The Canadian telecommunications sector experienced a 3.5-per-cent increase in total revenues in 2022, similar to the 3.4-per-cent growth achieved in 2021 and a clear progression from the sector’s revenue decline in the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic year, according to the CRTC’s Communications Market Report (CMR) for calendar year 2022, released Tuesday.
Telecom revenues totalled $57.2 billion in 2022, primarily driven by the almost $1.7-billion increase in mobile revenues, which represents a 5.7-per-cent increase over 2021, according to the report. Mobile service revenues grew to $30.9 billion in 2022 from $29.2 billion in 2021. This was mostly due…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell wants the CRTC to defer to the Federal Court of Appeal to determine whether the regulator has jurisdiction over small cell attachments on telco-owned or controlled structures – or, in the alternative, separate that question from the rest of its proceeding on the matter.
The telco filed a Part 1 application Tuesday challenging the CRTC’s preliminary view on which it launched a proceeding earlier this month that it has concurrent jurisdiction with Innovation Canada (ISED) over the wireless attachments crucial for 5G technology. Bell has always argued that ISED, which manages spectrum auctions required…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A senior official from the Competition Bureau told members of Parliament on Monday that the watchdog is pleased with a proposed amendment to the Competition Tribunal Act that would shield it from cost awards except in limited circumstances, after it was forced to pay $12.9 million after challenging Rogers’s proposed acquisition of Shaw.
A proposed amendment in Bill C-59, which is one of two pieces of legislation to overhaul Canada’s competition rules, would limit the scope by which the Competition Tribunal can force the law enforcement agency to compensate private parties in the event it…
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Cisco and Telus announced Monday they are launching new 5G capabilities in North America to serve IoT use cases across industry verticals, with a focus on connected cars.
“The network will serve as a foundation to support drive testing by a major North American automotive manufacturer’s 5G Connected Car, while setting the stage for enhanced experiences for customers and revenue opportunities for carmakers,” says an announcement made by Cisco at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The name of the car manufacturer was not revealed in the press release. However, Telus and General Motors Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor executives said Thursday that they’ve been okay with forgoing revenue in a strategy to capture customers, which includes lower prices and competitive international roaming packages on the road toward bundled home internet with its newly acquired Freedom brand.
Freedom last year introduced a $50 “unlimited” talk and text plan with 40 GB of LTE data that can be used across Canada and the United States. It later launched a $65 global roaming plan that covers 73 destinations.
Hugues Simard, Quebecor chief financial officer, acknowledged the loss of revenue there but said the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco is warning the CRTC that an application by TekSavvy requesting that the cableco be forced to maintain its coax facilities or else provide aggregated last mile fibre access so it can maintain connectivity to its customers at locations in Burlington and Windsor is offside.
TekSavvy filed the Part 1 application last month warning that its customers at those locations will lose access if Cogeco continues its migration away from older coax technology and toward fibre, alleging that the only means for the wholesaler to get fibre access from a cable company is through the disaggregated regime…
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Telus said Tuesday it is looking for tech enthusiasts and environmentally conscious Canadians to join its Telus SmartHome+ Beta program that it said will help shape future smart home technology.
Participants in the beta program will get an exclusive look at Telus’s new SmartEnergy product, “an innovative, first of its kind product in Canada that enables customers to save on their energy bills,” according to an emailed announcement.
“Participants will also get early access to our new Home View smart camera plan, which uses AI technology to detect and differentiate between various…
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Telus, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday they are teaming up to create North America’s first virtual roaming gateway, improving reliability, speed and latency for customers travelling abroad.
“Traditionally, roaming traffic (voice, data, and SMS) is routed through the provider’s home country, resulting in slower speeds for customers. With this revolutionary new approach, TELUS is able to house their network within AWS Regions worldwide, using virtualized roaming gateways,” a Telus press release explains. “This means that traffic no longer needs to go through Canada, but will be routed directly to the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The commission should not fear threats of lower investment in incumbent networks when it comes to set wholesale internet rates, the benefits of which will allow independent service providers to build their own networks, the CRTC heard on the final day of its wholesale internet hearing.
The CRTC has been wrangling during the week-long hearing over the question of what the sweet spot is for a rate on which independent internet service providers can lease capacity from the incumbents’ networks. Adam Scott, the CRTC’s vice chair of telecommunications, referred to the risk of the commission falling on either…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Telus’s proposal to ride on its competitors’ internet networks outside of its home territory would be destructive to facilities-based competition and would create an existential crisis for regional wholesalers, two prominent cable companies told the CRTC on Thursday.
Representatives from Telus said Wednesday that the Vancouver-based telecom should be able to wholesale internet capacity from competitor networks to drive diversity of choice and competition, or the regime would be “useless.” The telco also pushed back against claims that it is a national incumbent, instead saying that its preferred status would be a regional player that’s a new…
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