TORONTO – While James Moore told Cartt.ca on Tuesday the 700 MHz spectrum auction will not be delayed – nor will the federal government be revisiting its wireless policies – Rogers Communications CEO Nadir Mohamed is equally strident saying he has “absolutely not” given up on convincing the Industry Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office to change their minds on both fronts.
“I still firmly believe the best answer comes from dialogue and debate and discussion, and that’s the process we’re in. There’s no question in my mind that there’s always time to make the right…
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INDUSTRY MINISTER JAMES MOORE has fair sized reservoir of stamina. After two full days of going west to east talking wireless with just about everyone who’ll ask for his time – and with three days of that still lying ahead – he sounded fresh and combative when it was our turn Tuesday afternoon to talk with him.
For readers not vacationing incommunicado for the past two months, Minister Moore has taken this week to tour the country to talk up the federal government’s wireless policies in the face of an all-out onslaught of sustained criticism from…
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OTTAWA – A survey released Wednesday morning by Nanos Research, commissioned by Telus and Bell, says a clear majority of Canadians (81%) believe that neither foreign? nor Canadian-?owned telecommunications companies should be favoured in the upcoming 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction.
“If the government were to create an advantage in the marketplace in any industry, respondents prefer that the government favour Canadian (70%) over foreign?owned companies. Only 2% prefer that foreign?owned companies be given an advantage,” reads the Nanos press release.
Respondents are clearly more likely to think that Canadian companies would do a better job at creating jobs, investing and…
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VANCOUVER, B.C. –? A new wireless digital box launched Tuesday by Telus means the carrier's Optik TV customers can place their TV anywhere in the home or yard without having to plug it into a TV outlet.
Telus says the Optik wireless digital box works the same way as its wired Optik digital box, but instead receives the TV signal over the air from a wireless access point up to 60 metres away, eliminating the need for a physical connection between the digital box and the TV outlet. A corded power supply and connection between the TV…
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IN WHAT APPEARS TO be a big blow to the federal government’s plans to entice outside investors into Canada in order to be a fourth national wireless carrier, American wireless company Verizon has apparently pulled the plug on buying Wind Mobile or Mobilicity, reports the Globe and Mail.
The report, citing anonymous sources, says Verizon has – for now – decided to set aside any attempted purchase of the two companies, both of which have been for sale for months, until after the January 2014 auction of 700 MHz spectrum.
The report says Verizon will now decide…
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CALGARY – The Alberta Flood Aid organization announced Wednesday evening that the Alberta Flood Aid benefit concert taking place at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Thursday, August 15th will be broadcast and webcast live, commercial-free starting at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET) across Canada and around the world.
The star-studded 4 hour program, hosted by Brent Butt, can be seen live on the following outlets: * Omni Alberta Shaw Channels 4 (SD) and 214 (HD) (Calgary) * Omni Alberta Shaw Channels 11 (SD) and 214 (HD) (Edmonton) * Omni Alberta Telus Optik Channel 5 (SD) (Calgary and Edmonton) *…
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BURNABY, B.C. – A telecom union which represents Telus and Shaw employees added its voice to the ongoing opposition to U.S. telecom Verizon's potential entry into the Canadian market, saying today that Canadians are being misled by the "mirage" that having a foreign carrier will mean increased competition and cheaper phone rates.
“Tempting voters with the lure of cheaper cell phone bills seems to be Mr. Harper’s plan, but it's a mirage. There is no guarantee of lower prices. It is a complete manipulation of the Canadian public,” said Lee Riggs, national president of the Telecommunications Workers…
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TORONTO – While acknowledging any changes to the 700 MHz wireless auction rules at this stage are “a long shot,” telecommunications and cable analyst Jeff Fan of Scotia Capital still believes that the chances of Verizon coming to the Canadian market are less than 50%.
Simply put, there doesn’t seem to be enough of a return on what would be about a $2.7 billion investment available to the big American cellco, were it to buy Wind Canada and purchase spectrum in the auction, as has been rumoured, plus other costs.
In a research note to investors on Monday, Fan provided an…
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THURSDAY SAW THE continued condemnation of the federal government’s wireless policies by three of the country’s telecom executives as they reported their quarterly results.
Each of Quebecor CEO Robert Dépatie, BCE CEO George Cope and Telus CEO Darren Entwistle used their second quarter 2013 conference calls with financial analysts to take additional public shots at the federal government, whose 700 MHz auction rules coupled with altered AWS spectrum transfer conditions seem poised to give American cellco Verizon an easy, cheap way into the Canadian market. That assumes reports that the American company hopes to purchase Wind Canada are true and…
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TORONTO – With Wind Mobile’s announcement today of a new “24-month pay off promise plan,” the carrier has joined incumbents such as Telus in introducing and promoting two-year contracts, which is the maximum length for a contract set out by the new Wireless Code going into effect later this year.
Effective today, the new service applies to all WINDtab activations and hardware upgrades. Wind says it will clear any remaining WINDtab balance after 24 months.
All aspects of the WINDtab program will remain the same, with no changes to current rate plans and no increase…
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