OTTAWA – The phrase ‘you win some, you lose some’ rang true this week for Sun News Network after it won one application for final offer arbitration with Telus, but lost another such application with Rogers.
In final offer arbitration, the Commission examines the final offers submitted by the parties and selects one in its entirety. The Commission’s decision is binding on the parties, though in rare instances, where neither offer is in the public interest, the Commission may reject both offers.
In its decision between Sun News Network (SNN) and Telus, the Commission said that it considered rates paid by…
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TORONTO – There’s only a few weeks left to register for the Canadian Wireless Trade Show scheduled for October 29-30 at the Toronto Congress Centre in Toronto.
Now in its fourth year, the B2B tech, telecom, and wireless networking event will feature over 100 exhibitors and last year attracted over 2,500 attendees. This year’s lineup of live talks includes Telus’ Sachin Mahajan on ‘M2M and the Art of of the Possible’ and Samsung Canada’s Paul Brannen on ‘Mobile Trends Changing the Role of the CIO’, in addition to presentations from representatives of Public Mobile, Best Buy and Visa.
Registration and parking is free.
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable could add wireless service to its mix as the country’s newest Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), a move that it said will help foster wireless competition in a market dominated by incumbent providers.
In advance of its appearance Monday at the CRTC’s review of wholesale mobile wireless services, Cogeco said in a statement that it will seek “the implementation of appropriate regulatory measures to allow it to enter the wireless market as an MVNO to offer customers more choice, better value and differentiated wireless services”. MVNOs are mobile wireless service providers that lease capacity from facilities-based wireless…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – With wireless service networks now accessible to 99% of the population, more and more Canadian households are dropping their landlines, according to the 2014 edition of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report.
The report, released Thursday, provides an overview of the Canadian communication industry for the year ended August 31, 2013. This year, the CRTC is releasing the report in three parts. The first, about the country’s broadcasting sector, was released earlier this month, and the third part will be released in October with data on international comparisons, the National Do Not Call List and consumer spending on…
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TORONTO – BlackBerry executive chairman and CEO John Chen paraphrased a line from a popular Huey Lewis and the News song Wednesday while showing off the company’s new Passport smartphone. “It’s cool to be square”, he laughed, in reference to the device’s unique, square-shaped touch screen.
At ease on stage during the splashy event held at a sports bar in downtown Toronto, Chen cracked jokes and played up his love for Canada, calling Passport’s launch the start of “a great Canadian comeback story”. Even Canadian icon Wayne Gretzky was on-hand to praise the company and the new device. “I have…
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VANCOUVER – Telus and Vancouver-based Mojio announced a partnership Tuesday that will bring connected-car technology to Canadians later this year.
Connected cars are touted as the next big thing for consumers when it comes to Internet of Things (IoT) technology. While this technology will one day be the norm in new vehicles, Telus and Mojio will allow Canadians to turn their existing cars into smart connected cars now.
As a cloud-connected device for the car and an app for the smartphone, Mojio includes a small cellular device that plugs into a car’s onboard diagnostics port and connects to the Internet via…
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NEW YORK – PC Mag said that it has awarded a tie to Bell and Rogers for the title of fastest mobile network in Canada.
Its second annual test of Canadian wireless service, published Monday, the on-line magazine said that both companies “could really teach U.S. carriers how to build urban LTE networks”. With a focus on speed and reliability and its results weighted for population, the test found that Rogers' LTE network had blazing download speeds for large files, and Bell's network had superior upload speeds and often better webpage download times.
While noting that Telus appeared to have some…
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VANCOUVER – Telus has added more than 50 CTV programs to its Optik TV lineup, making the likes of Amazing Race Canada, The Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy and new shows such as Gotham and Forever available on demand and on the go.
Viewers can watch full episodes on demand and live stream programs whenever and wherever they are, either at home through their Optik TV digital box or on the move on their smartphone or tablet by accessing Optik's on the go app. Optik TV subscribers can also access live and on demand programming including CTV and CTV Two's complete schedules…
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GATINEAU – Independent ISP TekSavvy Solutions told the CRTC Tuesday it would love to become a broadcast distributor because that’s what its customers are asking, but added it can’t enter the game at the moment because the cost of bandwidth is simply too high.
According to a study from Nordicity, the bandwidth costs for the ISP to provide basic service would come to $80 if networked PVR capability was included. “That’s just the bandwidth – before we pay for content or anything else,” said TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault in his opening remarks to the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing.
He…
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TORONTO – Tony Lacavera found the investors he needed.
Back in June, the chairman and CEO of Wind spent considerable time in public campaigning almost like a politician, singing the growing wireless company’s praises (including at the Canadian Telecom Summit, pictured), noting if he had some finances behind him and if the federal government made a few changes, he just might be able to make a go of being a fourth national wireless company after all.
Since then, Lacavera has been pounding the pavement in search of that capital and today the company…
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