TORONTO — The federal government’s spectrum allocation policies are the focus of the latest report from the C.D. Howe Institute’s telecommunications policy working group, which says the high cost of spectrum in Canada combined with regulatory impediments will negatively impact the rollout of 5G in the country.
Citing an analysis by U.K. economist Pantelis Koutroumpis in 2020, who looked at the impact of spectrum allocation on mobile communications in Canada, spectrum prices in Canada are almost four times higher than the international average, says the telecom policy working group (which counts among its members executives from Canada’s largest telecom companies)….
Continue Reading
CRTC focuses on accelerating regional carrier network builds. Eyes now on Cogeco if regulatory conditions satisfy mobile entry
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – In requiring the country’s largest telecommunications companies to negotiate access to its wireless network with regional carriers, the CRTC has signaled its desire to bolster the fourth players and help accelerate the expansion and deployment of those networks, the Commission’s head Ian Scott said Thursday.
But the Regulator will not require those regional carriers to come to commercial arrangements with smaller players on that leased capacity, with Scott only saying they are permitted to do so.
In essence, Thursday’s decision…
Continue Reading
INTERNET SPEED TESTING pioneer Ookla released its latest test wireline and wireless broadband speed results for a number of markets around the world, including Canada, and its fair to say just about every carrier won something.
Rogers, for example, ranked as Canada’s most consistent national wireless and broadband provider with a score of 88.7%, and had the fastest internet in Ontario and New Brunswick
Telus was the fastest mobile operator with a speed score of 87.54 and tied for first with the lowest latency at 6 ms on the wired internet side.
Freedom Mobile won the median latency crown on the wireless…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The CRTC today decided to mandate mobile virtual network operators for the Canadian wireless market – as long as companies who want to be one already own and operate network facilities and Tier 4 or higher (3, 2, 1) spectrum.
The Commission is calling it “wholesale facilities-based MVNO access service” and the decision also makes it clear this new “wholesale roaming policy applies to fifth-generation (5G) networks. This confirmation is important to help ensure that competition can continue to grow as the mobile wireless service market evolves to 5G.”
In short, that means companies with existing facilities like…
Continue Reading
LLOYDMINSTER, AB/SK — Lloydminster, the city which straddles the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, will receive $36 million in new fibre network infrastructure from Telus and SaskTel, the two companies announced today.
On the Alberta side of Lloydminster, Telus is investing $30 million to connect more than 90% of the city’s homes and businesses directly to its PureFibre network. Construction on the project is already underway and Telus says it anticipates the majority of households and businesses that will be covered by its PureFibre network to be connected by the end of 2021.
Telus’s gigabit-enabled PureFibre network is the largest 100%…
Continue Reading
QUEBEC CITY — As part of the Quebec-Canada Operation High Speed initiative, the federal and provincial governments announced today a joint investment of $45 million awarded to Telus and Sogetel which will help to deliver high-speed Internet access to more than 8,000 households in the Chaudière-Appalaches region by September 2022.
Telus will receive $13.3 million in funding to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to 2,700 homes, while Sogetel will receive $31.7 million to provide coverage to 5,400 households in the region, says the governments’ joint press release, which did not outline the service providers’ investments in these broadband projects.
However, Continue Reading
TORONTO — Telstra Americas, which recently opened a point of presence (PoP) in downtown Toronto, announced today Kris Schaffer (above) has been named as Telstra’s Canada country lead to drive accelerated growth out of the Toronto area.
Schaffer is “an accomplished IT and telecom professional with both leadership and customer-facing roles at IBM, Bell Canada and Telus,” reads the press release announcing her hiring.
Most recently, Schaffer was business development executive at ISM Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM, where her responsibilities included helping companies with cloud-based business intelligence, advanced analytics and big data solution initiatives. Prior to ISM…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER – In time to celebrate Leonardo Da Vinci’s 569th birthday Telus is adding a new historical drama, Leonardo, to Telus Presents on April 15.
The new show is added to the current 16-title collection of Telus Presents – which gives Optik TV and Pik TV customers free on demand access to curated, hard-to-find programming from abroad.
The eight-episode series is from writers Frank Spotnitz (The X Files) and Steve Thompson (Sherlock) and takes viewers inside the life of one of history’s most well-known figures, showing the “drama and passion behind his genius – and keeps us hooked with a tantalizing…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU — Cartt.ca readers will be glad to know the CRTC’s new wireless policies will finally be released this week, with mandated mobile virtual network operators (will they or won’t they?) undoubtedly the biggest item of interest among telecom providers, big and small.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed the policy decision will be issued at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 15 (i.e., after the stock market closes).
It’s been a long wait, seeing as the Commission first announced the wireless policy review proceeding back in February 2019, held a public hearing in February 2020 and final submissions were in July…
Continue Reading
QUEBEC CITY — In two separate announcements today, Cogeco Connexion and Bell Canada have been awarded more than $50 million in combined funding as part of Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed, to bring high-speed Internet services to underserved households in the Memphrémagog regional county municipality (RCM) and Bas-Saint-Laurent region, respectively.
Cogeco is receiving $22.7 million in joint funding to provide high-speed Internet access to close to 3,000 households in the Memphrémagog region by September 2022. Cogeco’s investment in the project was not announced.
Municipalities who will benefit from the Cogeco broadband project include:
Austin, Ayer’s Cliff, Bolton-Est, Eastman, Hatley, Canton de…
Continue Reading
