TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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OTTAWA – The real battle of the CRTC’s interconnection hearing that starts next week is going to be over whether the new entrant wireless service providers and long distance carriers are able to connect to incumbent and competitor networks at lower costs. In its consultation document, the Commission has asked the telecommunications industry if it would benefit from a consolidated interconnection regime rather than the current situation with three separate regimes: one for each the competitive local exchange carriers, wireless service providers and long distance or toll traffic carriers. Under the current rules, CLECs are…
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SHENZHEN, China – Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Ed Fast, spent Thanksgiving weekend touring Huawei’s global headquarters in Shenzhen, in part to recognize the company’s commitment to Canada over the past few years.
The world’s second largest telecom provider now employs approximately 400 people in Canada, and has committed $67 million over the next five years to further develop its R&D facility in Kanata, Ontario. Since opening in 2010, the R&D facility has grown to 120 researchers and engineers, with plans to double in size by the end of 2012.
“The…
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TORONTO – Touting it as Canada's first online microvolunteering community, Telus’ low-price brand Koodo Wednesday launched Koodonation.com.
“Koodo’s mission in business has always been to redefine mobility; today Koodo is proud to support a social change movement that is redefining volunteering across Canada,” reads the company’s press release.
An entirely not-for-profit, grassroots community, supported and powered by Koodo, koodonation.com allows consumers and Canadian charities to work together where a huge percentage of Canadians spend their time – online — with the concept of microvolunteering.
“Microvolunteering is volunteerism built for the social media generation, and gives web-savvy Canadians the…
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TORONTO – Programming from Astral Media’s multi-platform brand Disney XD will be made available on the Xbox 360 console through Xbox LIVE, the premium online entertainment service for Xbox 360, the companies announced today.
One of the first kids entertainment brands to make content available to Canadian families through Xbox LIVE, Disney XD will offer a sampling line-up that includes popular titles such as Phineas and Ferb, Kickin’ It and What’s Up, Warthogs!. Programming will be available concurrent upon launch of the service this winter.
The Astral programming deal is thought to be just the first of many to…
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TORONTO – Telus has once again pledged its support to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation via its annual ‘Go Pink’ campaign which seeks to raise money to fund breast cancer fellowships for research into the early detection and treatment of the disease.
Telus will contribute $25 to the Foundation for every pink BlackBerry Curve 9360 smart phone sold, and an additional $5 for each purchase of select pink phone accessories. Canadians may also visit Telus’ Facebook page to create their own ‘pink network’ – an on-line, shareable photo gallery – and Telus will contribute an additional $1 for every new photo gallery created.
"Each…
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OTTAWA – Telus chairman Brian A. Canfield has been named this year’s recipient of the Neotelis Canadian Telecom Career Service Award.
Awarded by Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame, the career service awards were initiated in 2006 to acknowledge the exemplary work, accomplishments and leadership of those Canadians who have made tangible contributions to the betterment of the domestic and international telecom industry for the better part of their careers.
Canfield joined BC Tel in 1956 and, in the early part of his career, held key positions in network services, engineering, operator services, sales and operations before being named president and CEO…
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TORONTO – The first annual Canadian ISP Summit is coming to Toronto from November 14 – 16, presented by the Canadian Network Operator’s Consortium (CNOC) and the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP).
Designed for ISPs large and small across the country – and open to participants in the Canadian ISP industry – this conference will allow attendees to address the challenges and opportunities of the current business environment. The event will also be co-located with the Internet Society’s (ISOC) ION Conference, which will take place on Monday afternoon.
Keynote speeches will be made by representatives from the CRTC, Industry Canada, Telus…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications is hoping that its wireless customers will help with its lobbying efforts to prevent Industry Canada from giving special treatment to new entrants during next year’s auction of the 700 Mhz wireless spectrum. But at least one of those new entrants has taken issue with the tactic, calling it “a thinly veiled attempt at manipulating government regulators and public perception”.
Rogers, the country’s largest mobile operator, posted a sample letter on its website asking customers interested in its new LTE service to email it to their elected officials to demand a “fair and open auction for…
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WHILE SAYING HIS company has not yet decided on a course of action, Bell Canada’s regulatory chief says thanks to the CRTC’s new vertical integration policy, he wants to start over when it comes to our broadcasting laws and its regulation.
(Explained here, the new policy: prohibits exclusives on linear TV content when it comes to mobile and online platforms; bans tied selling of specialty services ensuring BDUs can buy them from programmers one at a time; calls for consumers to be able to buy more specialties one at a time in a pick-and-pay format; outlines a specific code…
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