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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WHILE THE LOBBYING intensifies here as everyone awaits word on whether Verizon will venture north in advance of the 700 MHz spectrum auction, the American cellco is doing lobbying of its own, Stateside, as the industry there prepares for a spectrum auction in the 600 MHz band.
A research report which is part of the U.S. wireless industry’s lobbying efforts actually casts doubt on our own government’s assertion it is bringing more competition to the Canadian wireless market with restrictive auction rules.
Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan noted in a report to clients what could be…
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A WACKY LONG WEEKEND of published and advertised wireless truths, half-truths, information and disinformation has likely moved the public opinion needle on Verizon’s potential entry into Canada not at all.
With the federal government seeming to have said its final word on the matter last week – noting it will stick by the screwy rules it has set up (rather than full, open, foreign investment in Canadian telecom) to govern the Canadian wireless market – the incumbent wireless companies, as well as their supporters and detractors, went into full froth over the August Civic Holiday weekend.
On…
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IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE all-hands on deck round of public pleading from our big wireless companies will not shake our meddlesome federal government from its wireless policy path. After all, there are no votes in it for Ottawa to alter course – and potentially big, big money in simply plowing ahead.
As everyone knows, the most recent Canadian spectrum auction in 2008 brought five new wireless companies to life in Wind Mobile, Public Mobile, Mobilicity, Videotron Wireless and EastLink Wireless. Regulatory intervention set aside some spectrum then which was purchased more cheaply than that which…
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