By Mark Goldberg
ON TUESDAY EVENING, a Twitter thread by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez requesting a rushed CRTC review of Russia Today (RT) caught my eye:
That’s right. Two weeks.
The Heritage Minister, the Minister responsible for the CRTC, is asking the independent, quasi-judicial regulator to collect evidence and render a decision in two weeks on whether RT should be continue to be permitted as a broadcasting service option for Canadians.
Two weeks.
The Commission regularly takes two weeks just to have a decision translated. Please tell me how the CRTC can prepare a…
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VANCOUVER — The Telus Friendly Future Foundation today announced a $2 million commitment to support the efforts of Canadian charities working to provide assistance to families and those displaced by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, including the Canadian Red Cross, Save the Children Canada and other national and local charities.
“We know that this is an extremely difficult time for so many people impacted by the devastating situation in Ukraine and Eastern Europe,” said Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus, in a press release.
“Our Telus and Telus International teams continue to be guided by our heartfelt social purpose to…
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PM wants CRTC to review channel’s presence in Canada
CANADIAN TELEVISION SERVICE providers are dropping Russia Today (RT) an English-language international news channel funded by Russia, from their channel lineups.
There has been growing concern about the channel’s presence in Canada specifically, and about Russian-funded international media around the world more generally. Many concerns relate to the dissemination of propaganda and disinformation.
On Feb. 26, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez posted on Twitter, saying, “I share the concerns of many Canadians about the presence of Russia Today in our broadcasting system. We’re looking at all options.”
Since then, several Canadian television service providers…
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CANADIAN TELECOMS ARE helping customers connect to family and friends in Ukraine by waiving charges for calls and texts from Canada to Ukraine, and in some cases they are waiving roaming charges for customers currently in Ukraine as well.
Companies that have made such announcements include:
Sasktel announced today it will automatically waive long-distance charges for its wireless, landline, and business calls from Canada to Ukraine, international text messaging fees for texts sent from Canada to Ukraine, and roaming charges for calls, text and data overages for its customers who are currently in Ukraine.
Cogeco tweeted today it is waiving…
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TORONTO – Distributel and Primus Communications, which was acquired by Distributel in 2021, today announced they are waiving all home phone long-distance charges for calls to Ukraine until March 31, 2022.
“The news of what is happening in Ukraine has touched all of us at Distributel. We are committed to doing what we can to help all those who need to reach their loved ones during this time of need,” said Brad Fisher, chief revenue officer at Distributel, in a press release. “We will always strive to do what’s right and help our customers where we can.”
Yesterday, several companies…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada today announced it will, effective immediately, “be waiving all Home Phone and consumer Mobility Postpaid Long Distance charges for calls from Canada to Ukraine until March 31, 2022,” according to a tweet from its @Bell_Support Twitter account.
“This will be applied automatically,” the tweet says.
This applies to the company’s flanker brand Virgin Plus as well. The @VirginPlus Twitter account sent out the same tweet as @Bell_Support.
Throughout the day, Rogers, Telus and Videotron made similar announcements.
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced today on its @TELUSsupport Twitter account it is waiving long-distance charges for calls and texts from Canada to Ukraine effective immediately, until March 12.
Due to the current events in Ukraine, Telus wants to help customers stay connected to family and friends in the country, the tweet explains.
This applies to the company’s flanker brand Koodo as well, which sent out the same tweet from the @Koodo Twitter account.
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LONDON, U.K. — In its latest comparison of the 5G experience across Canada’s three national carriers, U.K.-based mobile analytics company Opensignal finds Rogers Communications remains ahead of competitors Bell and Telus in overall 5G experience.
According to its 5G Mobile Experience Awards included in its Canada 5G Experience Report, February 2022 (please see chart above), Rogers is the outright winner of Opensignal’s awards for 5G availability, 5G games experience and 5G upload speed. Rogers is also a joint winner with Bell for the 5G reach award, and a joint winner with Telus for 5G voice app experience.
The remaining two…
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Telus claims Videotron subsidiary propped up to get western Canadian 5G licenses
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Telus argued in federal court earlier today a Videotron subsidiary in western Canada was propped up to qualify it for a slice of 5G spectrum outside of its home territory.
Fibrenoire, the subsidiary used by Videotron to qualify for a piece of 3.5 GHz spectrum that was set-aside for smaller bidders last summer, was not actively providing telecommunications services when it won the licenses that will allow the Quebec-based telecom to set up mobile wireless infrastructure in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, Telus told the…
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VANCOUVER — Ahead of Pink Shirt Day tomorrow, Telus Communications today announced the premiere of its first short animated children’s film, Skookum and Chums, which explores the importance of inclusivity and anti-bullying.
Produced with the support of Telus, the 11-minute animated film (pictured above) features Skookum, a flying turtle, who takes their animal friends on a trip into a magical forest.
“As a proud member of the Huron-Wendake Nation, filmmaker Fred Di Blasio took inspiration from his Indigenous heritage and identifies with the turtle as a bringer of insight and wisdom to children,” explains a Telus press release.
This short film “is…
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