GATINEAU – Despite receiving a request from Rogers Communications to extend the final comment date of the CRTC’s wireless policy review proceeding by another two weeks (which was widely supported by other parties), the Commission decided to stick with the July 15th deadline.
That deadline, of course, was already a months-long extension enacted due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the companies’ and Commission’s operations.
On June 25th, Rogers Communications filed a request to extend the date by two more weeks. Bell Mobility, Videotron, TbayTel, the Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic and OpenMedia supported the request, while…
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By Bram Abramson
A RARE CRTC DECISION on the appeal of a “notice to produce”, compelling Hydro-Québec to produce the personal information associated with 10 service addresses, has shed further light on how the Commission will use the information-gathering powers of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) when dealing with intermediary service providers.
Compliance and Enforcement Decision CRTC 2020-196, issued on June 18 against Hydro-Québec, echoes a similar 2016 decision in the Royal Bank of Canada’s appeal of a third-party notice to produce. The Hydro-Québec decision interprets the CRTC’s CASL information-gathering authority largely in terms of whether the information compelled by…
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By Greg O’Brien
WHILE SOME PRO SPORTS have returned to play, like the English Premier League, the PGA, NASCAR and others, new and growing outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus in the U.S. threatens the return of the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball, each currently planning for a July start or re-start.
If marquee North American pro sports don’t come back to TV soon, as planned, there may be permanent effects on the pay-TV bundle and the overall value of the TV rights, says a recent report from Scotiabank’s media and telecom analyst Jeff Fan.
There are between 8 million and 9…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – During one of the CRTC’s most anticipated hearings earlier this year, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle appeared before the Commission reviewing impending changes to the wireless industry and warned mandating new entrants without facilities to ride on the networks of the incumbents would mean many jobs lost, philanthropic spending slashed and reductions in investments.
It was a defining moment during the hearing. Drawing the attention of national media and critics on social media, it encompassed for some the realities of the competitive delicacy of the industry; for others, it was viewed as a baseless threat…
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REGINA — Saskatchewan will likely rule out using Huawei equipment in provincially-owned SaskTel’s 5G network, according to the minister responsible for the Crown Corporation, in a report by the Regina Leader-Post.
Minister Don Morgan is quoted as saying the provincial government will look at other vendors, specifically Nokia and Ericsson, although a decision has not been made yet.
Bell and Telus announced recently they are using equipment from those two suppliers for their 5G networks, and Morgan says it’s important to be aligned with the other carriers’ moves.
Like Bell and Telus, SaskTel’s current 4G network uses equipment from Huawei.
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OTTAWA — The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has provided updated data about the changes in traffic volumes and usage patterns that have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its most recent report, released Friday, looks at wireless and wireline traffic volumes through the month of May, as some regions of Canada began to loosen restrictions on the mobility of citizens and the reopening of some businesses. (The CWTA’s previous report looked at traffic volumes in March and April.)
Among the data highlights of the new CWTA report, Managing Networks in Unprecedented Times – Part 2, are the following:
Wireline…
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ESPOO, Finland — Wireless network equipment maker Nokia announced Monday it is collaborating with semiconductor designer Broadcom to develop new custom system-on-chip (SoC) processors which will be integrated into Nokia’s “5G Powered by ReefShark” chipset portfolio.
The new SoC solutions will utilize Nokia’s wireless technology and Broadcom’s expertise in application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technologies. The collaboration further expands the range of Nokia ReefShark chipsets available for 5G solutions and will improve both the system performance and energy footprint of 5G networks, says the news release.
These new chipsets are designed to be deployed in several building blocks of Nokia’s AirScale…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada today announced the launch of its 5G wireless network, now available in Montreal, the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Bell’s initial 5G service, riding on its AWS-3 spectrum (in the 1755-1780 MHz and 2155 to 2180 MHz range), will expand to more centres across the country “as the next-generation wireless technology grows in speed and capacity,” says its press release.
The promise of 5G is great (virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, connected vehicles, smart cities and enhanced rural access, and many IoT opportunities for business and government, says the Bell press…
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Says change disproportionately impacts their customers
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – Third party internet service provider TekSavvy, along with the Competitive Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), said in complaints to the CRTC that a change to Rogers’ network management practices that would constrain some users’ internet usage during the Covid-19 pandemic would disproportionately affect subscribers of wholesale service providers.
Rogers submitted an application to the CRTC in May revising its access tariff to include a section outlining the company’s ability to apply internet traffic management practices (ITMP). “During these periods, any end-user whose disproportionate consumption of shared resources required for internet service is…
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By Greg O’Brien
OTTAWA – No one likes delay, especially when it comes to the auction of the wireless spectrum which will drive the primary advantages of 5G wireless technology.
Canadian wireless companies have been clamouring for access to 3500 MHz (3.5 GHz if you prefer) because the mid-band spectrum will deliver the speed and low latency so key to 5G’s future and all were anxious to get to this December’s auction and hit the gas on the next generation of wireless.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
While company CEOs like Joe Natale (Rogers), Mirko Bibic (Bell), Darren Entwistle (Telus), and…
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