OTTAWA – To cap or not to cap, that is the burning question in comments to Industry Canada’s proposals for its upcoming auction of unassigned AWS-3 and 700 MHz band spectrum. This is an argument that has played out many times in previous spectrum auction consultations, only this time, one of the large incumbents has switched sides.
Both Bell Mobility and Telus argue that new competitors now have enough spectrum in their holdings resulting from the previous spectrum auctions.
“New competitors have now secured both low-band (700 MHz) and higher-band spectrum (AWS-1, AWS-3 and 2500 MHz). It is now…
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TORONTO – Amidst reports that Rogers and Telus are battling to acquire Mobilicity, the owners and employees of the struggling wireless provider said Monday that have made an offer to Industry Canada and the federal government to acquire Mobilicity’s current subscribers, dealers, and partial infrastructure by setting up a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) relationship with any potential acquirer.
Obelysk Inc., the holding company of Mobilicity founder John Bitove, issued a statement saying that it wants to maintain the Mobilicity brand in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa where it currently operates, retain its 155,000 subscribers and current dealer network of…
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EDMONTON – Telus is investing $1 billion in Edmonton to connect more than 90% of homes and businesses directly to its fibre optic network over the next six years, the company said Friday.
When the service is launched in Edmonton later this year, local residents and businesses will be able to take advantage of Internet speeds of up to 150 Mbps. There is no requirement to be a current Telus customer to be connected to the network, nor are there any conditions to purchase services once the network construction is complete, the company added.
“Our $1 billion investment in Edmonton will…
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OTTAWA – Despite a drop in prices for many high-volume talk, text and data plans, Canada’s mobile wireless prices once again rank among the highest when compared to other G7 countries and Australia, according to an annual report commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC.
Prepared by Ottawa’s Wall Communications, the 2015 edition of Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions is an annual telecom services price comparison study that combines and averages wireline, mobile wireless, broadband Internet, and mobile Internet service rates, as well as bundles of these services along with basic digital TV…
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THERE ARE TWO Canadian TV carriers who offer Netflix to their customers directly via their advanced television set top boxes: Cogeco Cable and Telus Optik TV.
After seeing a recent demo of Optik TV’s impressive capabilities and living with the Cogeco TiVo system for several months, it’s become impossible to imagine what all the other carriers could possibly be waiting for. Offering Netflix to existing customers this way is an utter slam dunk.
While my wife was once ambivalent about our cable subscription and asked repeatedly if it was worth what we pay, I’d have to move into my…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless carriers are being asked to turn over their Apple iPhone sales records as the Competition Bureau deepens its probe into alleged anti-competitive clauses in Apple Canada sales contracts.
According to a Toronto Star report on Tuesday, the Bureau filed applications with the Federal Court on Monday calling for data from carriers including Rogers, Bell and Telus.
As Cartt.ca reported, the Bureau filed a court application last December requiring Apple Canada Inc. to provide records and written returns of information relevant to the investigation. The Star report quoted an unnamed source that said the Bureau is dissatisfied with the…
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TORONTO – The emergence of a fourth national wireless player would cause a ripple within the wireless sector in Canada, but the risk to the country’s three incumbents may be overblown, says Canaccord Genuity.
In a report on Monday, research analyst Aravinda Galappatthige proposed and evaluated a potential facilities-based wireless new entrant model based on the combination of Wind Mobile Canada, Mobilicity and Videotron’s spectrum holdings outside of its home province. Dubbed Newco, the fictional wireless provider was assumed to cover British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, a model which combines Wind and Mobilicity’s existing 3G operations with Videotron’s AWS-1, AWS-3,…
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TORONTO – Telus is pulling the plug on its Black’s photography chain citing “technological innovations” that have changed the way that Canadians take and share photos.
According to a Toronto Star report on Tuesday, the closures will take effect August 8 and affect about 485 employees. The company said that it will try to find positions for them within Telus and Koodo.
Company spokeswoman Luiza Staniec said that Canadians are sharing their pictures on social media sites like Instagram and choosing cloud storage solutions instead of printing out pictures, a primary business at Black’s.
There were 113 Black’s locations in Canada when…
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VANCOUVER – Seeking to keep up with its rival Shaw, Telus is making free public Wi-Fi available at more than 8,000 hotspots across B.C. and Alberta.
Available to both Telus and non-Telus customers, the Wi-Fi network integrates with Telus' 4G wireless network, with Telus smartphones automatically establishing a secure connection to the #TELUSdirect network when they are in range. Non-Telus customers can connect to #TELUS through a splash page for the same service.
Telus said that it has been actively expanding its public Wi-Fi network since early 2014 to strategically select locations with high foot traffic and/or dwell times. Telus Wi-Fi is also…
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TORONTO – The industry must harden its wireless and broadband networks in Canada because good enough isn’t good enough anymore, a top Telus executive told Canadian Telecom Summit delegates this week.
“It was only 30 years ago that we deployed our first cellular networks in this country and about 25 years ago the internet, as we know it… were deployed,” said Telus chief technology officer Eros Spadotto. “At the time, these networks were the bleeding edge of technology, but perhaps ironically, they were deployed on a ‘best efforts basis.” That is, connectivity was not guaranteed.
Calls were (and still are) dropped…
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