WINNIPEG – Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and its Board of Directors have announced a wide-ranging strategic review of its Allstream business division, a strong sign that it is positioning itself for a sale.
The company indicated in a news release Thursday that legislative changes by Ottawa that allow increased foreign investment in smaller telecommunications companies are a “positive development” that will “strengthen the Canadian economy.” As a result the company says it will “consider a full range of alternatives that could be undertaken to further enhance Allstream's growing competitiveness, which in turn could improve the long-term position of the company's…
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MONTREAL – Telus is another in the line of companies who want the purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada killed.
But, if it is approved, the industry needs better rules to govern the behaviour of it and other vertically integrated companies (but especially Bell…), Telus told the CRTC Thursday morning in Montreal.
The best example of Bell’s intransigence, said Telus executives, is its dealings on multiplatform content. “It has been mentioned by many parties in this proceeding that Olympic coverage on mobile was only available to Bell Mobility subscribers,” said Telus director of broadcast regulation and corporate affairs, Ann Mainville-Neeson….
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MONTREAL – Sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on the reasons why we decide to pull something out of the tens of thousands of words spoken at CRTC hearings and turn it into a story.
Other times, such as Cogeco Cable CEO Louis Audet’s focused, furious appearance Wednesday, it’s easy to figure out why we cover some submissions instead of others…
We know everyone works hard on their presentations and the job they all do is commendable. However, as I often tell people, we can’t write about everyone. That said, there are frequent portions in every CRTC hearing that stick…
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MONTREAL – We have a real soft spot in our hearts for those regular citizens, the ones with no industry background, with nothing to gain financially, who are concerned enough about a broadcasting or telecom, issue before the CRTC that they choose to appear publicly to make their case officially.
A few years ago, it was Ottawa’s Marjorie Lemieux at the fee-for-carriage kerfuffle. Thursday in Montreal it was Rahul Majumdar, just a regular Montrealer who doesn’t want to see TSN Radio 690 (formerly 990) turn into RDS Radio. The Montreal sports fan bears the French sports…
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MONTREAL – There’s little doubt of who’s the biggest fish in the Quebec media pond. Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau is a rock star here, drawing reporters, photographers and others like kids to free candy floss.
We’re hard pressed to think of an executive in English Canadian media whose mere arrival at a CRTC hearing would be akin to a red carpet walk, as the assemblage of shooters blasted away when Péladeau walked in with Group TVA president Pierre Dion and Vidéotron president Robert Dépatie. After their appearance a the hearing, more than a dozen microphones and numerous still and…
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VANCOUVER – The Supreme Court of British Columbia today ruled that Telus’ largest investor, hedge fund Mason Capital Management, cannot hold a meeting of its shareholders to consider a proposal that could have blocked the company's share consolidation plan.
The U.S. hedge fund which held 19% of Telus' voting shares as of March 31, is opposing Telus’ plan to consolidate its voting and non-voting stock on a one-for-one basis.
The Court determined that the actions of Mason were contrary to law and that its proposed meeting and resolutions will not proceed. Telus maintains that Mason’s proposal to exchange non-voting shares into…
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MONTREAL ? With a three-hour break mid-day (we were told someone had to go to a funeral, so quit complaining&), yesterday?s long hearing day featured a ton of back and forth between Bell executives and the panel of CRTC commissioners.
Long lovely narratives explaining each exchange would be nice but time restraints mean we?re going for the bullets only of some of the highlights. We think we?ve hit some of the main points with our bulleted rundown here.
* In his first public appearance as chair of the CRTC, Jean-Pierre Blais acquitted himself well, nailing a few biting comments throughout the…
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TORONTO – Radio and TV personality Marc Saltzman will host Canada's biggest B2B tech, telecom, and wireless networking event, the 2012 Canadian Wireless Trade Show. The international event is at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall D, from September 12th – 13th between 9am – 5pm in Toronto.
Saltzman has gained widespread notoriety within the tech industry for his syndicated tech columns with Gannett ContentOne, USAToday.com, CNN.com, Yahoo!, Toronto Star, URmagazine, and even Playboy.
Tickets are free and all attendees can network face-to-face with…
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FREMONT, CALIF – Cellphone-Mate, a provider of cell phone boosters/amplifiers and accessories, is launching a cellular signal booster designed for the Canadian market just ahead of this week’s Canadian Wireless Trade Show (CWTS).
The SureCall Tri-Flex LTE, which retails for $899, is a self-contained booster that is the first tri-band consumer cellular amplifier to cover LTE on the AWS band and 2G/3G on the Cellular 850 MHz and PCS 1900 Mhz band says Cellphone-Mate. The manufacturer claims it provides the highest integrated cellular amplifier ever introduced claims the manufacturer. The booster covers all bands and technologies in Canada for…
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MONTREAL – The SayNoToBell.ca campaigners claim that nearly 50,000 Canadians, both consumers and industry leaders, have signed their petition urging the CRTC and government to deny the Bell/Astral merger. CRTC hearings into the proposed deal are poised to begin next week.
SayNoToBell.ca says 42 of the 60 interveners to be heard have already publicly opposed the deal or questioned the transaction. Notable industry presentations include:
• Québécor – Monday, September 10
• Eastlink – Tuesday, September 11
• Cogeco Cable – Wednesday, September 12
• Rogers Communications – Wednesday, September 12
• Telus – Wednesday, September 12
• Canadian Cable Systems Alliance – Friday, September 14
Notable…
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