TORONTO — With people practicing social distancing, businesses cutting hours and services, Canadians staying home to work or self-isolate while the stock markets slide in unprecedented fashion due to the effects of COVID-19, Scotiabank this week released an analysis of where it sees both negative and positive effects when it comes to the telecom and media spaces.
“Over the past week, the initial COVID-19 concerns have expanded dramatically from global device supply chain issues to an unprecedented level of domestic consumer and business disruptions. The equity sell-off in the sector has been indiscriminate,” reads the research note to investors from…
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OTTAWA — Through a partnership with several of Canada’s telecom providers, the federal government is reaching out to Canadians living or travelling abroad via text messages containing contact information for Global Affairs Canada consular support in response to the global COVID-19 outbreak. A sample of one is pictured below.
Beginning Wednesday, Rogers, Bell, Telus, Videotron, Freedom Mobile, Eastlink and SaskTel will be sending their subscribers currently living or travelling abroad text messages containing consular support information and key contact information.
“I am pleased that Canada’s telecommunications service providers have acted quickly to help Canadians as they take steps to answer the…
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TORONTO – It appears Corus Entertainment and a number of other Canadian broadcasters have made their Canadian specialty channels free to the customers of broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) in Canada until April 30th.
The companies have not put out a press release or made an announcement saying so, but carriers such as Rogers Communications, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel, Access Communications, Westman Communications and Quadro Communications have announced every one of Corus’ 28-plus channels (from Adult Swim to Food Network to History to YTV) are now free to all customers to watch while they hunker…
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WHILE THERE WILL surely be more announcements in the coming days, the broadband, telecom and TV industry is responding to the COVID-19 virus in a number of ways.
All have noted in emails their networks are up to the challenge of handling whatever increased traffic that might come from thousands of people working from home rather than the office. During a conference call with financial analysts Thursday discussing its 2019 fiscal fourth quarter, Vidéotron president Jean-Francois Pruneau said, when asked he is “not worried at all about the virus impact on consumption and network capacity.”
Then, on Friday, Vidéotron said it…
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OTTAWA —Canada’s publicly traded television service providers lost a new record number of traditional pay-TV subscribers in 2019, continuing the trend of accelerating TV cord-cutting in Canada, according to new research from Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services Inc.
The continued launch of new Internet streaming services and the growth of such services in Canada, a slowdown in the growth of IPTV, and continued record losses of subscribers of cable TV all contributed to a record cumulative loss by the big Canadian TV service providers of an estimated 278,000 TV subscribers in their respective 2019 fiscal periods…
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TORONTO — The 2020 Canadian Telecom Summit advisory board was announced Wednesday. CTS is scheduled to take place June 15-17 at the International Centre in Toronto.
The 2020 CTS advisory board members include:
Roger Perryman, special advisor and advisory board chair, Macgregor Communications
Katherine Winchester, director of operations, Canadian Wireless Technology Association (CWTA)
Samer Bishay, CEO, Iristel
Neel Dayal, director, innovation and partnerships, Rogers Communications
Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, Telus
Mark Henderson, senior executive/CEO in the telecommunications industry, corporate director, Nomofob
Matt Stein, CEO, Distributel
Namir Anani, president and CEO, Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)
Please click here to learn…
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It’s part of a war on personal financial identity
By Joanne McNeish
Once again a telecommunications company is telling its customers that they will no longer receive a paper bill. This time it’s Rogers.
What seems to some to be a non-issue evokes a strong reaction in others. When Telus eliminated paper bills, customers who prefer paper bills were shamed online. Others expressed solidarity with digitally disadvantaged groups or listed reasons why some consumers need paper bills.
But why do banks and billing organizations feel it necessary to stop sending paper bills and statements? One reason is the cost to print and mail paper….
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Shaw Communications plans to push Ontario to make mandatory the municipalities’ co-operation with telecommunications service providers to allow access to their infrastructure quickly for network builds, as urgency to lay the groundwork for 5G picks up.
The Alberta-based company registered lobby files with the province last week that reflect the telecom’s intention to bring the case to ministers that there is an urgent need for telecoms to obtain easy access to city infrastructure “to ensure connectivity can be built in a timely manner,” the registration says. It’s unclear how Shaw would like that co-operation to be…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – In Toronto on Thursday, Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains gave Canada’s Big Three wireless carriers an ultimatum to lower their prices within two years while increasing competition by giving smaller and regional telecom companies a chance to bid on 50MHz of a 3500 MHz spectrum auction to be held later this year.
Bains spoke to Parliament Hill correspondent Christopher Guly prior to making his major announcement.
Christopher Guly: So you’re forcing the big guys to lower their prices and giving smaller, regional guys a break to help do that.
Navdeep Bains: You’re right. The spectrum set-aside is…
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3500 MHz auction rules to be part of the release
TORONTO – Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains will deliver a “speech on the Government of Canada’s commitment to make life more affordable for Canadians,” at the Scarborough Civic Centre Library at 4 p.m. Thursday, it was announced today.
Sources tell Cartt.ca the announcement will define more of the parameters around the Liberal government’s commitment to a 25% reduction in Canadian mobile wireless prices going forward and also mark the release of the rules for the 3500 MHz spectrum auction which will happen later this year.
Spectrum costs have long…
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