Freedom Mobile on Tuesday announced it is introducing a refreshed suite of Total Freedom plans offering coast-to-coast coverage across Canada, plus international roaming in 120-plus global destinations included at no additional cost.
“These plans will include monthly recurring Roam Beyond data, expanding the value proposition far beyond Canada-U.S.-Mexico use,” said a Freedom press release. “By embedding international roaming into wireless monthly rate plans, Freedom removes the unpredictability and financial burden typically associated with other international roaming options — a longstanding pain point for consumers.”
The new unlimited talk-and-text Total Freedom…
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Videotron last week announced it has selected Samsung to upgrade its network infrastructure with Samsung’s 5G non-standalone (NSA) and 4G LTE core gateway solution.
This core network collaboration builds on the companies’ radio access network (RAN) partnership that began in 2019.
Under the expanded partnership, Samsung will deliver a comprehensive, turnkey solution leveraging its cloud-native 5G and 4G core on Dell PowerEdge servers with AMD EPYC 9005 Server CPUs and Red Hat OpenShift, a hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes.
According to a Videotron press release, key highlights…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The country’s largest telecoms are challenging a decision by Quebec’s highest court allowing a proposed class of plaintiffs to seek punitive damages for device unlocking fees.
Rogers, Bell, Telus and Quebecor are asking the Supreme Court of Canada this week to review the December decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which stems from a Fido (Rogers) customer being charged what she called an “abusive” $50 plus tax to unlock her device before going on an overseas trip in 2016.
The telecoms allege the Quebec Court of Appeal incorrectly interpreted parts of the province’s Consumer Protection…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Service providers making under $25 million in revenue will not have to contribute to the National Contribution Fund (NCF) or pay annual telecom fees, the CRTC ruled Wednesday.
The regulator bumped up the threshold from $10 million of previous year’s revenues to $25 million for such fees, striking a balance, it said, between relieving an administrative and financial burden on smaller providers and only slightly increasing – by less than one per cent – the amounts to be paid by the rest of the pool to the NCF, which funds the regulator’s flagship Broadband Fund program.
Because the threshold…
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CBC announced Tuesday the greenlight of six new and returning original kids series from Canadian creators and producers, including three new preschool series, a live-action series and an animated series for school-aged children, and a third season of Murdoch Mysteries tween spinoff Macy Murdoch.
“Preschoolers and school-aged children will be delighted by the iconic characters and stunning animation in these highly creative shows that will not only entertain but also spark curiosity in kids across Canada,” Sally Catto, general manager of entertainment, factual and sports at CBC, said in a press release. “We are proud to continue…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell has filed a Part 1 application, made public Friday, requesting an urgent order from the CRTC to, within two weeks, force Telus to make available adequate systems to launch its internet services in western Canada.
The urgent interim relief application follows an interim decision by the CRTC on February 5 requiring Bell to rollback updates to its systems that Telus had alleged was making Bell’s wholesale fibre systems unworkable as of January 14. Bell had alleged in response to Telus’s complaint that the Vancouver-based telecom had itself been doing what…
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Entwistle says he looks forward to ‘new things’ with next leadership
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus announced Thursday that long-time president and CEO Darren Entwistle will retire June 30 after a succession process selected board member and former CIBC chief Victor Dodig to replace him.
Entwistle will also step down from the board but will stay on as advisor available to the new head until April 30, 2027. He will also be designated as CEO Emeritus.
Entwistle, who was awarded the Order of Canada in 2018, had spent 26 years at the helm of the Vancouver-based telecom. He was Continue Reading
The CRTC on Wednesday directed Bell and Telus to each provide Quebecor and Rogers with a list of all of the locations where their FTTP services are available by March 13 and after concluding reasonable non-disclosure agreements with the parties.
This decision approves a September 2024 application from Quebecor that asked the CRTC to tell legacy telcos to disclose their lists of FTTP locations in full to Quebecor, after each of the incumbents allegedly informed Quebecor they were willing to disclose their FTTP locations in Quebec if Quebecor identified its own wireline incumbent footprint in…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers wants the CRTC to revisit an October decision approving a tariff that would force the cable giant to go through Telus to get compensated for moving its transmission lines at the behest of government entities, claiming that this would drastically reduce the amount third parties get for relocation.
Being forced to go through Telus to get compensated for moving its transmission lines – as opposed to directly negotiating with the government – will mean being undercompensated because Telus can only negotiate with the government the cost of moving its own transmission lines and not those of third-party…
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Telus announced last week it has achieved its target of sourcing 100 per cent of electricity for its global operations from renewable or low-emitting sources as of Dec. 31, 2025.
The Vancouver-based telecom said in a Feb. 6 press release it is the first Canadian telecom to achieve this goal.
Building on this milestone, Telus unveiled its new Climate Transition Framework, which it says is “a comprehensive roadmap to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040 while helping to enable Canada’s own transition to a low-carbon economy.”
The…
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