TORONTO – The Ontario Superior Court in Brampton is expected to issue a ruling this week that could have far reaching effects on cellphone privacy.
According to a report in the Globe and Mail, Justice John Sproat heard arguments from Rogers and Telus last summer pertaining to “tower dump” production orders issued by Peel Regional Police asking the two companies to provide communication records related to 21 cellular towers or sites. That would have required the telcos to disclose the personal information of about 40,000 customers.
Police use such orders as a technique to get all call-detail records from specific…
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LAS VEGAS – “Cable companies find it hard to accept that people don’t just want to watch TV in the living room anymore,” said Jay Mehr, EVP and COO of Shaw Communications as it announced the launch of its FreeRange app Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show.
The app makes content instantly available to subscribers no matter where they are and Mehr (pictured) told a gathering of industry partners and press that the cable company had partnered with Comcast and Cisco to leverage Comcast's X1 platform to provide a truly disruptive mobile experience by providing live…
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OTTAWA – Independent ISPs and consumer groups are telling the federal government not to buy Bell Canada’s assertions that investments in next-generation fibre networks will come to a standstill if the CRTC’s wholesale fibre access decision is allowed to stand.
A day after the Justin Trudeau Liberals swept into power in Ottawa on October 19, Bell filed appeal with the Governor-in-Council seeking a Cabinet order overturning Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326. The company claims the decision favours “resale over investment” which will lead to less capital for fibre to the home…
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TORONTO – A new fourth player in Canada’s wireless industry combined with increased wireline competition are two factors poised to significantly impact the Canadian telecom industry in 2016, says Canaccord Genuity.
An industry overview released Wednesday by analyst Aravinda Galappatthige says that company is taking “a more cautious stance” as it considers this year’s outlook for the telecom stocks, particularly when it comes to the big three incumbents BCE, Telus and Rogers.
Galappatthige predicts that wireless competition will heat up as a “resurgent Rogers Wireless” continues to aggressively add wireless net additions, and as regional player Videotron Wireless advances towards its…
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TORONTO – Bell Media’s TV streaming service CraveTV celebrated its first birthday Friday, describing the past 365 days as “mission accomplished”.
In addition to completing distribution deals with television providers including Bell, Eastlink, and Telus plus launching on new platforms including Apple TV and Chromecast, the service also highlighted its exclusive content deals for HBO and Showtime programming, in addition to its exclusive first-run series like Manhattan, Bosch, and Happyish, among its many highlights.
Based on number of views, CraveTV’s most popular series is Entourage; favourite Canadian series is Orphan Black; the most-binged program is…
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GATINEAU – A number of Canada’s Internet service providers are telling the CRTC that Bell Canada’s appeal for more restricted access to disaggregated wholesale fibre Internet access services is self-serving and in fact would lead to less competition in the market.
Bell is asking the Commission to review and vary certain provisions related to disaggregated broadband service (DBS) in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326. The company has also filed an appeal of the decision to cabinet, as Cartt.ca first reported in October.
In its R&V, Bell argues that the Commission needs to add three conditions for granting access…
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MONTREAL – Content producers and distributors must figure out how best to be constantly innovative if Canadian content is to thrive in the new on-demand world.
That was the message Thursday as the CRTC and National Film Board’s 'En Route to the Discoverability Summit' workshop series came to Montreal. Like Tuesday’s session in Vancouver, there was a lot of discussion about how the media world has changed, and some interesting, if vague, suggestions on what to do about it.
The event started much like the previous one did, with speeches from men in suits (in French this time…)…
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OTTAWA – While Canadians complained less about their wireless services last year, the number of Internet-related grievances jumped by 52%, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) said Wednesday in its annual report.
The report, Making The Tough Calls, showed that the CCTS received 9,988 customer complaints in 2014-15, down 12% from 11,340 in 2013-14, and maintained an 87% resolution rate. Wireless services complaints once again topped the list with 52.9% of all complaints, followed by 26.1% for Internet, 18.2% for local telephone service and 2.8% for long distance.
“For the second year in a row, complaints declined somewhat”,…
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TORONTO – Disney Junior and Disney XD will arrive in over eight million households this week through distribution partners across English Canada.
Corus Entertainment said Tuesday that the channels are available now through Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell FibreOp TV, MTS, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus and various CCSA members. Cogeco Cable Canada and Eastlink will offer the channels starting Wednesday, and SaskTel customers will have access to the new services in the coming weeks.
Disney Junior, which is aimed at kids aged 2-7, launches with the network premiere of The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (pictured) on…
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TORONTO – Hollywood Suite tis gearing up for a national free preview of its four HDTV movie channels, from December 8 through to January 12.
The independent broadcaster said that the freeview is an opportunity for Canadian TV viewers to enjoy uncut and commercial-free movies on its newly rebranded channels devoted to the movies that shaped the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.
“We’re excited to share Hollywood Suite with all Canadians this holiday season,” said president David Kines, in the news release. “We know this is one gift everyone will love."
The freeview includes access to Hollywood Suite On Demand, where available. Participating…
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