Search Results for: telus

Cable / Telecom News

Telus donates backpacks to 740 Toronto-area students in need

TORONTO – Telus Community Ambassadors in the Greater Toronto Area are helping ease some of the back-to-school financial strain for families throughout the region by donating free backpacks filled with school supplies to 740 students. The initiative is part of the company’s ‘Kits for Kids’ program, an annual tradition through which thousands of backpacks are distributed to young students across Canada.  Since 2006 nearly 60,000 ‘Kits for Kids’ backpacks have been given to kids in need. "Programs such as Telus’ Kits for Kids are incredibly important for families in need”, said Crystal Brummell, president of the Central Toronto Community Ambassadors, in… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Mobile wallet awareness on the rise in Canada

TORONTO – There is a growing awareness among Canadians that they can use their smartphones to pay for products and services at the point of purchase, says a new report from Solutions Research Group. In fact, among those who are already reaching for their phones to do their banking – current users of mobile banking apps, who represent 36% of all Canadian smartphone users, accounting for nearly 4 million people – awareness has reached critical mass. Of those users, 56% of them are aware of an upcoming service that would allow them to swipe their phone to pay for goods and… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Bell/Astral: Company slams opposition, claims shoddy research

DESPITE THE OPPOSITION to its planned purchase of Astral Media, Bell Canada remains steadfast that this deal is good for Canada and Quebec – and will foster innovation and competition to the benefit of Canadian media consumers. In its reply comments submitted to the CRTC last week (the final paper stage before the public hearing in Montreal starting September 10th, Bell takes a hard line especially against those standing utterly opposed to its $3.4 billion purchase of the company which owns such brands as The Movie Network, Super Écran, HBO Canada, Family Channel, Virgin Radio, NRJ Radio, Rouge FM and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus adds dial-around long distance option

TORONTO – Telus Mobility and Telehop have finalized an agreement allowing Telus’ wireless customers to select Telehop's dial-around long distance services. By dialing #100 and then entering the destination number, mobile customers will be charged for a Telehop per minute long distance calling plan which includes 0.05 per minute calling to destinations such as China, India, Israel, Mexico, Australia and most of Europe.  Long distance rates to Pakistan, Vietnam, Russia and South Africa are 0.10 per minute, while calls to Jamaica and Trinidad are 0.15 per minute and 0.20 per minute, respectively.  The charges will appear on the customer's regular… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus renews fight for share conversion proposal

VANCOUVER – Telus is offering its shareholders another chance to approve a plan that would see them attain equal voting rights. After dropping its original proposal in May, Telus said Tuesday that shareholders will be asked on October 17 to vote on a plan allowing them to exchange non-voting shares into common shares on a one-for-one basis.  The telco added that the plan will require approval from two-thirds of its non-voting share votes, and a simple majority of common share votes cast at the meeting. "With this proposal we are responding to the overwhelmingly positive support from shareholders since we introduced… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Leafs purchase complete after CRTC approves channels’ sale

OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has green-lit the sale of sports channels owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) to a company co-owned by Rogers and BCE, effectively closing the $1.32 billion transaction that will see the two communication companies take a majority stake in the sports and entertainment giant. While the transaction involved several sports-related properties including the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, the CRTC's review was limited to the five television services owned by MLSE – Leafs TV, Gol TV and NBA TV Canada, as well as un-launched services Mainstream Sports and Live Music Channel. "When deciding… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Telus says Bell/Astral deal “gravely concerning proposition”

VANCOUVER – Add Telus to the list of stakeholders opposing Bell’s planned purchase of Astral Media. The telco issued a statement Tuesday backing the ‘Say No To Bell’ coalition, and voicing its concern over the “unprecedented concentration of market power in the broadcasting sector would have on Canadian consumers”. “All Canadians should be able to access the content they want through the provider they choose; we all benefit from competition between a variety of organizations and no one company should be in a position to take away choice or access to content for consumers,” said president and CEO Darren Entwistle,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

ANALYSIS: Counting audience share as major forces rally against Bell-Astral deal

SO IT?S NOT JUST Quebecor, Cogeco and EastLink demanding the CRTC say no to Bell Canada'?s $3.38 billion purchase of Astral Media after all. Telus, Rogers, MTS Allstream, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and others want this latest edition of the ongoing vertical integration story erased. (An earlier version of this story said Friends of Canadian Broadcasting were also opposed to the merger. That us not the case and Cartt.ca regrets the error.) Still, other groups such as ACTRA, the Writers Guild, the CMPA and Directors Guild, while not ultimately opposing the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

ZEE Cinema partners with Ethnic Channels Group in Canada, launches on Rogers and Telus

TORONTO – Popular Bollywood entertainment channel, ZEE Cinema, launched on Rogers Digital Cable and Telus Optik TV in Canada this month. Zee Americas has entered into a long-term distribution agreement with Toronto’s Ethnic Channels Group for ZEE Cinema in Canada. The deal provides Ethnic Channels Group the rights to distribute the service on cable and satellite platforms here.
“This is exciting for us in that for the first time ever we are able to focus our marketing and unlock the strength of… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus rolls out 4G LTE in more B.C. markets

VANCOUVER – Telus has expanded its 4G LTE network across metro Vancouver. The telco said Thursday that the service is now available in Burnaby, New Westminster, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, South Delta and Vancouver.  Additional B.C. communities, including Southern Vancouver Island, Whistler, Prince George, the Okanagan and Peace River region, are expected to receive access later this year. “With an LTE device our customers can enjoy the fastest wireless technology available in the world today – we are continuing to expand this new technology, community by community, so that by the end of the year, nearly 90% of B.C. residents are… Continue Reading