TORONTO – The company has had its hiccups, but as of Thursday, Public Mobile has been open for a year.
The wireless start-up with the spectrum, G-band, that so few wanted (and some quite unique advertising that stands out from the crowd by cleverly using their very customers) has battled the incumbents and new competitors in the marketplace, in front of regulators and in the courts and emerged energized, says Bruce Kirby, the company’s vice-president of strategy and business development.
“It’s been a lively year,” he told Cartt.ca in an interview. “There has been some interesting behaviour by the incumbents who…
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VANCOUVER – Telus has added French, English and Mandarin versions of Fox International’s BabyTV to its Optik TV lineup.
Founded in 2003, BabyTV provides commercial-free, original programming for babies and toddlers through distinct daytime and night-time playlists. By day, short episodes are active and engaging, and introduce important learning skills through stories, songs, and loveable characters. At night, soft music, lullabies, and bedtime stories set the mood for sleep.
“Not only are we introducing three language channels targeting different audience groups, the launch with Telus also marks the first time that our content will be available to viewers in Western Canada”, said…
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OTTAWA – One year after its launch, 25,000 Canadians now subscribe to the wireless Amber Alerts program, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
The free text message service assists Amber Alert agencies in providing the public with immediate and up-to-date information about a child’s abduction, and solicits the public’s help in the safe and swift return of the child. The program is administered by Canada’s wireless telecommunications industry, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Ontario Provincial Police and Amber Alert agencies across the country.
The Amber Alerts program is available to cell phone users in all 10…
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OTTAWA – The country’s big Internet service providers will be required to provide static Internet protocol (IP) address allocation for their third-party Internet access (TPIA) services, the CRTC has ruled.
A static IP address is a number that is assigned to a device, such as a computer, to be its permanent address on the Internet. An ISP assigns the address when it provides an Internet access service to an end-user.
Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron originally told the Commission that it is unclear whether the managed router solution they use to provide static IP addresses for business customers would work for their TPIA…
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RIMOUSKI – Telus is set to begin building a new $65 million intelligent Internet data centre in Rimouski that should be ready to open in 2012.
The company said Wednesday that the new facility, which will be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards, will be a cornerstone in Telus’ strategic shift in support of next-generation cloud computing and unified communications solutions.
“The new Telus Intelligent Internet Data Centre will be a flagship facility; one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly purpose-built data centres of its kind in North America”, said François Côté, president of…
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OTTAWA – The pace of play at the Federal Court of Appeal’s (FCA) hearing on Globalive Wireless’ ownership yesterday was certainly not like an NHL playoff game, but both sides used their opportunities to rough up their opponents.
After an in-depth explanation why the Federal Court erred in its decision to overturn the Governor in Council (GIC) decision giving Globalive the green light to operate, lawyers for the government of Canada took their first jab at Public Mobile, arguing that the company shouldn’t have even had the right to appeal the GIC in the first place. They said…
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SLAVE LAKE, AB – It’s the not knowing that really bothers Ric McLaren.
The general manager of Cable TV Slave Lake said Wednesday that three days after fire ravaged the town in which he has lived with his family for the last eight years was evacuated, he still doesn’t know for sure whether his home or his family-run cable TV business is still standing.
“We don’t know anything 100%, but we’re 99% sure that our office and our headend is intact,” he told Cartt.ca in a phone interview. “The only real information that we’ve got has been through Facebook and photo…
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EDMONTON – As wildfire continues to ravage Slave Lake, Telus announced plans to help the displaced residents and emergency services.
The telco said Tuesday that it is donating $25,000 to the Red Cross in support of relief efforts in the area, and has launched a text-to-donate initiative whereby customers can text "REDCROSS" to 30333 to donate $5 to The Canadian Red Cross Society’s efforts. Telus is also offering free wireless long distance calling to all residents in the community for at least the next week, plus is shipping 1,500 kits packed with toiletries to the Red Cross for distribution at evacuation…
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TORONTO – The future of TV in the digital age will be debated by senior representatives from Telus, Rogers, Corus, the Canadian Media Production Association, Google TV and Boxee at this year’s Banff World Media Festival.
Moderated by Michael Hennessey, chair of the Festival’s Foundation in addition to SVP regulatory and government affairs at Telus, the panel will discuss what role traditional television infrastructure and new digital technologies will play in the living room of the future, as well as what is at stake for the Canadian and international media ecosystem in these changes.
Panel participants will include David Purdy, vice-president…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered the country’s telcos to pay over $215,000 to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in order to cover its costs during the obligation to serve hearing last fall.
The consumer group asked the Commission that it be reimbursed for legal fees, consultant fees, expert witness fees, disbursement fees and tax while representing the organizations Canada Without Poverty, Option consommateurs, and Rural Dignity of Canada, an amount that it said totaled $216,795.66.
On Monday, the CRTC agreed that PIAC should be paid $215,276.46, and that the amount should be divided up among all telecommunications service providers…
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