By Ahmad Hathout
VICTORIA – Shaw recommended the British Columbia government adopt a government policy directive that would give the province’s utility company the ability to create a new telecommunications division to address lagging permits to its joint-owned poles, according to a briefing note obtained by Cartt.
The recommendation, which would help “expedite permits controlled by BC Hydro,” was made late last year to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, which oversees utility crown corporation BC Hydro.
BC Hydro jointly owns with telecom incumbent Telus a network of poles on which carriers attach their communications equipment to expand broadband…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau said Thursday it is “essential” that the company’s Videotron subsidiary gets access to last mile fibre under the current wholesale access regime to be the country’s fourth national telecom.
The CRTC said in March that it has made it a priority to make a decision on mandating third parties to access the incumbent’s fibre facilities to homes under the current aggregated wholesale regime. The current regime mandates that wholesalers can bundle from the incumbents the transport and last mile coaxial facilities, but not last mile fibre.
“It is essential that incumbent…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered Tuesday several changes be made to the proposed tariff pages of the national players and has set a timeline for the implementation of the mandated mobile virtual network operator regime.
MVNO-eligible regional providers with spectrum and facilities were provided the opportunity to comment on the proposed tariffs of Rogers, Bell, Telus and SaskTel, which include the terms by which they would provide access to their wireless networks.
On Tuesday, the CRTC kept some of those terms the same but is forcing the large players to modify their proposals in response to regional carrier…
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By Ahmad Hathout
VANCOUVER – As the country’s cable companies move toward incorporating the next DOCSIS technologies that allow for fibre-like internet speeds over older cables, Telus executives touted its fibre infrastructure as a differentiator in its pursuit of more subscribers on higher speeds.
“By any measure, PureFibre exceeds DOCSIS and will endure to deliver exceptional reliability and symmetrical speed advantages to our customers as investments in Docsis aim to catch up,” Zainul Mawji, executive vice president and president of Telus Consumer Solutions, said on the company’s first quarter conference call Thursday.
Last month, Rogers announced that it was in a trial…
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OTTAWA – Innovation Canada decided Wednesday on the parameters for its framework that will allow certain 5G spectrum bands to be allocated for use in local and small-scale applications without the need for users to go through a competitive auction process to obtain them.
The department launched a consultation last summer to determine how it should go about dedicating spectrum in the 3900 to 3980 MHz band and parts of the 26, 28 and 38 GHz bands for a non-competitive licensing framework, which it said would go to benefit various local sectors and innovations, including real-time monitoring of farming and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
CALGARY – Rogers is preparing to make additional cuts to the Shaw team, which will include layoffs in the programming and communications departments, according to individuals with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vice president of programming Andrew Eddy and vice president of external affairs Chethan Lakshman are expected to depart the company this week, the individuals said. Katherine Emberly, president of business at Shaw, announced on her LinkedIn page Friday she was also leaving the company.
It is unclear to Cartt how many more are expected to be let go as part of Rogers’s integration of the cable company…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday that the company’s side agreements with Videotron that are part of its deal to acquire Shaw are “not much different” than existing ones it has in place for other competitors.
The cable giant committed to providing favourable wholesale internet access and roaming deals to the Montreal-based company, which acquired Shaw’s Freedom in the deal, to appease regulators and allay fears that the combination would diminish competition.
But over the last several months, questions were raised by competitors as to the nature of the deals and whether they would significantly advantage Videotron…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MARIEVILLE, Que. – The commission for the protection of agricultural territory of Quebec ruled last week that Telus can build a new telecommunications tower in Marieville.
The Vancouver-based telecom requested commission approval for the 60-meter tower, an overhead power line and an access road in an area of approximately 4,884 square meters to maintain an optimal coverage quality.
The application faced resistance, namely from the Fédération de l’UPA de la Montérégie, an organization representing agricultural businesses. But the commission, which requires approval for development other than agriculture, said the project would not affect the crops. It cited non-agriculture developments,…
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Correction: A previous version of this article said Jamal would replace previous president and CEO Allison Lenehan. In fact, Fran Shammo will remain interim CEO.
MARKHAM – Xplore announced Tuesday that Rizwan Jamal will be the company’s next president and chief commercial officer starting May 1.
Jamal will be responsible for sales, marketing and product development and will support the company’s “strategic priorities,” a press release said.
“I am excited to be joining Xplore at this pivotal time in the Company’s history,” Jamal said in the release. “Xplore has become one of the country’s largest telecommunications providers proudly serving rural residential and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
WHITEHORSE – Telus announced Thursday that it has struck a deal in principle to transfer incumbency to Bell’s Northwestel in the region of Atlin, British Columbia to better serve the area.
There are only three communities in the far north that are served by Telus as the incumbent – Fort St. John, High Level, and Atlin. But unlike the former two, Telus does not serve Atlin with its own transport facilities. Instead, it leases a stretch of 1,300 kilometres of the transport portion from Bell subsidiary Northwestel.
“It is an island completely separated from the rest of TELUS’ ILEC…
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