By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A six-month period of complaints collected by the watchdog Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services between August and January has revealed consumer complaints increased 12 per cent, with wireless being the most-complained about sector and Rogers taking the top spot for the first time following its major network outage last summer.
The Tuesday report tallied 13,962 issues with wireless leading the way with nearly 55 per cent of all issues at 7,616, down 0.9 per cent from the previous six-month period. Internet issues were second with 3,663, down 15.1 per cent; television issues were next with…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Two years and 16 days after Rogers and Shaw announced their intention to merge, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne indirectly approved one of Canadian history’s largest corporate consolidations Friday by allowing for the transfer of Shaw’s Freedom wireless assets to Videotron – promised as the competitive fourth player in the telecom market.
The stipulations laid out by Champagne in a press conference on Friday are as follows: Videotron will commit to offering retail services that are “at least 20% cheaper” than from those of the major players outside its home territory, it cannot transfer Freedom spectrum licences…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced earlier this month new features for its Optik TV product, including accessing content from multiple apps more quickly.
The product features a simplified menu to access live TV, on-demand content, recordings and search; personalized profiles for members of the home to curate their own content; the ability to search from one location content from multiple different apps, which can be downloaded from the Google Play store; unlimited content recordings using the cloud PVR; and a voice remote powered by Google Assistant.
“By simplifying how customers find, stream and interact with their favourite content, it solves common pain…
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Bell said there was no consultation on the need for such requirements
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Some of the country’s major telecommunications companies are telling the CRTC that the interim notification requirements mandated by the regulator earlier this month for major network outages are unnecessary, citing an agreement signed last year by a dozen telecoms to notify relevant authorities in cases of such service disruptions.
The CRTC temporarily ordered the telecoms to notify the CRTC within two hours of a major network outage starting on March 8 until the regulator makes a decision on the permanency of such…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has sent a letter to Rogers and Bell on Thursday asking them to lay out what off-tariff wholesale internet access agreements they have with competitors.
The request for information includes details of a proposed arrangement that would see Rogers give Videotron access to its broadband network at favourable wholesale rates to win over regulators in its pursuit of Shaw.
The request is part of the CRTC’s evaluation of an application filed by TekSavvy, which alleges that Rogers and Bell are engaging in agreements that are disadvantaging competitors who don’t get similar rates…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC ruled Thursday that Rogers gave itself and its own sports channels an unfair preference by refusal to carry for broadcasting Timeless’s OneSoccer.
Timeless first brought the complaint last summer that alleged Rogers refused to carry OneSoccer because it was concerned about competition with its own Sportsnet channels. Rogers said it refused to carry the channel because it allegedly had limited appeal to viewers. Telus, which has carried the channel since 2021, urged the commission to investigate the matter.
The regulator ruled Thursday that OneSoccer is a comparable service to the sports channels of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The head of the CRTC has confirmed Thursday that the regulator is examining the issue of high international roaming rates charged by the country’s wireless carriers, following a letter this week from the innovation minister asking it to look into the matter.
“We are taking action and have already started comparing the international roaming rates available to us with those available in other countries,” said CRTC head Vicky Eatrides in the Thursday letter to Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
“Our preliminary results confirm what many Canadians are feeling – that international roaming rates we pay are higher. We…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A technical working group with members from the country’s major telecommunications companies have this month recommended a bevy of changes to enhance network reliability, including enhanced criminal penalties in cases of negligent damage to critical network infrastructure, subsidizing certain infrastructure in areas with little coverage, and expanding the CRTC’s authority over municipal infrastructure.
The 27-page report from the Canadian Telecommunications Network Resiliency Working Group, released this month, packs a list consisting of general recommendations for network resiliency and asks of the federal government.
“To strengthen efforts to improve the resiliency of Canada’s telecommunications networks, the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Doug French, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Telus, said Tuesday that the company is confident that it could weather increased wholesale-based competition in western Canada in light of a CRTC proceeding launched earlier this month that will look to lower the rates competitors pay for access to incumbent networks.
The CRTC announced it is embarking on establishing a new wholesale framework that it said would address higher broadband prices in the country. A hearing on the matter is likely to be held next year. Meanwhile, the regulator will release a…
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Note: This story includes an update on terms and a statement from Telus’s president and CEO.
By Ahmad Hathout
VANCOUVER – The bargaining committee of the union representing thousands of Telus workers said Friday that most members have agreed to a new deal with the telecom giant, averting a strike.
The committee of the United Steelworkers Local 1944, which consists of 6,800 Telus workers, said 70 per cent of members agreed to the four-year deal, which includes incremental step-ups in compensation through October 2026.
The committee held meetings with members over the course of this week gathering votes, after it had agreed…
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