VANCOUVER – Telus withdrew its share conversion proposal just hours before the plan was to be put to a vote at its annual general meeting of shareholders on Wednesday morning.
The company said in a statement that it decided against the move in large part because of a campaign led by the U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital Management which it accused of using empty voting trading tactics designed to defeat the plan. Empty voting is buying shares to vote them while simultaneously short selling shares in the same company, a practice that Telus called “troubling” noting that it gives a fund more…
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EDMONTON – Telus has announced plans to spend $2 billion in Alberta over the next three years to further expand its wireless and wireline broadband networks.
In addition to hiring 750 people across the province this year, the investment will also help to extend its 4G LTE wireless network to seven new communities, connect 18 remote and geographically challenging communities to its broadband Internet, and further extend its Optik TV service to reach almost 70% of Alberta households by the end of this year.
"We will continue to expand wireline broadband access to rural and remote communities and deliver 4G LTE, the…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s biggest telecom companies have joined forces in calling for a national set of standards to regulate wireless contracts.
In a shared position statement submitted to the CRTC on Thursday, the regulatory heads of Bell, Rogers, Telus as well as the Public Interest Advocacy Center (PIAC), on behalf of the Consumers’ Association of Canada and Canada without Poverty, said that there is “a clear need” for the Commission to “lead an initiative involving all stakeholders with the ultimate objective of bringing cohesion and uniformity to this area for the benefit of consumers and the industry alike”.
Noting that five…
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OTTAWA – The use of a package-based auction bidding format could benefit all participants, says the head of Wind Mobile, but he still has questions about whether Bell Canada and Telus Corp. will be allowed to bid separately under Industry Canada's proposed new 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction rules announced last week.
In an interview with Cartt.ca on Friday, Anthony Lacavera, chairman and CEO of Wind Mobile, notes based on the definition of associated entities contained in the consultation, it’s still not clear whether Bell and Telus will be considered one bidder or two. “This is…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is giving TV viewers more to ‘Tweet’ about with a free Twitter app on its Optik TV service.
The app wraps around part of the perimeter of the television screen, allowing users to Tweet while simultaneously watching TV programming and even follow what others are saying about their favourite show through 'TV Tweets'. Offered free as part of the Optik TV subscription, the Twitter app uses the standard Optik remote control.
“We are committed to enabling a truly connected home, offering new ways for our Optik TV customers to stay connected with their friends while still enjoying television," said chief marketing officer David Fuller, in the…
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OTTAWA – Industry Canada is proposing to switch from a single licence auction format to one where bidders would place a single bid on a package of licences. The department released its proposed 700 MHz licensing framework on Wednesday afternoon.
This new format, called a combinatorial clock auction (CCA), would enable a bidder to bid on a specific set of licences, or a package. This is different from the previously used simultaneous multiple round ascending (SMRA) auction where each bidder had to place bids on all the individual licences it wanted.
There are a number of benefits…
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OTTAWA – Small local telephone companies operating in rural regions of Ontario and Quebec have enjoyed special protection from competition for long enough and now is the time to open up their markets to cable competitors, its competitors and potential competitors have told the Governor-in-Council.
The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) fear that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they will suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they have noted on Cartt.ca). They are urging the Governor-in-Council to…
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TORONTO – Travel+Escape HD is available in approximately 1.1 million homes across Canada after launching on Rogers, Cogeco, Telus and EastLink on Tuesday.
Owned by GlassBox Television, the travel and adventure themed channel is available on free preview for the next three months. Viewers will be able to watch programs such as Lonely Planet’s Roads Less Travelled as well as Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover, Fishing Adventurer and Cottage Life, in addition to new commissioned series Destination Fear and Scam City.
“Travel+Escape HD fulfills our commitment to giving our viewers the ultimate entertainment experience,” said programming EVP Vanessa Case, in the announcement. “Being able to watch our quality travel and…
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GATINEAU – The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) and Rogers Communications have told the CRTC that they are prepared to accept an extension of the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) as long as the program is only available to independent broadcasters.
In addition to excluding the vertically integrated companies and CBC/Radio-Canada, (which has campaigned hard to keep it) the CCSA said that LPIF monies should only be made available for new, incremental local programming. Despite this slight change of heart, the small BDUs would prefer a complete and immediate elimination of the fund.
According to Access Communications,…
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Perry Hoffman
GATINEAU – Telcos Telus and MTS Allstream are urging the CRTC to remove vertically integrated broadcasters/distributors from eligibility under the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF).
While Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor all want the LPIF program eliminated, Bell Media Inc. is neither for or against continuing the program. However, each have local stations who are collectively getting millions from the LPIF fund.
Ann Mainville-Neeson, director of broadcast regulation at Telus, noted during her opening remarks, that of the large vertically integrated providers, only Bell is clinging to LPIF despite the fact that it could save more than $1 million if the…
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