Telco phasing out prepaid plans on Bell brand by year-end
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell executives said Thursday that approximately 106,000 subscribers are affected by a ruling by the CRTC this summer that prohibits Bell customers from using the wholesale internet regime in its operating territory.
The regulator said in the August decision that large players and their affiliates cannot lease internet capacity from others in areas where they have their own networks. To avoid service disruptions, existing customers on the third-party internet access (TPIA) regime will be able to continue to receive service but they cannot change speed plans…
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By Ahmad Hathout
On federal cabinet urging, the CRTC is “working quickly” to launch a public consultation on whether Rogers, Bell and Telus should be banned from using the aggregated last-mile fibre regime in Ontario and Quebec, the regulator said in a statement to Cartt, a move that is being welcomed by competitors.
The minister of Industry, Francois Philippe-Champagne, made the recommendation to the CRTC on Wednesday. It was a partial win for Bell, which requested in its February petition for the cabinet to rescind or vary the regulator’s decision last year that mandated competitor access to its bundled middle- and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking Canada’s major telecommunications service providers to explain how their employees are informing customers about the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), after the regulatory said it found an unsatisfactory number of survey participants even knew it existed.
The regulator commissioned a survey by Nanos Research, which found only 2 per cent of participants who had an unresolved complaint were made aware of the organization by their service provider. The research was delivered in March.
“This finding is supported by consumer feedback data in the CCTS’s annual reports from 2015 to 2023, which shows…
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Telus said Thursday that its strategic investment arm is investing in two American health technology companies.
Telus Global Ventures is participating in two new equity funding rounds from Illinois-based Homethrive and Massachusetts-based Rhino Health. Telus’s investment is expected to assist Homethrive in scaling its services, which includes care coordination, healthcare navigation and emotional support for caregivers and recipients.
“The support of TELUS Global Ventures is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our reach and deepen the impact we have on caregivers and their loved ones,” Homethrive Co-CEO David Greenberg said in a release. “Their expertise in healthcare will help us…
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Telco says it did not receive any wholesale orders in Quebec
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus is asking the CRTC for a four-month extension to provide competitor access to its last-mile fibre network in British Columbia and Alberta.
The Vancouver-based telecom said in a review-and-vary application made public Wednesday that — after two months of work on the framework since the August decision mandated that access — “it will be impossible to implement an automated and reliable system” by the current deadline of February 13, 2025. It is asking for that to be extended to June 13.
“TELUS’ implementation work so far has made…
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Telus said Wednesday that the latest smartwatches from Apple and Samsung are now available through its retail locations.
The Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch7 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra are now available with the purchase of a separate SIM card for the devices.
Koodo is also introducing a new data plan for the smartwatches, called One Number 5GB, which provides said amount of data at 4G LTE speeds for $10 per month.
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Telus announced Monday that part of its fibre network will serve as the platform for British Columbia-based Photonic Inc. to test its next-generation quantum communications technology.
The telco will provide a 30-kilometre stretch of fibre network in B.C., “configured to test increasingly complex quantum networking that leverage quantum encryption for ultra-secure, tamper-evident transfer of information over long distances,” a press release says.
The fibre infrastructure will allow the Canadian startup to test and advance critical capabilities in quantum technology, including solving complex computation problems beyond today’s computers, such as for materials development and quantum key distribution, which lays the foundation for…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday set the interim rates competitors will pay large telephone companies to use their last-mile fibre network outside of Ontario and Quebec, while adjusting the existing rates for that access in those two provinces. The rates are being received with reception ranging from lukewarm to outright disappointment.
For all provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, the CRTC set Bell’s last-mile interim access rate – which competitors can lease with its middle-mile facilities – at $68.94 per month for between 3 Mbps to 1.5 Gbps and $78.03 for 1.5 Gbps to 3 Gbps. To bulk buy the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A television network that focuses on Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ communities wants the CRTC to broaden its distribution on basic television, or at least set a base wholesale fee for negotiations with distributors.
When the CRTC came to renew the licence for OUTtv in 2022, it granted the service in the English-language market must-offer status – requiring broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) to carry the channel but leaving it to the subscriber to pay for the service – instead of must-carry status with a guaranteed wholesale fee that is available to all subscribers of the BDU. That status will remain until…
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Telus announced Wednesday that it is partnering with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) to provide new immigrants with special offers on purchases of the telecom’s services through the ICC’s app Canoo.
Newcomers using the Canoo app will get exclusive access to discounts on Telus, Koodo, Public Mobile, and Mobile Klinik – and they won’t necessarily need a Canadian credit history, a press release said.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Canoo program to help newcomers start their journey in Canada with confidence through reliable, accessible solutions at TELUS,” said Chris Datta, Telus’s vice president of…
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