OTTAWA – Striking while the reconsideration iron is hot, Canada’s incumbent telcos have asked the federal cabinet to refer another telecom decision back to the CRTC for a re-think.
As they said they would, Aliant, Telus, SaskTel and Bell Canada today launched their appeal of the Commission’s April 6th local forbearance decision, "and to do so in light of the recommendations of the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel, which filed its report in March.
The companies filed the petition on May 12th, a year to the day that the CRTC’s 2005 decision on VOIP came out – which…
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VANCOUVER – Telus has estimated that tens of thousands of consumers and businesses across Canada have recently received fraudulent automated phone calls informing them that they have won a prize.
The recorded announcement instructs the listener to press 9, 0, number sign to claim their prize.
Pressing 9, 0, # on many business switchboards will transfer the incoming call to an outbound line, allowing the fraudsters responsible for the automated calls to pick up the line and make expensive overseas long distance calls at the business’ expense.
Residential telephone lines are not vulnerable to this phone scam. This scam can…
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SAN ANTONIO – U.S. telco AT&T and wireless video provider MobiTV announced an agreement this week to deliver mobile television content across AT&T’s nationwide Wi-Fi network.
The service will enable AT&T customers to view live television on their laptops or other devices while connected to one of AT&T’s Wi-Fi hot spots.
The MobiTV service on AT&T (formerly SBC) includes 15 channels spanning national news, sports, entertainment and full-length music videos from top artists. The deal helps further enhance one of the nation’s largest Wi-Fi networks by offering differentiated broadband-enabled content that consumers are increasingly demanding, say the two companies….
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OTTAWA – The CRTC today announced a public proceeding which will establish the new price cap regime for 2007.
The new price cap framework covers telecom pricing in all ILEC territories – Aliant, Bell Canada, Telus, MTS, and Sasktel.
The Commission designed the price cap regime to achieve the following objectives
* To render reliable and affordable services of high quality, accessible to both urban and rural area customers
* To balance the interests of the three main stakeholders in telecommunications markets, i.e., customers, competitors and incumbent telephone companies
* To foster facilities-based competition in Canadian telecommunications markets
*…
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OTTAWA – Wireless growth fed Canadian telecom companies through 2005, especially since mobile users are much better spenders than wired accounts, says a report put out today by Statistics Canada.
Two events stood out in the telecommunications services industry in 2005, says the release, the number of wireless subscribers passed the 16 million mark and the number of conventional residential telephone lines dipped below 12 million.
The wireless industry (with providers like Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus, MTS, Sasktel, Aliant and Virgin Mobile) recruited more than 650,000 new customers in the last quarter of 2005, bringing the total number…
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VANCOUVER – Telus has added the Migo, a simple wireless phone for pre-teens to its handset lineup.
It’s "specifically designed for parents who want to equip their pre-teens with a simple mobile communications device for safety and security," says today’s press release.
Instead of a regular phone keypad, the Migo has only four programmable speed-dial keys and one programmable emergency key, all of which parents can pre-set to phone numbers they choose and protect with a pass code. Parents can also program specific ringtones to correspond with up to four different callers.
The oval-shaped Migo weighs 70 grams (2.5…
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OTTAWA – The new Federal Cabinet wants the CRTC to revisit last year’s voice over Internet protocol decision.
As reported on numerous occasions by www.cartt.ca, the CRTC decided last year to maintain its position that voice, even delivered via IP, is still telephone service. What that meant was that incumbent telcos still faced some regulatory shackles (like having to file for tariffs) while newcomers, such as cable operators or VOIP providers like Vonage would have a freer hand.
Canada’s ILECs – most of them anyway – appealed the decision.
In governmentspeak: "The Governor in Council (GIC) has referred…
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OTTAWA – The new Federal Cabinet wants the CRTC to revisit last year’s voice over Internet protocol decision.
As reported on numerous occasions by www.cartt.ca, the CRTC decided last year to maintain its position that voice, even delivered via IP, is still telephone service. What that meant was that incumbent telcos still faced some regulatory shackles while newcomers, such as cable operators or VOIP providers like Vonage would have a freer hand.
Canada’s ILECs – most of them anyway – appealed the decision.
In governmentspeak: "The Governor in Council (GIC) has referred the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC’s)…
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VANCOUVER- Western telco Telus reported revenues of $2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2006, a 5.1% increase over the first quarter of 2005.
"(C)ontinued strong wireless performance and excellent high speed Internet and wireless subscriber growth," was behind the results, says the company’s press release.
EBITDA increased 1% (to $862.7 million) due to strong wireless growth, largely offset by decreased wireline profitability this quarter. Free cash flow increased 13% to $640 million during the quarter, a $74 million increase primarily due to the receipt of a cash tax recovery.
"Telus achieved strong growth in high-speed Internet additions of…
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EDMONTON – Independent digital specialty channel Wild TV has debuted on Telus TV.
The 24-hour hunting and fishing television channel will be seen for the first time in Alberta in its linear format (its programming has been available on demand with Telus until now and is available on demand with Shaw Cable).
Edmonton-based Wild TV is dedicated to Canadian hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, "offering original programming that captures the thrill of hunting and fishing in the Canadian wilderness as well as the best outdoor programming from across North America," says the company.
"With an estimated eight million hunting…
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