TORONTO — The Canadian Telecom Summit — which will be held as a hybrid event from Nov. 15 to 17 — will feature Robert Ghiz, president and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, as one of its keynote speakers, event organizers announced today.
Ghiz (above) will address attendees on Tuesday, Nov. 16 from 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET.
His keynote will be followed by the Canadian Telecom Summit’s “regulatory blockbuster” panel (from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET), with confirmed participants including: Geoff White, executive director of Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC); Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory…
Continue Reading
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In a letter sent to François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (IC), on August 13, Videotron CEO, Pierre-Karl Péladeau responded to claims made by Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) CEO Mirko Bibic in an interview on BNN Bloomberg (owned by BCE) that Videotron should not have been eligible to bid on set-aside wireless spectrum in the 3500 MHz auction, the results of which were announced on July 29.
IC set aside portions of spectrum in the last few auctions that the larger wireless players (Bell, Telus and Rogers) could not bid on, to try…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA — Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and Minister of Seniors Deb Schulte today announced the second phase of the Connecting Families program, which they say will help hundreds of thousands of low-income seniors and families access affordable high-speed home Internet in 2022.
The so-called Connecting Families 2.0 program marks the first time low-income seniors will be included in the program. It also introduces faster speeds and increases the data usage amount available in Internet plans being offered by participating Internet service providers, which include Access Communications, Bell Canada, Cogeco, CSUR, Hay Communications, Mornington, Novus, Rogers, SaskTel,…
Continue Reading
Telus to connect over 2,000 households
OTTAWA – The Canadian federal government and the Province of British Columbia announced last Friday over $17.3 million in funding to bring high-speed Internet to over 2,000 households in rural BC.
The funding will cover four projects, and will provide service to households “in Cariboo regional district and in Indigenous communities of the Thompson-Nicola district in rural British Columbia,” according to a press release.
A spokesperson from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) confirmed via email to Cartt.ca the federal government is contributing just over $8.7 million, which is a little over half of…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The Competition Bureau announced today it has obtained court orders to compel Xplornet, Bell, Telus and Quebecor to produce documents relevant to its review of the proposed acquisition of Shaw by Rogers.
The Competition Bureau filed its request for the documents with the Federal Court of Canada on July 22 and the orders were granted on July 26 and August 1. They require the four telecoms “to produce records and written information related to mobile wireless services that are relevant to the Bureau’s investigation,” according to a press release.
The Bureau is currently investigating the proposed…
Continue Reading
Includes $20.5 million from CRTC Broadband Fund and $41 million from UBF and CTI program; plus more construction announced for SWIFT projects
GATINEAU, OTTAWA, MANITOBA and SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO — The CRTC and the federal and Ontario governments all made separate announcements today about government-funded projects to improve Internet access or mobile wireless services in rural communities across the country.
The CRTC announced 10 projects will receive up to $20.5 million in funding from the Commission’s Broadband Fund, which will potentially benefit 3,625 households in 46 communities, including 16 Indigenous communities, in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and…
Continue Reading
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — Staples Canada announced today it has introduced wireless services at 15 stores in southern Ontario in partnership with mobile carriers Rogers and Telus.
The new wireless services, operating under the name Staples Wireless, provide customers with access to the latest smartphones and accessories as well as customized group and individual plans from Rogers and its flanker brands Fido and Chatr, and Telus and its discount brands Koodo and Public Mobile.
“Small and medium businesses will benefit from this tailored approach, as Staples Wireless can help match communication and wireless needs to the right solutions and services, balancing…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — Nav Saini (above), formerly head of content acquisition at Bell Canada, has been hired by Amazon as head of Prime Video content for Canada, effective this month.
Prior to spending over four years leading Bell’s content acquisition strategy, Saini was director of content acquisition at Telus from 2012 to 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before joining Telus, Saini had worked as an associate director at Bell Canada, in the areas of content acquisition and content packaging/pricing strategy, starting in 2007.
Photo borrowed from Nav Saini’s LinkedIn profile.
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced today the provisional results of the 3500 MHz auction, which earned a total of $8.91 billion.
The auction began in June and concluded July 23. Winning bidders have until August 13 to submit 20% of their final payment and until October 4 to submit the remaining 80%. The money will be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund administered by the Receiver General of Canada, according to an ISED press release.
In total, 15 Canadian companies were awarded 1,495 licences, 757 of which went to small and regional players.
“Results of the…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC announced today it will not regulate access to fibre in-building wire (IBW) in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) across the country, stating it found “that access to fibre IBW is not an essential service.”
This decision was outlined in Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2021-239, which follows a public proceeding announced in December 2019.
The notice of consultation itself followed a series of decisions and statements on the issue of fibre IBW in MDUs starting in 2018 when Cloudwifi, an independent ISP, alleged Bell disconnected its customers at two Ontario properties where the company had been using Bell fibre…
Continue Reading
