NEW YORK – As the only GSM wireless operator in Canada, Rogers Wireless will face a dilemma – and opportunity – when new wireless companies launch in this country – likely in 2009.
While Bell Canada and Telus and a few other large North American wireless companies use CDMA-driven networks and handsets, GSM has become the de facto worldwide wireless standard technology, so it is highly probable that any new wireless company that comes to market here will choose to be a GSM player, too.
That means such newbies will use the new mandated roaming rules we reported on…
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TORONTO – 10-10 long distance company Yak Communications said today announced it has filed applications with the CRTC demanding that it force Telus to stop charging a long distance “access fee” of $2.95 a month.
Among the remedies Yak is seeking, reads its press release, Yak has applied for an order that consumers who have already paid this new fee be reimbursed by Telus.
Yak’s applications request that the CRTC return basic toll service to the regulated sphere and declare the new fee illegal, and that Telus reimburse customers that have already paid it, reads the release. In addition,…
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VANCOUVER – Telus and Emergis announced today that they have entered into a support agreement pursuant where Telus has agreed to make an offer to acquire all the outstanding common shares of Emergis for $8.25 cash per common share.
The offer represents a premium of 17% over Emergis’ average closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past 30 days, 19% over yesterday’s close and values Emergis’ equity at approximately $763 million on a fully diluted basis, according to the joint press release issued by the companies.
Emergis has a strong presence in both health claims processing and…
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EVEN FOR A PROPONENT of spectrum set-asides, mandated roaming and mandated tower sharing, the rules surrounding the 2008 advanced wireless spectrum auction, which were released Wednesday afternoon in Toronto by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, aren’t quite a slam dunk.
MTS Allstream’s regulatory chief Chris Peirce was pleased Industry Canada had accepted his, and others’, argument that a leg up was required for newcomers to enter the space and increase wireless competition in Canada, but was non-committal about putting the rules into practice. “At a policy level, the government and the ministry have clearly gotten it. They understand that…
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OTTAWA – TELUS said Wednesday it’s “deeply disappointed” with the government’s rules that were announced for the upcoming Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) auction.
“It (the decision on the rules) is inconsistent with this government’s stated policy of relying on market forces to deliver benefits to Canadian consumers. It also rewards companies that have both the resources and the motivation to bid openly for new available spectrum,” said Janet Yale, executive vice-president, TELUS Corporate Affairs, in a statement. “As a consequence, Canadian taxpayers will receive less than full market value for the new spectrum.”
She added, “TELUS advocated a policy that…
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TORONTO – Canada’s big three wireless incumbents will be wearing handcuffs when the advanced wireless spectrum auction begins on May 27, 2008.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice was in Toronto this afternoon to announce the rules of engagement when the federal government auctions off the 105 MHz worth of spectrum. The auction itself will take two to three weeks.
Of that spectrum, 40 MHz will be set aside for new wireless entrants to bid on alone. The remaining 65 MHz will be open to everyone. “The spectrum being set aside amounts to less than 14% of the total mobile spectrum…
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CALGARY — The weekend highlights for the 37th Annual Juno Awards to be held in Calgary that culminate with The JUNO Awards broadcast on Sunday, April 6 on CTV have been announced.
The April 4-6, 2008 events, include: Juno Awards Welcome Reception (at the Imperial Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency on April 4), Juno Cup Celebrity Hockey Game (on April 4 at The Stampede Corral), JunoFest (held in music clubs around the city of Calgary and featuring performers from any local and national Canadian acts, including a number of JUNO nominees, on April 4 and April 5), Juno Fan…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC announced yesterday that it has junked its idea to allow limited access to confidential information between parties in a dispute.
As first reported by Cartt.ca, the Commission said about a month ago it was “of the view that there may be instances where, in order for a party to be able to participate meaningfully in a proceeding, it must receive some access to confidential information. In order to allow for meaningful participation while respecting the confidential nature of certain information, the Commission proposes to grant confidential access under certain conditions in broadcasting and telecom…
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OTTAWA – Wireless phone customers in Canada numbered 19.3 million at the end of the third quarter of 2007, ended September 30, says the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
In the third quarter of the year, wireless service providers (Bell Mobility, Telus, Rogers Wireless, Virgin Mobile, MTS, SaskTel, Videotron, etc.) reported the addition of approximately 523,000 new subscribers, “which marks the first time that net new customer additions exceeded a half-million subscribers outside of a fourth quarter,” noted the association.
What that means is that now Canada’s national wireless penetration rate has surpassed the 60% benchmark.
And, recent CWTA research…
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TORONTO – Pierre Karl Péladeau will be a featured player in less than two weeks at nextMEDIA, where he is scheduled to discuss content strategy and the launch of the new Canoe.TV in a presentation at the two-day conference.
“Canoe.ca has quickly become a leader in video content production and distribution,” said Mark Greenspan, director of digital media, Achilles Media Ltd., the show’s organizer.
Earlier this year, Canoe.ca launched a new video section, which gives users access to content from Sun Media newspapers, along with content from CP-AP, WatchMojo, Jokeroo.com, Source Media, Just for Laughs, Moment Factory, IBC (Reuters,…
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