TORONTO – Canadians may soon be able to send and receive money using their mobile phone, thanks to a new application called Zoompass.
Launched Monday by mobile commerce company EnStream, Zoompass allows customers to link their personal bank account or credit card to load and transfer money via a secure account, much like PayPal does.
This will allow users to conduct everyday transactions such as splitting a lunch bill, requesting money from parents, or even pay a babysitter, directly from a mobile phone.
The service also has the ability for customers to make purchases in stores and on the Internet using…
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BANFF – Home Box Office’s (HBO) John Adams was the big winner on Monday as it picked up the Grand Jury Prize as the best of the best – as well as the best drama award at the Banff World Television Awards, or Rockies, ceremony.
“OMFG. We got the big one,” said David Baldwin, executive vice-president of programming planning at HBO, in accepting the Grand Jury Prize. “John Adams was a special project for HBO.”
The U.S. mini-series about U.S. president John Adams also has Emmy and Golden Globe wins.
The Rockie for best Canadian program went to Passage,…
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MONTREAL – Telus has named François Côté to the position of executive vice president and president of both Telus Québec and Telus Health Solutions, and Karen Radford as the president of Telus Business Solutions.
Based in Montreal, Côté will be responsible for expanding the BC-based company’s presence in Quebec, and advancing its national health care strategy through investment in innovative information, communications and technology applications, the announcement detailed.
Formerly president and CEO of Emergis, Côté was named president of Telus Health Solutions following the company’s acquisition by Telus in January, 2008.
Telus has more than 5,000 employees in Quebec,…
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OTTAWA, MONTREAL and WINNIPEG – The telco industry is continuing in its efforts to make its business ‘greener’.
During last week’s ‘Environment Week’, both Telus and Fido made announcements to highlight their commitment to social responsibility and the environment.
Telus made a donation to Tree Canada, a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments, on behalf of its customers and employees who opted for electronic billing, or who returned a mobile phone for recycling.
As part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, Telus said that it offers…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – Reaction to the CRTC’s broadcasting in new media report has been swift, and predictably, mixed.
The news that the Commission will continue to exempt new media broadcasting services from its regulation got high marks from Internet service providers (ISPs) Telus and Rogers.
“The CRTC is often criticized, but give them in credit in this case,” Rogers’ senior vice president of regulatory, Ken Engelhart, told Cartt.ca on Thursday. “The Internet’s power comes from the consumer, not regulation and not taxes. This decision is very progressive and far reaching and we support it.”
Michael Hennessy, Telus’ senior…
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OTTAWA – Former Canadian Association of Broadcasters exec Jay Thomson has launched a consulting company offering strategic communications policy and regulatory advice.
Jay Communications Consulting will focus on Internet, broadcasting and copyright matters.
Thomson recently helped lead the CAB on the BDU framework hearing and other significant CRTC files as its vice president of regulatory and policy. He also spent four years at Telus, and was the first full time president of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP).
He may be reached at jay@jaycom.ca
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for input on whether it may conduct Canadian ownership and control reviews on a public basis, as opposed to a confidential basis, in certain instances.
Telus sent a letter to the Commission on April 20, 2009 asking it to conduct “an open and transparent process” to review whether wireless newcomer Globalive Wireless Management is under Canadian ownership and control, as required by section 16 of the Telecommunications Act. Shaw sent a letter two days later in support of Telus’ request.
But Globealive opposed the move, saying the Commission has a “longstanding practice” of conducting…
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ABOUT YOUR EDITORS’ NOTE on negotiating a fee rather than imposing a tax (in the story "Heritage Committee: Von Finckenstein wants to let broadcasters and distributors negotiate a fee"). It’s the same thing.
First, there is no retransmission right in the signal itself under copyright law, so there is no right to negotiate unless the CRTC forces the negotiation.
Second, there is no right to not to carry under the BDU regulations because (conventional stations) are mandatory services, so you can not decide to drop bad services as part of the negotiations.
Third, if you cannot agree the…
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TORONTO – Huge cuts in expenses and employees and the adding of a new retail division were just a couple of major moves undertaken by Bell Canada over the past 10 months, CEO George Cope said late last week.
Speaking to a group of investors at the TD Newcrest Telecom and Media Day, Cope said that since last July, when he was hired, the company has moved as quickly as it can to restructure itself.
He made no mention at all of the failed deal to take the company private.
Said Cope on Thursday:
• The company now has…
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TORONTO – Rogers, Bell, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) have banded together to file a complaint with the CRTC alleging that CTV has violated the Broadcasting Act by airing a “one-sided and unbalanced coverage” of its own advocacy campaign.
As reported by Cartt.ca, CTV has been promoting its ‘Save Local TV’ campaign across its television properties in an apparent attempt to pressure the government and the CRTC for fee-for-carriage. But incorporating the campaign into their local newscasts violates the Broadcasting Act and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters own Code of Ethics, say the group of BDUs.
"While we…
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