TORONTO and MONTREAL – Disney Channel and La chaîne Disney officially arrived in Canada this week.
Corus Entertainment said that the channels are available in most markets now, and will be available in 10 million households by Thursday via distribution partners Bell Aliant, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, CCSA members including Eastlink and Access, Cogeco Cable Canada, MTS, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus and Videotron. SaskTel customers will have access to the new service in the coming weeks.
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family-inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Telus has bulked up on AWS-3 spectrum, paying more than $58 million for six licences (two each in the G, H, and I bands) covering Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Industry Canada’s auction of the left-over airwaves. This continues a trend for the Western-based telecommunications company, which secured the rights to 15 licences for more than $1.5 billion earlier this year when the bandwidth was first up for grabs.
With this auction now completed, Telus now has 21 AWS-3 spectrum licences covering all major regions of the country. (For more on the initial AWS-3 auction, read…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Telus has extended its new suite of cloud-based communications tools to small businesses in Quebec.
Known as Connexion Affaires de Telus, the company launched the same services in English-language Canada, called Telus Business Connect, in March. As Cartt.ca reported, the service includes local and toll-free numbers, an automated attendant and call routing, unlimited Canadian and U.S. calling, audio and video conferencing, plus wireless back-up for office internet access.
For employees on the go, the solution offers a single number that can be used across a mobile phone, tablet, IP desk phone or PC, as well as mobile apps that help them…
Continue Reading
ELLIOT LAKE, ON – Two consumer groups want the CRTC to overturn a previous decision that they say “sanctioned” a Telus policy, one that in turn highlights “a major flaw” in the Wireless Code.
The DiversityCanada Foundation and the National Pensioners Federation filed an application with the Commission this week that seeks to review and vary Telecom Decision CRTC 2015-211, which denied a previous application by the groups claiming that Telus made a material change to customer contracts without consent when applying its Large Prepaid Balance Policy.
Under that policy, a Telus prepaid customer who has accumulated an account balance…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Stingray Digital Group has received a five year renewal of its broadcasting licence from the CRTC for its national pay audio service Stingray Music.
Under the terms of the renewal, Stingray will contribute each year a minimum of 4% of the annual gross revenues earned by its pay audio programming undertaking to eligible third parties associated with Canadian content development allocated as follows:
– 25% to FACTOR;
– 25% to MUSICACTION,
– 5% to Community Radio Fund of Canada and;
– 45% to Stingray Music Rising Star to discover, encourage and promote new Canadian artists.
"We are pleased by with the CRTC's…
Continue Reading
OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, the Canadian government’s ambitious Canada’s Wireless Policy took great steps from being a strategy to becoming a reality. The amount of spectrum made available to mobile wireless operators (and to fixed wireless operators) increased significantly, as Industry Canada delivered three auctions (700 MHz in March 2014, AWS-3 in March 2015 and 2500 MHz in April 2015) and is getting ready for a fourth one, scheduled in August 2015.
August 2015: Industry Canada’s residual auction
Industry Canada is holding its third auction in 2015 – a sealed-bid auction for “Residual Spectrum Licences in the 700 MHz and…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canada’s publicly traded television service providers combined lost almost six times more TV subscribers in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, and almost double what they lost in all of 2014, according to new research released Wednesday.
Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services also found that BCE, Rogers, Shaw/Shaw Direct, Vidéotron, Cogeco, Telus, and MTS (IPTV subscribers only) combined lost approximately 113,700 TV subscribers in their respective fiscal 2015 first and second quarters, up significantly from the 19,200 lost in the same quarters in 2014, and almost double…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has announced that Teletoon Retro will cease to exist as of September 1st.
The company's Cartoon Network Canada will be shifted into its place for those TV providers who don’t already carry that channel, two carrier sources have told Cartt.ca. Both sources asked not to be named as they do not have permission to speak publicly on the matter but have been told by Corus representatives that is the plan.
While some had assumed that the channel would be rebranded as a Disney service, since Corus now owns the rights to that programming going forward and will…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER – This is a surprise.
Telus announced this morning that Joe Natale is stepping down as president and CEO. The move “follows an extensive review” by the company’s board that concluded late Friday, reads this morning’s press release.
Natale “recently indicated that a move to Western Canada would not work for him and his family for several years and the board determined that the company would be best served by having its chief executive officer reside in the west,” continues the press release.
“Mr. Natale has agreed to serve in an executive, non-board capacity through year-end to ensure a smooth leadership transition….
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER — Telus reported strong consolidated revenue growth in the second quarter of 2015 as a result of higher data revenue in both its wireless and wireline businesses.
Overall, the company’s consolidated operating revenue grew 5.1% to $3.1 billion in the second quarter of 2015, compared to revenue of $2.95 billion in Q2 2014. Wireless network revenues increased by $90 million or 6.1% to $1.57 billion in the second quarter of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. This growth was driven by an 18% increase in wireless data revenue in the second quarter.
On the wireline side of the…
Continue Reading
