GATINEAU – Consumer representatives say the CRTC’s proposed TV Service Provider (TVSP) Code of Conduct should mirror many aspects and be “as consistent with the Wireless Code as possible.” The broadcast distributors, on the other hand, say that while having a standard set of practices for all TV providers is a worthwhile initiative, using the wireless code as a template just won’t work.
The TV providers Code of Conduct idea is something that came out of the CRTC's Let's Talk TV, TV Policy Review.
In a joint submission, the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) argue that…
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TORONTO – Mobilicity has accepted, and Industry Canada, the Ontario Superior Court and late Wednesday the Competition Bureau, have blessed, Rogers’ proposal to acquire 100% of Mobilicity’s ownership for $465 million, the communications giant confirmed Wednesday morning.
The announcement also said Rogers will buy Shaw's unused AWS-1 spectrum for $100 million, in addition to the down payments made when an option agreement was originally announced in January 2013, and will then divest some of that spectrum to Wind Mobile. Specifically, Rogers and Wind will undertake an AWS-1 spectrum swap in Southern Ontario to create contiguous spectrum for Rogers, and Rogers will also divest certain…
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TORONTO – After close to two years in creditor protection and having had a pair of prior sales to Telus rejected by the federal government, Mobilicity and its creditors believe it finally has its suitor.
The company and its creditors will file this motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Wednesday morning to approve and authorize the sale of the company to Rogers Communications for $465 million, a deal which was accepted yesterday by the shareholders, according to the court documents. That is substantially more than what Telus offered ($380 million) in June of 2013, before the…
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OTTAWA – To cap or not to cap, that is the burning question in comments to Industry Canada’s proposals for its upcoming auction of unassigned AWS-3 and 700 MHz band spectrum. This is an argument that has played out many times in previous spectrum auction consultations, only this time, one of the large incumbents has switched sides.
Both Bell Mobility and Telus argue that new competitors now have enough spectrum in their holdings resulting from the previous spectrum auctions.
“New competitors have now secured both low-band (700 MHz) and higher-band spectrum (AWS-1, AWS-3 and 2500 MHz). It is now…
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TORONTO – Amidst reports that Rogers and Telus are battling to acquire Mobilicity, the owners and employees of the struggling wireless provider said Monday that have made an offer to Industry Canada and the federal government to acquire Mobilicity’s current subscribers, dealers, and partial infrastructure by setting up a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) relationship with any potential acquirer.
Obelysk Inc., the holding company of Mobilicity founder John Bitove, issued a statement saying that it wants to maintain the Mobilicity brand in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa where it currently operates, retain its 155,000 subscribers and current dealer network of…
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OTTAWA – Despite a drop in prices for many high-volume talk, text and data plans, Canada’s mobile wireless prices once again rank among the highest when compared to other G7 countries and Australia, according to an annual report commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC.
Prepared by Ottawa’s Wall Communications, the 2015 edition of Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions is an annual telecom services price comparison study that combines and averages wireline, mobile wireless, broadband Internet, and mobile Internet service rates, as well as bundles of these services along with basic digital TV…
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THERE ARE TWO Canadian TV carriers who offer Netflix to their customers directly via their advanced television set top boxes: Cogeco Cable and Telus Optik TV.
After seeing a recent demo of Optik TV’s impressive capabilities and living with the Cogeco TiVo system for several months, it’s become impossible to imagine what all the other carriers could possibly be waiting for. Offering Netflix to existing customers this way is an utter slam dunk.
While my wife was once ambivalent about our cable subscription and asked repeatedly if it was worth what we pay, I’d have to move into my…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless carriers are being asked to turn over their Apple iPhone sales records as the Competition Bureau deepens its probe into alleged anti-competitive clauses in Apple Canada sales contracts.
According to a Toronto Star report on Tuesday, the Bureau filed applications with the Federal Court on Monday calling for data from carriers including Rogers, Bell and Telus.
As Cartt.ca reported, the Bureau filed a court application last December requiring Apple Canada Inc. to provide records and written returns of information relevant to the investigation. The Star report quoted an unnamed source that said the Bureau is dissatisfied with the…
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TORONTO – The emergence of a fourth national wireless player would cause a ripple within the wireless sector in Canada, but the risk to the country’s three incumbents may be overblown, says Canaccord Genuity.
In a report on Monday, research analyst Aravinda Galappatthige proposed and evaluated a potential facilities-based wireless new entrant model based on the combination of Wind Mobile Canada, Mobilicity and Videotron’s spectrum holdings outside of its home province. Dubbed Newco, the fictional wireless provider was assumed to cover British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, a model which combines Wind and Mobilicity’s existing 3G operations with Videotron’s AWS-1, AWS-3,…
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TORONTO – “Why can’t we be friends?” Wind Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic asked delegates to the Canadian Telecom Summit in a luncheon keynote on Tuesday.
The 1975 song by War actually played him off the stage at the end of his speech, but the theme hung in the air: Why can’t the industry accept what’s coming from Ottawa and just compete for the affections of Canadians on a level playing field that the Conservative government helped build?
Krstajic has been through the wars. Many of them, really. He spent years working for Rogers Cable before moving to Bell Canada and then…
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