OTTAWA – The CRTC’s seemingly willy-nilly approach to mete out non-compliance justice leaves a lot to be desired, according to a panel of experts at the Communications Law and Policy Conference at the University of Ottawa Friday.
Research from Dr. Genevieve Bonin, assistant professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Ottawa, highlighted the discussion. For one study, she examined nearly 300 commercial radio station licence renewals from 1997 to 2007 in which 101 resulted in renewal terms less than the maximum seven years because of non-compliance issues. In addition, Bonin also spoke with people involved in the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied an application by Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) challenging the early upgrade programs offered by Rogers and Telus.
The Commission said Thursday that the programs, known respectively as Rogers “Next” and Telus “T-Up”, do not violate the Wireless Code, as the two consumer groups alleged in their complaint filed in June 2014. Rather, the CRTC continued, the programs are consistent with the Wireless Code’s contract cancellation and extension rules, and are “examples of innovative plans and services that respond to the needs of consumers who value…
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TORONTO – Telus has added Fantasy Sports Network (FNTSY) to its Optik TV lineup, increasing FNTSY’s total availability in Canada to over 2 million homes.
FNTSY Sports Network, the first-ever channel dedicated to fantasy sports, will be available on free preview through August 31, 2015 on channel 921 in HD.
“With the latest launch of FNTSY Sports Network, Telus Optik TV subscribers in BC and Alberta now have access to cutting-edge fantasy sports content, in-depth analysis and more,” said Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., in the news release. “There is a great nationwide demand for innovative content among…
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OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal has rejected a complaint lodged by some of Canada’s biggest wireless service providers over a deadline date in the CRTC’s Wireless Code of Conduct.
In a decision issued Tuesday, Justice Denis Pelletier dismissed a challenge filed by Bell, Rogers, Telus, MTS and SaskTel over the June 3, 2015 final implementation date of the Code, referred to as “the drop-dead date”, whereby all existing wireless contracts fall subject to the Code.
Noting the high number of three-year wireless contracts that would not yet have matured by that date, the telcos claimed that they would be…
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TORONTO – Telus says Canadians should expect more from their telecom providers, and has launched a new platform to show that it’s putting its money where its mouth is.
Rolling out in two phases, the Expect More campaign first acknowledges consumers’ frustrations with the Canadian telecommunications industry, and then seeks to address those frustrations by demonstrating how Telus delivers more.
The campaign’s first TV spot, known as Scream, is airing now. The Vancouver-based telco also pledged to initiate and participate in more real-time conversations with consumers.
Anne-Marie LaBerge, Telus’ VP of brand and marketing communications, said in a blog post…
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TORONTO – SaskTel has once again ranked highest in wireless customer satisfaction for the fourth year in a row in a study by J.D. Power & Associates released Thursday.
According to the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study, many Canadian wireless carriers are modifying their customer service strategies as they brace for a surge of two-year and three-year contract expirations in June. Canadians’ satisfaction with wireless providers’ customer service heavily influences customer loyalty and carrier retention, the company continued, with timeliness, accessibility and online self-service tools helping to differentiate carriers from their competitors.
The 2015 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study is…
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TORONTO – Telus has invested in Canadian wellness engagement company Sprout in an effort to help boost its existing wellness and patient engagement initiatives.
Sprout works with companies and their workforces by providing technology-based tools that motivate employees to get fit and additional tools for leaders to manage and measure the positive impact to their business. The company said that Telus’ funding stake will allow it to expand the reach of its platform and grow its engineering, account management and customer success teams.
Telus Health also entered into a reseller arrangement with Sprout to promote the Sprout solution as part of…
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OTTAWA – “It’s a great day for broadband in rural Canada without a doubt.” That was Chris Johnston, executive VP of marketing at Xplornet Communications Inc., in an interview with Cartt.ca on Tuesday after the company won 42 licences in Industry Canada’s 2500 MHz spectrum auction.
With 25 MHz in 42 markets across the country, the broadband communications company will use the spectrum to rollout a near national fixed wireless LTE network, capable of providing rural Canadians with download speeds of 25 Mbps, the ability to stream HD, and all other manner of things consumers can…
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TORONTO – MTS has become the latest telco to offer their customers the option to pay for purchases with a tap of their mobile device.
According to EnStream, a mobile commerce joint venture company owned by Bell Mobility, Rogers and Telus, mobile payments are now supported by Bell, Rogers, Telus, MTS and SaskTel, who collectively provide service to over 94% of Canada's wireless subscribers. EnStream's platform acts as a hub, connecting multiple Canadian banks and mobile network operators, while securely delivering the credit, debit and pre-paid cards offered by financial institutions to wireless handsets, all while preserving each bank's direct relationship…
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OTTAWA – Wind Mobile’s hopes of securing spectrum in the 2500 MHz band to add to its meager holdings have been dashed, while Telus Corp. was able to secure 40 MHz of the valuable bandwidth in all regions of the country, according to results of the Industry Canada spectrum auction released on Tuesday.
The auction, which had officially ended on May 5, netted federal government coffers more than $755 million. There were 11 companies to begin the auction with nine of them winning licences. Of the 318 licences available, 302 of them were sold. In addition to Wind,…
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