PARIS – Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world for their cell phones, says a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But do we really?
According to OECD calculations, rates charged by Canadian mobile providers rank behind only the United States and Spain as the highest in the developed world, while Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the cheapest rates.
But Canadian telecom consultant Mark Goldberg says that “the OECD service definitions should cause serious researchers to laugh”.
The survey, called the OECD Communications Outlook, compared domestic prices across countries for low, medium…
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TORONTO – Bankruptcy courts in Ontario and the US have given the green light for LM Ericsson to purchase Nortel Network’s wireless business unit for US $1.13 billion.
The Swedish telecom-equipment maker outbid two other companies for Nortel’s code division multiple access (CDMA) business and almost all of Nortel’s long term evolution (LTE) access assets. The division, frequently referred to as the crown jewel of Nortel’s assets, counts telecom giants Bell Canada, Telus and Verizon Wireless among its North American customers.
The deal still requires federal regulatory approval before it can close later this year, however, there is growing pressure on…
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – For a guy whose new company is about to jump into the competitive world of mobile communications – but only after it has been scrutinized in a very public review by the CRTC – Globalive Holdings chair and CEO Anthony Lacavera seems pretty relaxed.
Calling the upcoming review of Globalive’s ownership and control “fairly standard procedure”, Lacavera told Cartt.ca that his only moment of concern came when he read that the CRTC could take up to 120 days after the close of the hearing in September to render a decision, which could have pushed back his launch…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will review the structure service rates charged by some of Canada’s biggest telephone companies.
Telus sent an application to the Commission last October asking for it review the rates, terms, and conditions of the support structure service tariffs of the large incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs).
The ILECs would like to increase the rates they can charge, currently $9.60 per year, to rent their poles to other customers such as cable companies. Telus’ application noted that the Ontario Energy Board had approved a hydro pole rate of $22.35 per year.
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TORONTO – Canada’s first mobile payment service is now available for download on the BlackBerry Storm smart phone.
Zoompass, launched last month by mobile commerce company EnStream, offers Canadians a fast and secure way to send and receive money by linking their mobile phone to their personal bank accounts or credit cards.
"The Zoompass mobile application for the BlackBerry Storm smart phone marks the final step in providing the user-friendly Zoompass interface for a broad range of BlackBerry smart phones," said EnStream president Robin Dua, in the press release. "We are excited to work with RIM and look forward to continuing…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has decided to proceed with a review of wireless newcomer Globalive’s ownership to determine whether it is truly Canadian owned and controlled.
The Commission announced Monday that it will initiate a ‘Type 4’ review of Globealive’s ownership and control, given the complexity of Globalive’s corporate structure and financing arrangements, Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-429 reads.
A Type 4 review consists of an oral, public, multi-party proceeding, and occurs when the CRTC finds that a company’s ownership and governance structure “is of a complex or novel nature, such that in the Commission’s view its determination…
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GATINEAU – According to the Campaign for Democratic Media, the CRTC’s hearing into network traffic management is about nothing less than “who will determine the way we use the Internet,” David Fewer, acting director of CIPPIC told commissioners Thursday morning.
Leaving network management practices up to the discretion of the networks owners can only invite disaster and make Canada “a backwater of online innovation,” he added. “The Canadian Internet is not simply the private property of Canadian ISPs.” (CIPPIC is the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and a member of the CDM.)
While that may be true…
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GATINEAU – In back-to-back presentations this morning, the CRTC heard from two of Canada’s largest ISPs, Telus and Cogeco Cable, one of which uses no Internet traffic management techniques (yet) and one which uses them all the time.
Each want the same thing, however: to be left alone to manage their networks how they see fit.
Telus, the big western-based telco, uses no traffic management technology right now on either its retail consumers or wholesale business clients, said senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs Michael Hennessy. But it wants the freedom to be able to deploy them, if needed, in…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada finished off a pair of acquisitions today that will boost both its wireless subscribers as well as its branding and distribution capabilities.
First off, the company has completed its previously announced $135 million purchase of Canadian electronics retailer The Source. Now operating independently as The Source and as La Source in Québec, the company is already selling Bell TV, and will offer Bell and Virgin Mobile wireless products exclusively in January 2010. The stores used to sell Shaw Direct (formerly Star Choice) gear, but no more.
The Source had been owned by the bankrupt…
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GATINEAU – Earlier this week, the CBC attempted to give the CRTC a little advice before the Regulator releases its public notice announcing the September hearing into an overhaul of the regulation of the TV business in Canada this coming Monday.
As reported by Cartt.ca, this past Monday the CBC offered up a proposed new distribution order which would govern new fee-for-carriage negotiations between broadcasters and cable and satellite companies (actually, the broadcasters are trying to “re-brand” the fee-for-carriage battle to one entitled value for signal, but we digress…)
Together, Shaw Communications, Telus, Rogers Communications, Cogeco and Bell…
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