Three-year handset plans popular; new TV option coming, too
TORONTO – Rogers Communications CEO Joe Natale admitted Tuesday morning he was happily surprised by the early numbers coming in from its new Rogers Infinite wireless plans.
On June 12th, readers will recall, Rogers junked overage fees and many of its old wireless plans in favour of three simpler unlimited data plans, starting at $75/month. Company executives crossed their fingers hoping the price point and “unlimited” data would make sense to people (even though the unlimited data is slowed after 10GB/month on the lowest cost plan) and that…
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GATINEAU – On Tuesday, the CRTC sent a letter to all parties to its ongoing review of the wireless industry asking what they think of newly announced device financing plans.
Over the past two weeks, both Rogers and Telus have decided to separate the cost of the device from the costs of the service on their bills, to consumers who want that, allowing them to pay for new handsets separately. While Telus has limited such contracts to 24 months, Rogers is now letting customers pay for devices over 36 months, if they like.
“The Wireless Code (the Code) is…
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OTTAWA – According to a Reuters report, the federal government has decided to delay its decision on whether or not Huawei technology can be used by Canadian wireless providers until after the October federal election.
Click here for the story.
The report quoted anonymous sources and cited political reasons for the potential delay. Originally, the federal government said the decision would come prior to the election.
When it comes to the Canadian wireless carriers, the decision will certainly affect Telus, Bell and SaskTel, who are waiting on the federal government’s decision before determining who their primary 5G technology…
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TORONTO – Ethnic Channels Group announced today it has signed a distribution deal for two Ukrainian channels, 5 Kanal and First National, with Telus’ Optik TV.
Since its inception in 2003, 5 Kanal has positioned itself as the "Honest News Channel." Distinctive features of the channel are hourly news and analytical talk shows. The programming is exclusively informational content: news, documentaries, analytical and editorial programs, says the ECG press release.
First National is Ukraine's state broadcaster. Its programming focus is on almost all segments of Ukrainian society, including ethnic minorities, and features informative, scientific, cultural, entertainment and sports programming.
“These are…
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Many customers may want it, but is it contrary to the CRTC’s Code?
TORONTO – Rogers Communications today said it will now offer customers the ability to pay for new devices over 24- or 36-month time frames, at $0 down with no interest.
Wireless policy watchers will say immediately, of course, that the CRTC’s 2013 Wireless Code only effectively allows carriers to offer a maximum two-year contract to their customers. Telus wireless chief Jim Senko told Cartt.ca last week he believes the company can’t go any longer than the two-year financing offer it just launched – even though he’d like…
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Slowed speeds after 10 GB might be against the rules
GATINEAU – Who would have thought a routine process of monitoring Internet pricing to make sure Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMPs) don’t violate consumer rights would bump up against the much ballyhooed new $75 wireless data pricing plans?
The CRTC has long been concerned about some differential pricing practices that could be viewed as unfair, so it decided two years ago to “closely monitor the retail prices and data caps for both wireless and fixed-line Internet services, which will enable it to assess the degree to which…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications today announced its new device financing options mentioned last month when it debuted its new pricing are officially on the way next week.
These new device purchasing options, launching July 10 and called Edge Financing, will give customers more choice and flexibility “to purchase any device, anytime, at $0 down and 0% interest,” reads its press release (which was sent about two hours after Telus launched its own repricing and device financing, just like Bell and Telus responded within hours to Rogers’ new pricing last month. Who says the…
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COO Mirko Bibic to take over
MONTREAL – Bell Canada today announced president and CEO George Cope will retire as of January 5, 2020 and will be replaced in the role by company COO Mirko Bibic.
“The BCE board is pleased to take the next step in our succession plan by confirming Mirko Bibic as our next CEO,” said Gordon Nixon, chair of BCE and Bell Canada, in the company press release. Bibic will be the company’s 14th CEO, dating back to the company’s founding in 1880.
“Mirko is a seasoned Bell executive who has played a critical leadership role in the…
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TORONTO – Over 90% of new Canadians have a smartphone, and they are power users of their devices – and while they’re somewhat familiar with Canadian wireless and broadband providers, their rapidly growing housing costs look to impact what they are able buy from those companies.
Canadian newcomers are far more likely to use their mobile phones for messaging, calling, online banking and video streaming compared to the general Canadian population according to a new report, Newcomers to Canada 2019 from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group
The company conducted extensive research among very recent immigrants who arrived in the 2013-2018 time…
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BTLR panel wades through 2,085 submissions
OTTAWA – The federal government’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) made public its preliminary report today, a summary of what it heard from more than 2,000 written submissions and a dozen conferences spread out over the past 10 months.
Its What We Heard Report, released today along with all of those written submissions (see links below), reflects the panel’s “extensive outreach and engagement process to hear what Canadians had to say about updating the existing laws to reflect the realities of our rapidly evolving digital world,” says the announcement.
In September 2018, the panel launched an…
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