new study commissioned by Telus.
The study, conducted by MARU/VCR&C, surveyed 506 IT decision makers from businesses across Canada in March 2016. It found that 52% of Canadian businesses are considering, planning, piloting or deploying an Internet of Things (IoT) solution, while 48% indicated that they have no plans to adopt the technology, with 64% of those respondents saying that there is no business need.
Nearly two-thirds of businesses who are in the…
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TORONTO – Connected smart home devices are well on their way to becoming as prevalent as smartphones and tablets in Canada, says a new study commissioned by Telus.
The study, conducted by MARU/VCR&C, found a significant gap between those that believe that smart home technology will benefit their lives (61%) and those who currently own a smart home device (34%). Some 63% of respondents said that that they will own at least one smart home device – such as a smart TV, thermostat, lighting, appliance, or entry and security system, by 2018, and half of those predicted that they will…
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PRINCE GEORGE and KITIMAT, B.C. – Telus has announced plans to invest $4.5 million in Prince George and $4 million in Kitmat to increase wireless and high-speed Internet capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand in those communities.
This significant investment is part of Telus’ commitment to invest $4.5 billion in British Columbia through 2019 to extend fibre optic infrastructure directly to thousands of homes and businesses in rural and urban communities, further strengthen wireless service, and support key services including healthcare and education with new technologies, the company said Tuesday.
By the end of 2019, Telus says that it will…
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