TORONTO – BMO Capital Markets has downgraded its investment rating on Shaw Communications from outperform to market perform, based on the growing competitive threat from Telus, which could eventually capture one third of the B.C.-Alberta TV subscription market, says the bank.
“We are growing increasingly concerned with Shaw’s ability to withstand competitive pressures from Telus, specifically its Optik TV service,” writes Tim Casey, cable and media analyst at BMO Capital Markets, in his note to clients.
He cautions that Telus has the financial scale and strategic incentive to remain aggressive with marketing promotions this year and next, particularly since Shaw is…
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VANCOUVER – Fourth quarter revenue at Telus rose 4% to $2.55 billion, the company reported today, driven by a 9% growth in wireless revenue and 7% in wireline data revenues.
Wireless average revenue per unit (ARPU) increased 1.9% this quarter, the first year-over-year increase in 14 quarters. Smartphones represented 46% of post-paid gross additions in the fourth quarter, as compared to 25% in same period last year. Higher revenue smartphone subscribers now represent 33% of total post-paid subscribers compared to 20% a year ago. However, the cost of acquisition per gross addition increased year-over-year by 2.1% to $388, reflecting a…
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NOT LONG AGO I ASKED A CRTC senior policy advisor I know how work was going. It was one of those just-making-conversation questions we all ask, but I was a little surprised at his response:
“Livin’ the dream,” he excitedly told me. Now, I’m not sure my facial expression betrayed my wonder at that statement and I don’t remember what I said next, but he continued to add that he found it exciting, interesting and fun to debate and then help craft what would become the “law of the land.”
Upon reflection, it shouldn’t have come as such a shock –…
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GATINEAU – After a week of vitriol, legitimate consumer anger and utter political silliness, the CRTC today officially opened up a new review into wholesale broadband usage based billing
“The great concern expressed by Canadians over this issue is telling of how much the Internet has become an integral part of their lives,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC, in a press release.
“Our approach is based on two fundamental principles: as a general rule, ordinary consumers served by Small ISPs should not have to fund the bandwidth used by the heaviest residential Internet consumers; and it is in…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications said today that thanks to the national backlash over the concept of usage-based billing, it is asking customers to participate in consultation sessions to share their thoughts on how the big ISP should handle Internet usage allowances and billing.
That’s despite the fact the whole UBB furor has little to do with Shaw as it has just a single third party ISPs riding on its network and hadn’t yet begun charging retail customers for exceeding the gigabit download thresholds the company had set (“High Speed” has a 60 GB file transfer limit, “Extreme” has a 100…
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TORONTO – Telus customers could have faster mobile Internet access speeds come March as the telco rolls out a new Dual Cell upgrade to HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) in select markets.
This new network capability supports manufacturer’s rated peak download speeds of up to 42 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 11 Mbps, Telus said Tuesday. It will initially offer Dual Cell in the greater Vancouver area, Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Whistler, Camrose, Winnipeg and the greater Toronto area.
“Dual Cell is just the latest example of our commitment to offer our clients the latest and greatest available technology,” said Eros Spadotto,…
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TORONTO – Telus has joined Rogers in unlocking its customers’ cell phones. In an announcement on Monday, the telco said that it would introduce the policy on February 15.
"Wireless devices are far more sophisticated and powerful than they were even five years ago and our customers are asking us now to give them the freedom and flexibility to use these devices as they wish”, said chief marketing officer, David Fuller, in a statement. “We are listening and responding to their needs, through services like device unlocking. It’s all part of our commitment to continue to drive flexibility, simplicity and…
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HOW DID A CRTC DECISION on usage-based billing that affects so few total Canadians become a national story and potentially an election issue?
It’s your fault, big ISPs.
According to recent research, most customers of the large Canadian ISPs were not even aware their Internet packages were subject to bandwidth caps and extra billing if they went over those limits. They didn’t know they were capped and sure didn’t know how much extra it could cost.
In short, the big ISPs were and are doing a poor job letting their customers know their limits and what they mean. People aren’t…
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GATINEAU – The way the dance works in these CRTC proceedings is the applicant draws a few lines in the sand in its application and presentation, a few in granite, listens to a few days of appearances by intervenors, gauges the reaction of the commissioners to various ideas presented – and then re-draws those sandy lines for their final public follow up appearances.
BCE was no different Friday morning during its appearance on the closing day of the CRTC hearing into its acquisition of CTV.
Right off the bat, its executives told the CRTC it is ready to endorse the Commission’s…
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GATINEAU – If BCE is going to own CTV (and with it, French sports channel RDS) plus the piece of the Montreal Canadiens it currently holds, then there must be special rules put in place governing sports programming exclusives in Quebec, according to Quebecor Media CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau.
Péladeau was speaking in front of the CRTC this morning as the Commission’s hearing into the acquisition of CTV by BCE continued.
While first stating that the valuation BCE put on CTV is too low (the CRTC says it is worth $2.67 billion, BCE says $2.2 bil) and must be re-evaluated by…
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