TORONTO – Ashok Kalle, president of independent ISP Pathway Communications says the federal government’s decision to relax the rules of the regulatory game when it comes to telecom is bad news for Canadians.
Pathway offers voice and data services to Canadian residential and business clients.
"The decision by Industry Canada to allow deregulation of the telecommunications market will hurt consumers of long distance, VOIP and other telecommunications/online services in the long-run," said Kalle in a statement. "I am clearly in agreement with comments made by Liberal MP and consumer affairs critic Dan McTeague who attacked the new regulations as…
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VANCOUVER – While Telus expects to add about the same number of new wireless and Internet customers in 2007 as it did in 2006, additional services means more revenue in the next 12 months.
"Telus’ 2007 targets build on the financial success experienced in 2006. Telus expects to meet or exceed the 2006 consolidated targets set a year ago for revenue, earnings and cash flow," said Robert McFarlane, executive vice president and CFO, in a press release.
Telus plans to add about 550,000 wireless customers through next year for a 12% to 13% revenue increase (up to $4.375 billion)…
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SOME THOUGHTS ON the TV Policy Review hearings that one day, could grow up to be full-sized columns. ********** ONE OF THE MOST interesting questions at the hearing came late in the day on Monday, December 4th, when Media Awareness Network faced the five-person panel.
MNet, as it calls itself, is a non-profit organization with the laudable goal of boosting media literacy among children. The group promotes media and Internet education through its online programs and resources, working with a number of organizations in Canada and elsewhere. Its sponsors include Bell, Shaw, CTV, CHUM, Rogers, Telus and CanWest Global….
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VANCOUVER – The newest members of Telus spokescritter family are a sea of pink flamingos.
Last week Telus unveiled its newest holiday marketing initiative, which gives residents the chance to get their own plastic pink flamingo lawn ornament.
“Today, residents of Vancouver woke up to a sea of pink as Telus’ flamingos landed in public spaces such as the Vancouver Art Gallery (or Kitsilano Park, below). The flamingos now starring in Telus’ advertising campaign have been a huge hit and this creative marketing initiative is sure to draw additional attention to Telus’ campaign as we invite passers-by to take…
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VANCOUVER – Wireless high speed roaming to more than 230 U.S. cities is now available to Telus mobile customers.
The announcement enables clients to access high-speed mobile Internet (and their e-mails or multimedia content) in more U.S. cities than offered by any other Canadian wireless carrier, says a press release.
With typical download speeds of approximately 400 to 700 kilobits per second, and maximum possible speeds of more than two megabits per second, Telus Wireless High Speed service offers clients the speed they need for mobile computing and SPARK mobile entertainment applications like mobile TV and radio, or Telus…
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VANCOUVER – A recent lawsuit launched by Bell Mobility over what it said were false claims made by competitor Telus in its advertising was dismissed by a Vancouver judge this week, according to a Canadian Press report.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Bell wanted the court to stop the printing and airing of Telus’ flexible share plans campaign, which said the service was "only from Telus." Bell said it was every bit as flexible and that the ads were damaging to its sales.
According to the CP report, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher decided Bell did not have…
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COMPETITION HAS COME to Saskatchewan. The little-big (population-area) province has had competition on the terrestrial video side since 2002 but only recently has a serious voice option come available.
It was quite a lag between the cable companies in the province losing 50,000 video customers and their recent launch of voice over IP. With the largest MSOs in the province: Shaw (Saskatoon, Prince Albert) and Access (Regina and area) now – or about to be – adding VOIP, competition is officially hot.
So how is the provincially-owned telco faring, with still 98% of the local phone lines? President…
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GATINEAU – If the CCTA was still around, it wouldn’t have been able to find consensus among its members for the CRTC’s TV Policy Review either.
While the schisms among the Canadian Association of Broadcasters members meant that association was unable to come up with a submission containing any consensus among its members, some of whom want large carriage fees for broadcasters, some who want small ones and some who oppose them altogether, fractures of opinion exist in the distributor world, too.
Two of the former Canadian Cable Television Association‘s largest members faced the Commission yesterday with diametrically…
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GATINEAU – As the so-called softer side of the industry comes to the fore over the next few, final days of the CRTC TV Policy Review hearing, groups like producers, actors, documentary makers and unions are just hoping the Commission pays more attention to them than the consumer media.
Reporters had elbows up in a crowd most of the week as the likes of CTV, Rogers, Shaw, Bell and Global Television faced the Commission – and then the microphones and notebooks right after.
No such problem Thursday afternoon and Friday.
At one point Friday morning we counted 13 people…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The idea that Canada’s signal distributors should pay conventional broadcasters fees to carry their signals is “trash” according to Rogers Communications CEO Ted Rogers.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday following his company’s appearance before the CRTC on day three of its over-the-air TV review hearings, Rogers countered the many broadcaster arguments in favour of such charges, known as fee-for-carriage (FFC), made over the hearing’s first two days. He said broadcasters should look to new technologies – not new regulations – for new revenues. “These guys should get back to high def and keep up with the new stuff.”…
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