WHILE DROPPING IN ON the CRTC’s two-week hearing into new and renewed mandatory carriage requests (on cpac.ca) – and poring over some of the transcripts since its conclusion, two thoughts bubbled up above all the facts, self-serving opinion and pure BS that is a Commission hearing: The CRTC should impose some sort of mandatory penetration based rate card, a-la Bell Media’s, upon the entire regulated TV industry – or just deregulate the whole damn thing (which is not actually an option).
Independent broadcasters (those not owned by a vertically integrated entity) have little, if any, leverage when it comes to…
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OTTAWA – Canadian wireless operators remain largely unconvinced that Industry Canada’s proposed changes to spectrum licence transfers will be good for the wireless market. New entrants and incumbents alike are opposed to any rule changes that would limit a secondary spectrum trading market.
Mobilicity acknowledges that the department is trying to create a more competitive wireless market and took a first good step in setting aside spectrum in the 2008 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction. But the upstart says “the imposition of additional vague, open-ended restrictions on the transferability of spectrum” won’t help new entrants raise the capital they need…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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NETWORK EXPANSION NEWS
Launches this week:
Telus expands 4G LTE service in B.C. and Ontario, invests $265 million in Quebec
VANCOUVER – Over this past week, Telus announced the expansion of its 4G LTE wireless network service to communities in British Columbia and Ontario, as well as a $265 million investment in Quebec to augments its Optik TV and fibre-to-the-home network.
Telus said it is spending $300,000 to expand its 4G LTE wireless network service to Big White, Nelson, and Hudson’s Hope, B.C., with $100,000 allocated to each community. This investment is part…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced a second consecutive quarter of net profit growth of $362 million, an increase of 13.5% over the same quarter in 2012.
First quarter revenue increased by 4.8% to $2.76 billion, compared to the same period a year earlier, driven by increased revenue in the company’s wireless, high-speed internet and Optik TV businesses. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also increased by 5.4% to $1.03 billion, resulting in a corresponding jump in earnings per share of 14% to $0.56, which reflects the company's mid-April two-for-one stock split.
Telus reported…
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Story and photo by Steve Faguy
MONTREAL – After Telus, Rogers, EastLink, Cogeco and Quebecor, the last word on Bell’s failed relationship with competing BDUs went to the little guys. And they had some eye-opening facts and figures to back up their claims that Bell isn’t playing fair.
“We are not here to engage in regulatory arbitrage,” said Jim Deane, chair of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, which represents about 115 small cable companies across Canada. “CCSA members are fighting for their lives.”
Speaking as one of the final interveners in the hearing over Bell Canada?s proposed purchase of Astral Media, the…
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MONTREAL – In a lengthy appearance before the CRTC commissioners on Wednesday (more than twice as long as either Rogers or Telus the day prior) Cogeco Cable left no doubt where it stood on the question of Bell Canada buying Astral Media: There can be no compromises, no new regulatory caveats that make this deal palatable, and so the merger must be denied. Again.
Cogeco’s argument was similar to the one EastLink made earlier on Wednesday, but the Montreal-based cable and radio firm offered up more detail. CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has asked the opposing interveners Tuesday and Wednesday for…
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TORONTO – SaskTel and Telus’ Koodo Mobile ranked highest in customer satisfaction for the second year in a row, according to a new study released today by J.D. Power & Associates.
Among full-service carriers, SaskTel’s score was highest at 712, which was 13 points higher than its 2012 score. The survey noted that SaskTel performed particularly well in terms of offerings and promotions, customer service, and the sales process.
Koodo Mobile from Telus scored highest among stand-alone carriers with 765 points, also up higher by 13 points from 2012. The wireless provider stood out for…
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MONTREAL – Interveners told the CRTC Tuesday that just because Bell Canada has decided it will spin off a few TV assets with this latest attempt to purchase Astral Media, that doesn’t make the deal any better for Canadians, or for them.
“This second application raises the very same concerns in the English-language television market,” Rogers SVP regulatory Ken Engelhart told commissioners on Tuesday morning. “The acquisition of Astral’s premium pay television services will threaten diversity and endanger the ability of distributors to deliver programming to Canadians at affordable rates and on reasonable terms on multiple platforms.
So for Rogers, the…
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FREMONTM, CALIF. – Cellphone-Mate, a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of cellular amplifier technology, and Dallas-based wireless communications distributor Hutton Communications have announced that the two companies have joined forces to go after Canadian business and residential customers.
“Cellphone-Mate’s global customers are recognizing the immense value to be gained by augmenting their current wireless connections,” said Hongtao Zhan, founder and CEO of Cellphone-Mate, in a release. “This alliance will broaden our reach across Canada by tapping Hutton’s proven and well-respected sales channel. We look forward to a very long and mutually rewarding relationship with the entire Hutton team.”
Cellphone-Mate manufactures TriFlex T amplifiers,…
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