GATINEAU – The CRTC today released new pricing rules that will govern the rates charged by large telephone companies for local telephone services, until forbearance arrives.
The rules, known collectively as the price cap regime, will come into effect on June 1, 2007, and apply to Bell Canada, Telus, SaskTel, MTS Allstream and Bell Aliant.
They only apply in regions where local phone service has not been deregulated. So they will apply everywhere at first and quickly become less and less important as markets are forborne from regulation.
"This third-generation price cap regime provides greater pricing flexibility for large…
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TORONTO – Bell Mobility and Research In Motion said that the new Blackberry 8830 World Edition will launch this summer and will be the first CDMA device to support international roaming on GSM/GPRS Networks.
CDMA (which is used by Telus and Bell) is a dominant technology here in North America while GSM (which Rogers deployed) is the primary delivery technology in the rest of the world.
The 8830 World Edition smartphone "is the first CDMA Blackberry smartphone to deliver the high-speed mobile connectivity of CDMA in Canada and North America, combined with international voice and data roaming on GSM/GPRS…
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TORONTO – Canadian animation fans will soon have two additional outlets from which to get their favourite Teletoon content.
The channel is taking some of its most popular Canadian cartoons to viewers "where and when they want them," says the press release, with the launch of two new digital services, video on demand on April 27 and mobile TV on May 15.
Building upon the recent re-branding of the network, the expansion positions Teletoon as a driver in the move towards fully integrated digital content. "Teletoon now offers a more flexible and far reaching suite of services from traditional…
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OTTAWA – If 2006 was the year of local forbearance and the fight over deregulating the wireline phone market, 2007 will be the year newcomers and incumbents wrestle over wireless.
In fact, the lobbying has already begun. Last week, as reported by Cartt.ca, Quebecor Media CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau told Ottawa’s Canadian Club that the cozy oligopoly of existing players keeps prices high, stifles innovation and ensures new wireless applications already available in other countries are slow to market in Canada.
On Monday at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa, a large roomful of wireless regulatory lawyers, financial analysts,…
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CALGARY – Telus has been awarded a $16.3-million multimedia contract by the Alberta government for the Calgary Courts Centre, which is scheduled to open this August.
The province’s newest courthouse will have state-of-the audio and video technology that will be used in prisoner transfers, the presentation of digital evidence, the linking of remote witnesses and the improvement of courtroom efficiency.
Telus will design, install and maintain more than 73 courtrooms with multimedia technology.
“We’re very pleased to be working with the government of Alberta to help realize their vision of introducing innovations in the justice system that continue to…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced Monday it has applied for local phone service deregulation in Calgary, Victoria, and Rimouski. These applications follow similar filings for Vancouver and Edmonton last Wednesday. The company intends to file additional applications for deregulation in the near future.
Telus’ application to the CRTC follows the April 4 announcement by Industry Minister Maxime Bernier that telecommunications companies can apply for relaxation of local phone service regulations in communities where significant competition exists.
“Local service deregulation in Calgary, Victoria and Rimouski will bring the full benefits of competition to these cities,” said Janet Yale, Telus executive vice-president…
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VANCOUVER – Telus turned on a new cell tower providing digital cellular service to Klemtu last week.
The $250,000 tower covers most of the B.C. community as well as extending out into Queen Charlotte Sound.
“This service is important not only for residents of Klemtu, but for boaters travelling through the area," said Shaun Greffard, Telus general manager for Interior North.
The addition is part of the company’s continued rollout of cellular service across B.C. The Klemtu project follows recent connections on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Bella Bella, and Bella Coola, as well as a $500,000 investment enhancing cellular…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada has applied to the CRTC to deregulate the most populous regions inside its Ontario and Quebec territories.
The company has asked for forbearance from regulation of local telephone services in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, London, Hamilton and Quebec City.
Bell filed separate forbearance applications for residential services in 139 exchanges and for business services in 103 exchanges in the six cities. These applications are the first made by Bell under the new framework for forbearance announced by the federal government on April 4, 2007.
Additional applications for forbearance in other qualifying areas will follow shortly.
The…
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HALIFAX and VANCOUVER – Two releases within an hour of each other early Wednesday evening, one from western telco Telus and eastern incumbent Bell Aliant, say the companies have filed for local forbearance in some major metropolitan centres.
While Telus has asked for Vancouver and Edmonton, Aliant has filed for deregulation in Halifax and its surrounding regions of Hubbards, Ketch Harbour, Musquodoboit Harbour, Prospect Road, Sackville, St. Margarets, Waverley and French Village.
Aliant has asked for deregulation in Halifax, where the local cable operator has taken in excess of 35% market share, before, only to be rebuffed by the…
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SO FAR, SO GOOD for wireless number portability, says Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association president and CEO Peter Barnes.
There have been few issues the association has had to solve since March 14, the day Canadians could take their phone number with them, no matter which telephony carrier they chose to acquire service.
A more contentious, far less decided matter, is the upcoming Industry Canada wireless spectrum auction. The association’s majority want a free, unfettered auction but certain factions want constraints on the existing players so that newcomers may bid for spectrum and win. The CWTA is even holding a…
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