OTTAWA – As could be expected, no one is completely satisfied with Industry Canada’s proposed 700 MHz auction rules, which were unveiled in April.
Some are suggesting a complete format change, while others are requesting modifications to specific aspects of the combinatorial clock auction (CCA). Still some say in comments to the department’s consultation it must consider a number of elements in the proposed auction framework under a single lens. Rogers Communications Inc. and Bell Canada are two who share this view, but for different reasons.
Rogers, while satisfied with the proposal to use a CCA format,…
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GATINEAU – An annual report commissioned by the CRTC confirms that pricing for wireline, wireless and Internet Services in Canada are generally competitive when compared to other major markets, the big exceptions being high-speed Internet and entry level mobile wireless. Priced on average at $94 a month, Canada’s highest speed broadband service was the most expensive of all the jurisdictions surveyed except the U.S. While the average cost of entry level mobile wireless in Canada ranks as the highest of the surveyed countries.
The report also found that new entrant pricing for mobile wireless was in some cases 44%…
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GATINEAU – On Wednesday, July 4, Globalive Wireless Management (Wind Mobile) asked the CRTC to add a new piece of evidence to its file which says Telus is currently off-side when it comes to Canada’s telecom regulations on foreign ownership.
As we reported previously, Globalive wants the CRTC to launch a public proceeding to examine whether or not the number of foreign investors in Telus is too great. On June 20th in a submission to the Commission, Globalive said that Telus’s recent aborted attempt to convert to a single share structure exposed…
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KAMLOOPS, BC – Telus has commenced construction of its Kamloops Internet Data Centre that it claims will be one of the most environmentally sustainable, secure and reliable operations of its kind in the world when completed by July, 2013.
By utilizing green hydro power and natural cooling the site will use up to 80% less power than a typical data centre of its size and is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard says Telus.
Telus says the data centre will be the cornerstone of its cloud computing business strategy, providing a competitive edge for its…
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TORONTO – Concerns over data security and a limited knowledge of cloud computing are putting Canada's economic competitiveness at risk, according to a Telus and IDC Canada study released Thursday.
The study, commissioned by Telus, found that 71% of Canadian businesses are not open to alternative IT delivery models that may bring new levels of productivity and enhanced customer service to their organizations. Security was found to be the top concern and barrier to cloud deployment, with business leaders saying that their own organizations do a better job of securing data than cloud providers.
In addition, when it comes to their…
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OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada is allowing a class action suit valued at $19 billion to proceed against Canada’s biggest wireless companies.
According to a Globe and Mail report, the suit centres around monthly “system access fees” charged by Bell, Rogers and Telus that the companies falsely led subscribers to believe were required by federal regulators.
The suit was first launched in 2004 in Saskatchewan’s Court of Queen’s Bench. The high court declined to hear an appeal by the companies of a decision that certified the suit in 2008.
The matter could turn into Canada’s largest-ever class action,…
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NEW YORK and VANCOUVER – One of Telus’ biggest shareholders is demanding that the telco disclose its current foreign ownership levels to verify that it is in compliance with the Canadian ownership requirements.
U.S. hedge fund Mason Capital Management LLC made public a letter that it sent Telus on Thursday citing information from the proxies submitted for Telus’ recent annual shareholders meeting which it claims shows that approximately 42% of voting shares voted at the meeting were held by shareholders who declared themselves non-Canadian or refused to answer the required declaration as to their residency. Under the Telecommunications Act and other related statutes,…
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GATINEAU – Unless there is a last minute change of heart from one side or the other, a panel of three CRTC commissioners will soon decide the terms of the next carriage agreements for 29 Bell Media specialty channels on a number of independent BDUs.
The Commission panel will choose one offer over the other in the final stage – known as Final Offer Arbitration (FOA), sometimes referred to as “baseball arbitration” – of this carriage battle. It’s high-risk business brinksmanship. In Major League Baseball, if a player and his team can’t come to a negotiated salary agreement, an arbitrator…
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TORONTO – Telus will open the doors Thursday on a new concept store designed for small and medium-sized businesses in Toronto.
The store will feature consultants trained in the specific needs of small to medium sized businesses and consumers, in-store learning centres with one-on-one or group tutorials to help business customers learn how to get the most out of their communications technology, and display stations equipped with live devices offering hands-on experience.
The Telus Business Store is located at 500 Yonge Street (between Wellesley Street East and College Street).
www.telus.com
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OTTAWA – Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and MTS Allstream have all told the CRTC that they are opposed to BCE and Rogers’ proposal to take control of sports channels Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and Gol TV Canada from parent Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).
The interventions filed by the independent distributors claim that the move, which comes as part of the BCE/Rogers $1.32 billion bid for a majority stake in MLSE, “are bad for the Canadian broadcasting industry, further extending the control exerted by these large vertically integrated conglomerates”.
“Increasing the already extensive market power enjoyed by vertically integrated programming…
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