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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SEATTLE — The fibre offerings from Bell and Telus far outperform all other fixed broadband providers combined at the provincial level and in major Canadian cities, according to a recent report from Seattle-based fixed broadband and mobile network testing company Ookla.
The report uses new data from Speedtest Intelligence for Canada during Q4 2021 to analyze the speed advantage of fibre compared to other fixed broadband technologies such as DSL.
As Bell and Telus serve different parts of the country with their fibre offerings, Ookla “analyzed each province with an eye to how much faster the relevant fiber provider’s offerings…
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TORONTO — Just in time for Family Day weekend, WildBrain Television announced it will premiere three new exclusive series during its upcoming free preview across WildBrain’s entire English network, which includes Family Channel and Family Jr.
The freeview runs from Feb. 18 to March 31 for all Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Telus, Eastlink and Cogeco subscribers, and from March 1-31 for Videotron subscribers.
On Sunday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy will premiere exclusively in Canada on Family Jr. Commissioned by WildBrain in July 2021, this 26-episode cabaret-style show is hosted by Toronto…
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