Includes $20.5 million from CRTC Broadband Fund and $41 million from UBF and CTI program; plus more construction announced for SWIFT projects
GATINEAU, OTTAWA, MANITOBA and SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO — The CRTC and the federal and Ontario governments all made separate announcements today about government-funded projects to improve Internet access or mobile wireless services in rural communities across the country.
The CRTC announced 10 projects will receive up to $20.5 million in funding from the Commission’s Broadband Fund, which will potentially benefit 3,625 households in 46 communities, including 16 Indigenous communities, in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and…
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RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — Staples Canada announced today it has introduced wireless services at 15 stores in southern Ontario in partnership with mobile carriers Rogers and Telus.
The new wireless services, operating under the name Staples Wireless, provide customers with access to the latest smartphones and accessories as well as customized group and individual plans from Rogers and its flanker brands Fido and Chatr, and Telus and its discount brands Koodo and Public Mobile.
“Small and medium businesses will benefit from this tailored approach, as Staples Wireless can help match communication and wireless needs to the right solutions and services, balancing…
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BONAVENTURE, Que. — Telus announced today it has expanded its 5G network to Bonaventure, New Richmond and Paspébiac as part of the company’s $5 million investment in infrastructure in Quebec’s Gaspésie region this year.
Using technology from multiple vendors, including Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia, Telus will continue to expand its 5G network to other communities in Gaspésie, including Percé, Maria, Port-Daniel and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, says a Telus press release.
“The significant investments we are making in our world-leading network to rapidly expand our 5G footprint is enabling us to connect the citizens of the Gaspésie region to the people, resources and critical…
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TORONTO — Nav Saini (above), formerly head of content acquisition at Bell Canada, has been hired by Amazon as head of Prime Video content for Canada, effective this month.
Prior to spending over four years leading Bell’s content acquisition strategy, Saini was director of content acquisition at Telus from 2012 to 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before joining Telus, Saini had worked as an associate director at Bell Canada, in the areas of content acquisition and content packaging/pricing strategy, starting in 2007.
Photo borrowed from Nav Saini’s LinkedIn profile.
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced its second quarter results today, which includes a 9.5% increase in adjusted EBITDA over the same period in 2020, to $1.5 billion.
The company further reported consolidated operating revenues and other income increased to $4.1 billion – a 10% increase from the same period last year, according to a news release. Telus had 223,000 customer net additions, which is up 82,000 over last year, and 89,000 mobile phone net additions, representing an increase of 28,000 over last year.
“We’re obviously very proud of the quarter,” said Jim Senko, president of mobility solutions at Telus, in an…
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OTTAWA – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced today the provisional results of the 3500 MHz auction, which earned a total of $8.91 billion.
The auction began in June and concluded July 23. Winning bidders have until August 13 to submit 20% of their final payment and until October 4 to submit the remaining 80%. The money will be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund administered by the Receiver General of Canada, according to an ISED press release.
In total, 15 Canadian companies were awarded 1,495 licences, 757 of which went to small and regional players.
“Results of the…
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TORONTO — The Telus Friendly Future Foundation announced today it has donated $200,000 to the Women’s College Hospital Foundation to support the development of The Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health virtual hub at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
The donation will help accelerate the expansion of this first-of-its-kind virtual hub, which hosts trauma-informed, culturally sensitive health information and tools for Indigenous communities from trusted Indigenous sources, says a press release.
The hub will directly support healthcare practitioners, hospital staff, learners, students, patients, partners and as many as 10,000 community members through direct partnerships and at least 50,000 people…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC announced today it will not regulate access to fibre in-building wire (IBW) in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) across the country, stating it found “that access to fibre IBW is not an essential service.”
This decision was outlined in Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2021-239, which follows a public proceeding announced in December 2019.
The notice of consultation itself followed a series of decisions and statements on the issue of fibre IBW in MDUs starting in 2018 when Cloudwifi, an independent ISP, alleged Bell disconnected its customers at two Ontario properties where the company had been using Bell fibre…
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Bureau notes past Shaw comments about its influence in the market
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau has asked the Federal Court to compel the disclosure of records from four telecoms related to its inquiry into the proposed purchase of Shaw by Rogers.
The competition watchdog filed the first in a possible series of document requests on July 22, which, if approved, will force Bell, Telus, Quebecor, and Xplornet (respondents) to disclose related information on mobile wireless activity in the shared operating provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba, and outside.
That information, which falls roughly within the timeframe between…
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VANCOUVER — Telus International, a leading provider of digital customer experience solutions for global brands, announced today the launch of Intelligent Insights, which the company describes as “a tool-agnostic platform to monitor and manage robotic process automation (RPA) solutions and bots.”
Intelligent Insights lets companies track their digital operations on a single platform to monitor effectiveness, cost savings and opportunities for innovation, says a press release.
“Over the past year and a half, we have seen businesses significantly increase their spending on automated solutions to stay connected with their customers, ensure business continuity and realize efficiencies as a way to address…
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