GATINEAU – Telus senior vice-president regulatory and government affairs Michael Hennessy asked a question that was a little uncomfortable for the commissioners – and probably the employees at broadcast stations – to hear:
To paraphrase, Hennessy asked: What if viewers in the communities of the smaller nets which are in the most dire financial circumstances (E! and A Channels) have simply decided those stations are just not good enough to watch any more?
“What we’re looking at is nothing else than a very normal response of the market as designed by audience preference,” said Hennessy. “Perhaps these channels are…
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TORONTO – Residential high speed Internet customers of Primus Canada will no longer have their customer service or technical support calls handled by off-shore representatives.
The company announced plans to transition most of its customer service operations, some of which had been outsourced to India, back to Canada “as soon as practical”, which will create 113 new Canadian jobs in the process.
All of Primus Canada’s technical support team has been transitioned back to Canada, the press release detailed. DSL, wireless and VoIP home phone service customers will be able to speak to local representatives if their calls are placed…
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LAS VEGAS – Being the primary video source for customers is a far different thing than being there for them as a wireline, wireless or data provider.
Cable companies know this inherently thanks to decades of experience and many, many mistakes over the years. Cable’s first alert that there might be a network problem used to be when a customer called in to report they had no TV service and it might have taken a few calls (and please be there sometime between 8 and 8…) before the problem was fixed.
Nowadays, large cable companies have sophisticated network operations…
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EDMONTON and CALGARY – Telus has pledged to spend upwards of $700 million on their advanced wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure in Alberta.
Work is currently underway on its next generation wireless network which the company expects to launch in Alberta and nationally by early 2010.
Using the latest version of the high speed packet access (HSPA) technology, Telus said in a press release that the investment is expected to “ensure an optimal future transition to long term evolution (LTE) technology”, the emerging worldwide standard for fourth generation (4G) networks.
Its broadband wireline network is also scheduled to launch…
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EDMONTON and VANCOUVER – The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) has launched a public awareness campaign encouraging Canadians to ask the government to “stop the outrage” of Canadian companies outsourcing jobs to other countries.
TWU president George Doubt spoke to the media in Edmonton on Thursday to address Telus’ recent announcement to expand its newly opened facility in the Philippines from 900 workers to 3000 workers. TWU represents Telus employees.
“We’re concerned about jobs and resources that are being outsourced,” he said in a telephone interview with Cartt.ca. “Companies that earn their revenue in Canadian communities have a duty to…
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VANCOUVER – Wireless subscriber net additions at Telus dropped a surprising 46% in the first quarter of 2009, which in turn, dragged down its average revenue per wireless user (ARPU) by 5.6%
The company released some preliminary wireless subscriber data Thursday, a month ahead of its full financial results release for the quarter ended March 31, which will come on May 7.
Canada’s second largest phone company explained that the weakness in its wireless net subscriber additions were primarily attributable to the combination of “a lack of customary growth in gross additions combined with an increase in deactivations.”
The…
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TORONTO – Channel Zero’s Silver Screen Classics is available on free preview for the month of April for Bell, Cogeco and Rogers customers.
Specializing in classic movies from the 1930s to the 1950s, the network has scheduled a western-themed weekend on April 25 and 26 called ‘Saddle Up’. Back to back western classics, uncut and commercial free, will be available to customers of Access Communications, Bell Aliant, Bell TV, Cogeco, Mountain Cablevision, MTS Allstream, Rogers, Sasktel, Seaside Communications, Source Cable, and Telus, the press release said.
The theme weekend will also feature a consumer contest for a ‘Wild West Extravaganza…
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MONTREAL – Without legacy cost structures and the ability to focus on just one product (wireless handsets), Canada’s new wireless entrants look to upset the mobile market here with ultra-low prices, beginning this year, says a new report from consultants SeaBoard Group.
And despite the tattered economy, it appears that financing for the launch of the new players is well in place.
Two of the new entrants, Public Mobile and Globalive, have already made some announcements on launches and staffing. “Canadian wireless seems exempt from the planetary catharsis. Funds are being raised, suppliers consulted, and staffing-up is underway,”…
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MORE AND MORE, we’re beginning to realize that to provide the quickest, most robust broadband experience, fibre optics must penetrate far more deeply than most CFOs and others in charge of capex at telecom and cable companies are hoping.
Fibre to the neighbourhood, or to the node? That works great now and will continue to be satisfactory for the near and mid-term future. But not so long from now, consumers will be demanding more – far more – especially when they begin to access ever more bandwidth-hungry services like high definition TV over the web.
North American cable and…
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VANCOUVER – Telus is investing $500 million on advanced wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure in British Columbia, the company announced Tuesday.
Construction of its next generation wireless network is underway, and the new network, based on the latest version of High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology, will launch by early 2010.
Telus will also build a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designed Internet data centre that it calls one of the “greenest” in North America, while its broadband wireline investment plan will expand its high-speed Internet and digital TV service in B.C. and Alberta
“Despite the challenging times, we are confident…
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