OTTAWA – A non-partisan group made up of 150 CEOs from Canada’s leading companies is appealing to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to makes changes to federal telecommunications policy to ensure it does not discriminate against Canadian companies and unduly favour foreign wireless carriers.
In a letter sent Friday by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, council president John Manley (who is also a Telus board member) called on the PM to consider levelling the wireless playing field by amending policy to grant Canadian incumbents the same access to bid on wireless spectrum as it…
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NETWORK EXPANSION NEWS
Recent launches:
Bell Aliant continues FibreOp expansion with $20 million investment in North Bay, Timmins
NORTH BAY and TIMMINS, ON – Bell Aliant’s new $7 million fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) expansion in Timmins announced Wednesday brings the total of the regional telco’s recent investments in Northern Ontario to $20 million. The FTTH network will reach approximately 15,000 premises in Timmins.
Last week Bell Aliant also announced it is investing $13 million to launch its FibreOP network to about 20,000 households and business in North Bay.
While both communities are part of Bell Aliant's operating…
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Vancouver, B.C. – Taking aim at standard TV remotes, Telus says its Optik Smart Remote app turns users of Android or Apple devices into power surfers by enabling them to swipe when browsing the guide and tap to change the channel once they link their mobile device with their digital box.
Telus claims you can also spend less time channel surfing by using guide filters to show only what you’re looking for including your favourite shows or what is most popular. You can also navigate the interactive program guide without interrupting the show you are viewing…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced Tuesday it is doubling the scope of its share buyback program to $1 billion from $500 million.
The company’s board of directors approved an increase in Telus’ normal course issuer bid previously announced on May 21 to $1 billion, to be completed by the end of this year. Telus will repurchase approximately 4.9% of the company’s outstanding shares (about 31.9 million common shares).
As of June 30, Telus had bought approximately 8.4 million shares for a total of about $281 million, at an average of $33.40 per share.
In a…
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TORONTO – While recent events, including the possible entry of US behemoth Verizon into Canada and Monday’s cabinet shuffle, have left many in the investment community wondering how these will affect the regulatory landscape, the telecom sector won’t see an impact on the bottom line just yet.
Financial results for the second quarter of 2013 will not reflect any of these regulatory concerns, says BMO Capital Markets Second analyst Tim Casey.
“We expect Verizon will continue to quietly negotiate with the owners of the existing new entrants – Wind and Mobilicity – with…
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TORONTO – Looks like Telus customers won’t have to wait until December 2nd to reap the benefits of the CRTC’s new Wireless Code, as the carrier today announced new two-year plans for consumer and small business customers.
Available as of July 30, the new Telus SharePlus plans will feature unlimited nationwide talk and text and the ability to share data with multiple subscribers on the same account. Customers can choose their own mobile device (which comes with unlimited talk and text), and then select from a range of data plans ranging from $15 for 250 MB…
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TORONTO – With Wednesday’s announcement that Mobilicity has entered into talks with new potential buyers, it’s a likely possibility that any offer for the struggling carrier would be considerably lower than the $380 million Telus was willing to pay to acquire Mobilicity before that deal was rejected by the federal government.
That’s a scenario that Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan had suggested may happen back in May. Of today’s news, Fan told Cartt.ca in an email that if there is a deal it is likely not as ideal, as the price may be “too low…
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BURNABY, BC and TORONTO – Talks of a merger began Wednesday between the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) and the United Steelworkers (USW).
“I am pleased that our union’s local leaders from across Canada have voted for us to work toward a merger with the USW that will improve the working lives of our members and their families,” said TWU national president Lee Riggs in a joint statement from the two unions.
A tentative merger agreement between the two unions, who have had a formal strategic alliance since 2010, would focus on mutual commitments to bargaining, education,…
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VANCOUVER – Telus says a recent phone scam affecting customers primarily in B.C. and Alberta is fraudulent and is warning its customers to hang up if they receive such a call.
The latest scam involves “spoofing,” where the caller reprograms the caller ID signal to make it appear they are calling from a legitimate business, claiming to represent that organization.
The caller claims to be from Telus or another company, saying the person they called has won a prize. Other variants of the scam ask you to press 1 to receive a prize. The customer…
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STRATHROY and GEORGETOWN, ON – Telus announced Wednesday the expansion of its 4G LTE wireless network service to Strathroy and Georgetown, Ontario.
The addition of the two Ontario communities follows last week’s 4G LTE network launch in Atlantic Canada: Annapolis Valley (Wolfville, Port Williams and Kentville), Nova Scotia, and Edmundston and Miramichi, New Brunswick.
Telus’ 4G LTE service now covers more than 70% of the Canadian population across approximately 170 markets.
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