TORONTO and VANCOUVER – Calling it “a bad day for Canadians and wireless competition in Canada”, Globalive may be down, but it doesn’t sound like they’re entirely out of the wireless industry in Canada.
After learning that the CRTC found it to be non-compliant with Canadian ownership and control requirements, the company said in a statement that “Wind Mobile will be delayed in becoming Canada’s newest competitive wireless operator in over a decade.”
It also expressed surprise that the Commission’s decision would be “at odds” with Industry Canada.
“Having already received approval from Industry Canada, we are extremely disappointed that the…
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REGINA, VANCOUVER and MONTREAL – SaskTel has signed wireless network sharing agreements with Telus and Bell, designed to expand their customers’ network coverage, improve roaming, and provide access to a wider range of wireless devices.
SaskTel initially announced its next generation network plans as part of its overall 2009 network investment program, which will ensure that all Saskatchewan residents have access to high speed Internet coverage, and that 98% have access to wireless service. SaskTel’s UMTS/HSPA network is scheduled to launch mid-2010 with a targeted completion date of 2011.
"SaskTel has continually evolved its wireless network in Saskatchewan to provide its customers…
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VANCOUVER – In a move that most likely will spark a price war between incumbents, Telus has announced that its new rate plans will drop the system access and carrier 911 fees.
Its new ‘Clear Choice’ plans will apply across both new business and consumer wireless rate plans when Telus debuts its new network on November 5.
“Clear and simple is at the heart of Telus’ brand promise, the future is friendly," said president and CEO Darren Entwistle, in the announcement. "Nobody likes surprises. We are listening to Canadians, who have told us wireless pricing can be confusing. With Telus’ Clear Choice plans, the…
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VANCOUVER – Telus will begin selling the Apple iPhone 3GS on the same day that it launches its new 3G+ network: on November 5, 2009.
The new next generation wireless network, stretching more than 1.1 million square km, will allow for wireless data download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second, access to new mobile devices, and international roaming service to more than 200 countries.
The iPhone 3GS, which boasts improved speed and performance, a longer battery life, a 3 megapixel autofocus camera, video recording and hands free voice control, will be available for $199.99 for the 16GB model on…
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TORONTO –
Whether it’s true IPTV or a version of DSL doesn’t really matter and in a Canadian context anyway, that’s a significant number (right around the total number of people living in Windsor, Ont.). And they are building, experimenting and taking customers away from their primary competitors, cable.
This week in Toronto, a number of the traditional telecom companies which are now offering TV are meeting with the various programmers in Canada and from the States to talk about their expansion plans (more regions, more customers, more channels).
Most are adding channels and capabilities. Some are newer and serve a…
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TORONTO and OTTAWA – In what could be a first, Internet service providers, consumer groups and independent producers all agreed that Wednesday’s CRTC framework on Internet traffic management practices got it right.
“I didn’t think that we needed any rules, but, they are reasonable, certainly not draconian”, Rogers’ SVP of regulatory, Ken Engelhart, told Cartt.ca. “They’ve picked a middle ground that we can live with.”
Over at Telus, Michael Hennessy, SVP of regulatory and government affairs, largely concurred, calling the new rules “clear and well thought out”.
“I think it was a good decision”, he said in an interview with Cartt.ca. “The…
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TORONTO – Is Canada’s broadband infrastructure lagging or leading that of other countries?
According to a recent report by Canadian telecom consultant Mark Goldberg and Giganomics’ Suzanne Blackwell, that question can be difficult to answer. International comparative statistics have been conflicted on Canada’s broadband performance, in large part due to methodological errors in some of the research that in turn biased the resulting rankings.
The authors are particularly critical of the OECD rankings which they describes as “highly dependent on per country sampling data used”, while its penetration metrics are biased in favour of countries with smaller household sizes. Also, the OECD…
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TORONTO – Having another company selling the iPhone makes a great headline for Bell Canada, but according to Bell Mobility president Wade Oosterman, there are plenty more benefits to switching on the company’s new, shared, HSPA wireless network.
Bell announced earlier this week its next generation wireless network will be ready next month, earlier than planned and while most media have focused on the overhyped handheld, upgrading the net will bring more to Bell than the Apple mobile.
“There are four big benefits that accrue to us and our subscribers,” Oosterman told Cartt.ca. “The network is vastly larger than…
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MISSISSAUGA and VANCOUVER – Bell and Telus have confirmed that they have struck an agreement with Apple to sell the popular iPhone in Canada.
The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be available as early as next month on the companies’ shared new 3G network, which Bell said on Monday will launch in November.
Information on pricing and availability was not made available at this time.
www.bell.ca/networkwww.telusmobility.com/iphone
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TORONTO – A coalition of some of Canada’s biggest TV service providers have teamed up on a campaign to tell their side of the story on the contentious issue of fee for carriage.
Bell, Bell Aliant, Cogeco, EastLink, Rogers and Telus have joined forces on ‘Stop the TV Tax’ which they say is designed to ensure “that Canadians hear the whole story”.
"Cable and satellite subscribers have united to stop the broadcasters’ costly proposal because it amounts to a tax, pure and simple”, said Rogers vice chair Phil Lind, in a statement. “This tax will hit viewers for stations that have always…
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