Rural areas need a single, open access, network
By Joe Hickey
IN A WORLD WHERE many causes are highly politicized, rural broadband access is a cause just about everyone can get behind. With it, Canada can improve rural access to education, healthcare, and economic growth. This is especially important in the wake of COVID-19, which put a glaring spotlight on the digital divide, and made it all the rage to support rural broadband access.
Even major urban telcos seem to be getting on board, with Rogers Communications promising a $1 billion rural broadband fund in its recent proposal to…
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By Howard Law
UNTIL LAST WEEK, PARLIAMENT’S Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was plodding through the clause-by-clause review of Bill C-10 with no tasty headlines. Perhaps the bill’s revamp of the Broadcasting Act, which would sweep in Netflix, isn’t controversial anymore.
Of course, federal political partisanship is inevitable, as Canadian as bad weather.
And so, we now have the Conservatives’ faux controversy over free expression on social media platforms. In an e-mail blast from CPC MPs across the country, they made their case:
“Recently, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-10 – a bill that would regulate social media websites like Facebook, YouTube, and…
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TORONTO — To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Life Labs announced today it has partnered with Telus Health to provide MyCareCompass customers in Ontario with improved access to allied health services such as virtual counselling through the Babylon by Telus Health virtual care service.
According to a recent study by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), 40% of Canadians say their mental health has worsened since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, says LifeLabs’ press release. Additionally, Canadians are continuing to rely on virtual care during the pandemic to support their healthcare needs, says the release.
In addition to letting customers…
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TORONTO — A new study from J.D. Power finds Canadian wireless customers are satisfied overall with the support they get from their service provider, with Videotron ranking highest in customer care satisfaction compared to nine other carriers included in the study, which was released today.
Videotron achieved a score of 787 (on a 1,000-point scale) for wireless customer care satisfaction, followed by Virgin Mobile with a score of 774. SaskTel and Telus Mobility tied for third, with each receiving a score of 766. (Please see the chart for the full rankings.)
The J.D. Power 2021 Canada Wireless Customer Care Study measures…
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OTTAWA — The department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) released today its latest quarterly report on wireless plans, which shows prices for the majority of mid-range data plans across Canada have decreased since tracking began a year ago.
As Cartt.ca readers know, the federal government wants service providers to reduce the cost of wireless plans by 25% over two years (from the beginning of 2020 to early 2022), and has been tracking prices since January 2020.
For plans with 2 GB to 6 GB of data, the latest tracking data shows most of these plans have seen price…
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TORONTO – Wireless upstart Data On Tap (dotmobile), filed a petition to federal cabinet Tuesday asking the federal government to overturn the portion of the CRTC’s recent wireless policy decision which excluded a mandate for full mobile virtual network operators to participate in the wireless market in Canada.
Dotmobile is Canada’s first full MVNO but has yet been unable to come to a wholesale agreement with any Canadian wireless network operator (company owners say none of the carriers even return their calls seeking a meeting). The CRTC’s much-ballyhooed wireless decision, however, didn’t mandate access for full MVNOs like…
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QUEBEC CITY — A $38-million joint investment made as part of the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed program will see Sogetel and Telus deliver high-speed Internet access to 2,850 households in the Granit regional county municipality (RCM) by September 2022, according to a press release today issued by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
For the deployment of high-speed Internet services in the Granit RCM, Telus will receive $5.2 million in funding to connect 450 households in five municipalities, including Audet, Frontenac, Lac-Drolet, Lac-Mégantic and Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton. With Telus’s financial contribution, the total value of the project is $12.2 million.
Sogetel will receive…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today in an information bulletin it is adopting a new standardized approach to monitoring linear community channels and on-demand community programming services, which will serve as general guidance going forward and will come into effect on September 1, 2021.
In July 2020, the Commission launched a proceeding to gather input on its proposed standardized approaches to monitoring community programming. The Commission received 10 interventions from Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, SaskTel, Telus, Csur la tele, the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the Conseil provincial du secteur…
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VANCOUVER – Beginning May 1, Telus is inviting all Canadians to participate in its Days of Giving, with the goal to mobilize almost 50,000 volunteers around the world to do good in their local communities, says the company.
“As part of the $85 million it will once again give charities this year, Telus is donating more than $100,000 to various charities during #FriendlyFuture Days and helping inspire Canadians to give back safely and virtually,” reads today’s press release. That $85 million is 5% of its pre-tax profits.
“Whether it’s cleaning up a neighbourhood park, providing career advice to youth, dropping off…
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VANCOUVER — Telus announced today the launch of Telus Health Virtual Care, the next evolution of its national, employer-focused virtual care service.
Telus Health is broadening its offering by integrating the best-in-class features of Akira by Telus Health — the company’s bilingual, on-demand virtual care service — and EQ Care — its recently acquired company that delivers specialized virtual care functionalities and advanced employee assistance features such as LifeJourney.
In addition, through a recent integration (which we reported on here), Telus Health Virtual Care is also the first service in Canada to be able to securely share patient…
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