Independent operators say minimum should be 10 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up
We are at the end of the CRTC’s proceeding reviewing the basic telecommunications needs of Canadians. Launched close to a year ago, the CRTC has received widely diverse proposals in response to the fundamental questions of: Which services do Canadians need to participate meaningfully in the digital economy; and what is the CRTC’s role in ensuring the availability of affordable basic telecommunications services to Canadians? The CRTC has also reached out to Canadians under the banner of “Let’s Talk Broadband Internet!” with a survey on various topics. When…
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OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau is asking Canadians to weigh in on BCE’s proposed acquisition of MTS and the subsequent sale of dealer locations and wireless subscribers to Telus.
The Bureau is currently reviewing the $3.9 billion deal as part of a merger review, where it consults with stakeholders like suppliers, competitors, industry associations and customers to obtain their feedback on the competitive implications of a proposed transaction. Under the Competition Act, the Bureau has a mandate to review mergers to determine whether they are likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition.
Canadian consumers and stakeholders are…
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OTTAWA – The short answer to that question is yes. However, is it the right answer, when there still is so often much disagreement about what net neutrality means?
While often valid, that complaint can’t be brought to the fore every single time there is a network dispute, said TekSavvy Solutions chief legal and regulatory officer Bram Abramson on Friday while presenting a paper to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s biennial conference on new developments in communications law and policy. That said, just because everyone now understands that traffic on all networks must be managed and has always been…
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OTTAWA – Can Canada maintain a rights market of its own for cultural content in the face of rampant and rapid technological change? If so, how? Should we? At what costs? What would any new rules say?
These very difficult, complex questions, along with Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly’s recent announcement that our aged legislation covering Canadian content rules will soon be getting an overhaul, were front and centre during the first morning of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Biennial conference into new developments in communications law and policy at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
For example,…
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MONTREAL – The federal government and CRTC should allow “competitive pressure” to spur the telecommunications industry’s investments in new broadband infrastructure, and not repeat the “mistakes" caused by intervening in the wireless sector, says a new report released Thursday by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).
“Critics who note that access to high-speed Internet is limited in some regions of Canada, or among less advantaged socioeconomic groups, invariably conclude that government intervention will be necessary to close the gap, but what they consider a market failure is actually just the normal course of technology adoption”, reads the 2016 edition of The State of Competition in…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Telecommunications service providers cannot charge for a service that is not, and cannot be, provided following a cancellation, the CRTC stressed Thursday.
The Commission made the comments after issuing two decisions relating to its prohibition of 30-day cancellation policies, a move designed to make it easier for consumers to switch service providers. In the first decision, the Commission denied a request by Telus to direct Shaw Communications to cease requiring the payment of liquidated damages when small business customers cancel retail local voice or Internet services before service installation work has begun.
Noting that Telus’ focus on a single service…
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TORONTO – BCE’s proposed acquisition of MTS will not only contradict the previous government’s push for four wireless players in every market, it could open the door for further consolidation in the rest of the market.
Canaccord Genuity Corp. analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said approval of the $3.9 billion BCE/MTS deal would “set a significant precedent, as it would reduce Manitoba to a three-player wireless market from four.”
“As a result, we also believe that this would give Shaw a potential exit strategy in wireless should it decide to sell Wind”, he wrote in a client note Monday. “In addition, we…
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TORONTO – Telus’ Koodo Mobile ranks highest in wireless customer satisfaction, followed closely by Videotron and SaskTel, says an annual study by J.D. Power & Associates released Thursday.
According to the J.D. Power 2016 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study, customer service differentiation continues to be top of mind as wireless carriers face a maturing and potentially saturated market.
The study measures wireless customers’ perceptions of their carrier’s performance and is based on responses from more than 5,500 wireless customers collected in August – September 2015 (Wave 1) and March 2016 (Wave 2). Satisfaction is measured across four factors (listed in order of…
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TORONTO – Independent specialty movie service Hollywood Suite announced today the launch of the new web version of the Hollywood Suite GO app (HSGO).
The newly designed VOD service is an extension of the premium movie channels and is available at hsgo.ca for Hollywood Suite subscribers from Access Communications, Cogeco, Eastlink, Hay Communications, MTS, NorthwesTel, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Source Cable, Telus Optik TV, and VMedia.
“We are excited to offer our subscribers another platform to watch their favourite movies from Hollywood Suite, allowing them to experience their cinematic choices, anytime, anywhere,” said David Kines,…
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VANCOUVER – High-speed Internet coverage in rural British Columbia communities in the north, south and Interior of the province is about to get faster and more reliable.
Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, West Vancouver MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Friday from Vancouver that 10 BC Internet service providers are receiving approximately $16 million from the Federal Government to increase broadband Internet access for approximately 23,000 households in the province. In addition, the provincial government will also kick in about $3.4 million for six of the projects through its Connecting British Columbia program.
"Faster, more reliable broadband Internet is essential for people…
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