Search Results for: telus

Cable / Telecom News

Canadian 4G speeds way up, says OpenSignal

LONDON, UK – While all three of Canada's national mobile operators have cranked up their 4G speeds over the last six months, Telus still holds a commanding lead, says OpenSignal in its new semi-annual report Mobile Networks Update: Canada. The wireless mapping coverage company examined close to 678 million measurements collected from 31,762 mobile test devices between April 1 and June 29, 2018 in its update on Canada scheduled to be officially released this week. According to the report, average 4G download speeds in Canada rose by at least 5 Mbps for Bell, Rogers and Telus.  Bell posted the biggest gains, with its 4G… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

BDU Renewals: Providing set-top box viewer data now a condition of licence, CRTC says

OTTAWA — Canada’s largest, vertically integrated BDUs have a little over a year to start providing set-top box data to a national STB-based audience measurement system — a new condition of licence imposed by the CRTC when it announced August 2 the collective renewal of soon-to-expire licences for various terrestrial BDUs. As it renews their respective licences for a new term starting September 1, 2018, the CRTC is imposing a condition of licence on Bell, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron that will require them to provide the set-top box (STB) data they collect regarding programming services they distribute to a national… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

An unintended consequence of the Wireless Code? Robbery

GATINEAU – On December 1st 2017, the CRTC’s new and improved Wireless Code came into effect, removing all restrictions on the unlocking of cellular phones, notably no more 90 days waiting period to do so and no more charging a fee to perform that service. On December 6th 2017, the Public Interest Advocacy Center (PIAC) requested from the CRTC a clarification on the Unlocking Policy of the new code. There had been confusion as to whether the cell phone companies had the obligation to unlock the phones of people who were not their customers. If my contract with the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Xplore Mobile to launch this fall in Manitoba

WINNIPEG — Xplornet’s long-awaited move into the wireless market in Manitoba is now official, with the introduction of its Xplore Mobile brand on Wednesday and the announcement its wireless service will launch this fall. The unveiling of the Xplore Mobile wireless brand comes a year and a half after Xplornet struck a deal with Bell MTS to acquire 40 MHz of wireless spectrum in Manitoba — one of the stipulations of Bell MTS’s merger back in early 2017 was the two companies had to transfer some of their wireless customers and assets to other competitors, such as Xplornet and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Freedom (with Will Arnett) set to disrupt Canadian wireless with no overage charges

TORONTO – The Canadian wireless market is about to face disruption akin to what T-Mobile wrought in the U.S., which will come as good news for Canadian consumers looking for much more data at a far lower price. The news likely won’t be so good for the likes of Rogers, Bell and Telus, who will have to respond. Today, Shaw Communications’ Freedom Mobile will unveil a new ad campaign (TV, radio, outdoor, digital, social…) fronted by Canadian comedy star Will Arnett which takes dead aim at the complaints so many Canadians make daily – that their wireless bills are too… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC asks for more detail in “skinny wireless” assessment

OTTAWA – The CRTC needs more information from the country’s telcos on their pending lower-cost data-only plans for mobile wireless services. In a letter dated July 20 from Philippe Kent, competition and emergency services policy director, the Commission made specific requests for more information from the national wireless carriers as well as other stakeholders who filed interventions by the June 29 deadline. “Commission staff is of the view that additional information is needed to further develop the record of the proceeding”, reads the letter.  “As such, parties are asked to respond to the requests for information appended to this letter. Parties… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

LES INDÉPENDANTS: LyttonNet – Le nord de la Colombie-Britannique prend sa connectivité en main

BIEN QUE LA câblodistribution et l’internet à haute vitesse soient prises pour acquises depuis longtemps dans de nombreuses communautés au Canada, on peut sans doute dire que ça n’a pas été le cas à Lytton, en Colombie-Britannique, jusqu’à très récemment. La communauté éloignée de 250 habitants se trouve en terrain montagneux, à deux heures au nord d’Abbotsford.  Garder la communauté branchée au reste du monde n’a jamais été simple, mais, selon la technologie de l’heure, les résidents débrouillards  ont toujours trouvé les moyens de le faire. Aux années 1950, selon le site web du câblodistributeur et fournisseur internet local LyttonNet,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

THE INDEPENDENTS: Community volunteers help build rural fibre net

ALTHOUGH PEOPLE IN most Canadian communities take access to cable television and high-speed internet for granted, it’s safe to say that’s never been the case in Lytton, B.C. Connecting the remote Interior B.C. community of about 250 people, nestled in the Fraser Canyon region two hours north of Abbotsford, has never been simple, but residents have always found a way. In the mid-1950s, according to the regional cable and internet provider LyttonNet, volunteers harnessed the power of a mountain stream with a hydroelectric turbine to bring electricity to the surrounding villages, carrying supplies for repairs up treacherous mountain roads that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

3500 MHz consult: Mid-band spectrum – the best for everything?

OTTAWA –The responses filed to ISED’s consultations on the 3500 MHz and 3800 MHz band pit incumbent fixed wireless service providers against mobile operators eager to deploy 5G services. The terrestrial operators, however, face opposition from satellite operators eager to protect the C-band. Caught up in the cross-fire are customers and communities who are reliant on existing services – both terrestrial and satellite. Comments by a number of parties have been posted in response to Gazette Notice SLPB-004-18 — Consultation on Revisions to the 3500 MHz Band to Accommodate Flexible Use and Preliminary Consultation on Changes to the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Freedom Mobile serves up new low-cost data plans – topping Big Three’s mandated skinny wireless

Plan savings require pre-authorized payments CALGARY – With an eye on the upcoming back-to-school period, Shaw’s Freedom Mobile rolled out two cheaper entry-level data plans Thursday. The first plan offers 1 GB of data and unlimited text to Canada and the U.S. for $25 per month, while the second provides 250 MB of data, 100 minutes of Canada-wide talk, and unlimited text to Canada and the U.S. for $15 per month. As reported previously, Bell and Telus have offered 500MB for $30/month and Rogers 400MB for $25 in their proposed low-cost data only plans demanded by the CRTC earlier this year.  Shaw’s… Continue Reading