TORONTO – Canada’s broadcasters and telcos are rumoured to top the list of suitors interested in acquiring the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
The OTTP confirmed Saturday that it will “explore the possibility of selling” its 66% majority share of the sports and entertainment giant which reportedly includes more than a billion dollars worth of assets ranging from Air Canada Centre to the Toronto Maple Leafs to sports channels Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and Gol TV.
The Toronto Star published a report last December claiming that Rogers Communications was in talks to buy the…
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TORONTO and VANCOUVER – Rogers and Telus were quick to respond to Friday’s devastating earthquake in Japan.
Rogers launched a text-to-donate campaign on Friday afternoon whereby Rogers and Fido wireless customers can text ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 to earthquake relief efforts. There are no additional charges for these texts, and 100% of all donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami fund.
To help customers stay up-to-date on news and information from Japan, Rogers is making TV Japan available in free preview on Channel 829 to all of its digital cable customers in Ontario.
Telus pledged to…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is giving customers in Alberta and B.C. something new to "Like" about Optik TV.
The telco introduced a new Facebook application on its Optik TV platform on Thursday, designed to provide customers with access to Facebook’s features and content without missing a second of their favorite TV show. Through ‘Share my View’, users are able to post what they’re watching on their Facebook wall, creating a social TV viewing experience that brings their friends list into the picture.
Optik TV customers need a current Facebook account and subscription to Optik Internet to take advantage of the Facebook application…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is building itself a new home in downtown Vancouver named Telus Garden.
The telco said Wednesday that the new $750-million, one-million square foot project facility will include new office space available for multiple tenants in a 22-storey office tower, plus 500 new residential units in a 44-storey residential tower. The environmentally sustainable facility will also feature 10,000 square feet of green roofs providing organic produce for local restaurants, two elevated roof forests, local artwork, LED lighting on the western façade projecting programmable coloured images on to fritted glass, and media walls where cultural events such as symphony concerts can…
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VANCOUVER – Telus will invest $670 million in its wireless and wireline networks across British Columbia in 2011.
The telco said that it will continue to invest in its Optik TV and high-speed Internet services by laying thousands of kilometers of fibre optic lines to support growing demand in the province, install 76 new cell sites to further support its wireless broadband services, and, will introduce the Dual Cell upgrade to its HSPA+ network, doubling the manufacturer-rated peak wireless Internet speeds to up to 42 megabits per second.
Telus also pledged to contribute $10 million to charitable organizations and community initiatives…
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DENVER – Looking towards the future, two cable industry standards groups have adopted two different sets of technical specifications aimed at spurring the industry’s deployment of all-fibre networks.
In late December, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) finally approved its Radio Frequency over Glass (RFoG) standard after more than two years of discussion and sometimes testy technical debates. The new RFoG specs enable cable operators to extend fibre lines all the way to homes and businesses without needing to switch out their existing headends, back-office systems, set-top boxes, cable modems, or other equipment. As a result, MSOs now have…
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TORONTO – Mobilicity dismissed the notion that Canada’s incumbent wireless carriers require more spectrum while announcing its intention to participate in the upcoming 700 MHz auction.
“For years, Canada’s Big Three ‘tri-opoly’ have been acting like squirrels preparing for a 50-year winter”, said chairman John Bitove, in a statement. “They hoard spectrum to keep others from giving consumers an affordable choice and Canadians have been paying the price for their self-serving interests for far too long.”
In its submission, Mobilicity asked that:
-set-aside for bidders who qualify as Canadian-owned and controlled entities with less than 10% of total wireless telecommunications market revenue…
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“WE’RE AT SUCH A significant spectrum disadvantage, we think government should level the playing field,” says Globalive CEO Tony Lacavera about the wireless auction of 700 MHz spectrum, expected in late 2012.
So significant is that disadvantage, the federal government should set aside all of the spectrum and bar any wireless company which holds 800 MHz spectrum (each of the big incumbents, that is) from participating in the 700 auction.
“We know we’re making a pretty significant ask here, but on the other hand, the incumbents have incredible swaths of spectrum,” added Lacavera (whose wireless company operates as Wind, of course)…
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OTTAWA – The incumbent wireless operators want a straight-up winner-take-all auction (mostly).
Those newer to the wireless game want some protective rules in place. They say some restrictions (set asides, caps) are needed in order for them to be able grab a slice from the lucrative, high quality, 700 MHz wireless spectrum to go on auction likely in 2012 or 2013.
In November, Industry Canada launched a consultation on a technical framework to auction spectrum in the band 698-806 MHz (also known as the 700 MHz band). Comments were sought on general policy considerations related to commercial mobile broadband spectrum…
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EDMONTON and CALGARY – Telus will invest $650 million across Alberta this year to further expand and enhance its wireless and wireline networks, the company announced Monday.
The telco will continue to invest in its Optik TV and high-speed Internet services by laying thousands of kilometers of fibre optic lines to support growing demand in the province, install 80 new cell sites to further expand its 4G wireless network, and, will introduce the Dual Cell upgrade to its HSPA+ network, doubling the manufacturer-rated peak wireless Internet speeds to up to 42 megabits per second.
"Our planned $650 million investment this year in…
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