Needs local data for a proper analysis
OTTAWA – It’s rare for a bureaucratic back-and-forth to be quite so public, but with so much at stake, the Commissioner for Competition doesn’t want to take no for an answer when it comes to the granular market data he wants from Canadian wireless companies.
As part of its submission to the CRTC’s review of mobile wireless services, the Competition Bureau wants to do a detailed study on what happened in regions and cities (not just in provinces and nationally) when new wireless competitors to the Big Three (Rogers, Bell and Telus) were introduced….
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MONTREAL — An announcement of new jobs that won't even fill a school bus isn't usually enough to warrant a visit from the federal industry minister, but 30 new jobs in artificial intelligence at a global high-tech company working on the latest wireless technology prompted excitement from the man who has science and innovation literally in his title, so Navdeep Bains paid a visit to Ericsson's new Montreal home on Thursday.
The wireless giant announced it is building what it calls a "Global Artificial Intelligence Accelerator innovation hub" based out of Montreal, which will work with similar teams around the…
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MONTREAL – In a ruling handed down earlier this month, The Court of Quebec ruled the federal Telecommunications Act not only has precedence over the provincial Consumer Protection Act but also that the sections of the provincial law that deal with contractual issues in telecommunications are null and void.
Investigators with Quebec’s Consumer Protection Agency (in French, the Office de la protection du consommateur, or OPC) originally found that contracts from telecommunications providers contravened sections of the CPA (in French, the Loi sur la protection du consommateur, or LPC), enacted in 2009.
Infractions were deemed to…
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GATINEAU – After hearing from a range of Canadians via Facebook in February and March (some who had cogent complaints and arguments, some who, um, did not…), the CRTC this week gathered up final written submissions on its new proposed Internet code of conduct for providers of retail fixed internet services.
Canadian carriers generally support such a code, or at least the idea of one, which would “enhance the transparency of Internet contracts, help consumers, regardless of who their Internet provider is, to better understand their rights and responsibilities under these contracts and enable them to…
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TORONTO – Telus has rolled out the first wave of kiosks for Public Mobile, marking the brand’s entry into the retail space.
Inspired by the commuter bike design, the new kiosks are available now at CF Galeries D’Anjou (Montreal), Edmonton City Centre (Edmonton), Marlborough Mall (Calgary) and CF Richmond Centre (Richmond). Ten additional kiosks are slated to roll out later this year.
The Public Mobile kiosks sell SIM cards and payment vouchers that allow customers to add money to their accounts, though all customer support will continue to be offered online. Customers may also take the kiosk for a spin, which simultaneously charges…
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MONTREAL – Former CRTC chair and Astral Media president André Bureau succumbed to cancer on Friday, April 12. He was 83.
A lawyer and communications business executive, Bureau was the illustration of a generation of smart, ambitious and well-connected young French-Canadian men that emerged after the “Révolution Tranquille”.
Born in 1935, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he studied Law at Université Laval in Québec City and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1959. He also received a doctorate in comparative law at the Sorbonne, in France, in 1960.
In private practice from 1960, he practiced in his home town, where Le Nouvelliste (the…
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Industry, others, provide feedback
OTTAWA – On February 26th, the Government of Canada proposed new CRTC Policy direction to put Canadians at the forefront of future telecommunications decisions, as Cartt.ca reported.
By law, this proposed Order must be put for comments for a period of 30 days after being published in the Canada Gazette. April 8th was the deadline for intervenors to make their comments known to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
(Ed note: By law, the federal government doesn’t have to listen to any of the recommendations, if it has already made up its mind,…
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Expect a pressure-packed, high-demand, 3500 MHz auction in 2020
BAY STREET’S TELECOM industry analysts were a little surprised at the $3.47 billion collectively shelled out by Canada’s wireless carriers for 600 MHz spectrum (except for Bell, which shelled out nothing for no 600 spectrum) in the federal government’s just-completed auction.
“(I)t appears the competition amongst (the big three) was far fiercer than expected, driving the price up to $1.89/MHz-pop and leading to a total spend of $2.65B,” wrote Canaccord Genuity’s Aravinda Galappatthige in a note to investors, which said he had expected the trio of Rogers, Bell…
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GATINEAU – During the final regular season game of the NHL season aired on TVA Sports this past weekend, the Quebecor-owned broadcaster warned viewers they were going to lose access to the channel when the NHL playoffs begin – and that it’s all Bell’s fault.
Currently, Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau is leading a one-man public campaign decrying the state of affairs when it comes to specialty TV and the wholesale rates his TVA channels receive from carriers (please see our feature interview published here), since they are so much lower than Bell Media channels…
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Reiterates push for “granular data”
GATINEAU – The Canadian wireless market reaps $24.5 billion in annual retail sales, accounts for 155,000 jobs and 31.7 million subscribers (2017 figures*) so the stakes are rather high when it comes to another regulatory review of that market.
Old ways (facilities-based competition) may be thrown out with new ones mandated (MVNOs). The questions surrounding the CRTC’s latest review of the wireless market has created much unease and uncertainty inside Canada’s wireless carriers (and a glimmer of hope among those who want to launch new MVNO-based brands and…
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