Telus asks for more subsidies
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – If the CRTC wants to encourage more investment in rural broadband and not have to shell out more subsidies, it should not impose additional regulatory obligations, such as open access to their networks, the big telecoms are arguing.
In final submissions to the CRTC’s consultation on barriers to deploying broadband in rural Canada, launched in late 2019, the big telecoms took the opportunity to reemphasize fewer regulations will mean more private investment in their networks – and then the government can save money on programs, too.
Should “the investment climate worsen due to…
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ISPs to receive funding include Videotron, Cogeco, Bell, Xplornet, Telus and Sogetel
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Que. — The federal government and the government of Quebec today announced the launch of the Canada-Quebec “Operation High Speed” initiative to connect almost 150,000 underserved Quebec households to high-speed Internet by September 2022.
This initiative is being made possible by a joint investment totalling $826.3 million from the government of Canada and the Quebec government. The ISPs (which are also investing some of their own money) receiving funding through the program include Videotron, Cogeco, Bell, Xplornet, Sogetel and Telus.
Here are some of the details of each ISP’s…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada today announced it is prepared to respond quickly to service providers seeking access to its poles and other communications support structures.
“By establishing common priorities and working closely with partners like Hydro-Québec and suppliers including engineering firms specializing in aerial structures, the measures Bell is implementing have already significantly accelerated the issuance of permits for many service providers and sped up deployment of several key projects,” reads today’s press release.
“Bell has put everything in place to enable Internet service providers to connect as many Quebecers as possible to high-speed Internet as quickly as possible,” said Karine…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Rogers Communications’ proposed $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications will reduce competition in Canada’s broadband and wireless sector at a time when the industry’s top players are enjoying record profits, and therefore needs to be opposed by the federal government, according to Windsor, Ontario Member of Parliament Brian Masse, the New Democrat critic for telecommunications.
“We need to have strong direction for the industry that buying each other out is not a solution for lowering prices, increasing access for Canadians and bringing greater accountability to consumers,” he told Cartt.ca in an interview.
The federal government should use…
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Network partners Telus and Bell tie for fastest median download speeds
VICTORIA — When it comes to the best mobile experience for customers in Canada, Telus ranks highest compared to Bell and Rogers, according to a new report from Tutela Technologies, a Canadian crowdsourced mobile network data company.
According to Tutela’s 2021 State of Mobile Experience report for Canada, Telus took the top spot for both excellent consistent quality (achieving a score of 88.4%) and core consistent quality (95.2%). For excellent consistent quality, Rogers and Bell achieved scores of 82.7% and 82%, respectively. For core consistent quality, Bell scored 92.9%, while…
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By Ken Kelley
AS CANADIANS WEARILY commemorate the first anniversary of the Covid-19 crisis, we’ve witnessed companies, schools and other services migrate to the digital world in unprecedented fashion. While the internet wouldn’t be considered a luxury by most Canadians, it is exactly that to a segment of the population facing the rising cost of home internet service while their household budgets are growing increasingly tighter.
On Tuesday, consumer group OpenMedia virtually hosted the Day of Action for Affordable Internet, bringing together more than two-dozen civil society and social justice groups, policy experts, activists and independent ISPs to highlight not…
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OTTAWA — Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada today announced more than $5.4 million in federal funding through the Universal Broadband Fund, along with an additional investment of approximately $3.7 million from Telus, will bring high-speed Internet to rural residents of Alberta.
These projects are being funded through the $1.75 billion UBF rapid response stream, says ISED’s press release.
The rural broadband projects being announced today will provide high-speed Internet access to 5,080 underserved households in northern, central and southern Alberta, says the release.
“Bridging digital divides is central to everything we do, so we are proud to be connecting 47…
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VANCOUVER and PLANO, Texas — Mobile transport and broadband access solutions provider DZS, based in Plano, Texas, announced Tuesday morning Telus has selected DZS Cloud for network service orchestration, slice management and software automation to accelerate Telus’ 5G and digital transformation.
DZS Cloud end-to-end orchestration and automation (E2EO), which is based on the RIFT.ware solution recently acquired by DZS, is a carrier-grade, cloud-native software platform that simplifies and automates the deployment of any slice or service on any cloud (public, private, hybrid or edge), including brownfield discovery of existing virtual applications, says the company’s press release.
The DZS Cloud platform…
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And what still stands in their way
By Greg O’Brien
THE PURCHASE OF SHAW by Rogers has been a steady recurrent rumour which would crop up from time to time over the past 23-plus years this reporter has been tracking the industry, meaning Monday’s $26 billion purchase deal by Rogers was a long, long time coming.
In fact, when I first spoke with former Shaw president Peter Bissonnette in late 1997 (so long ago I don’t think he had yet been appointed president), I asked him then about the rumour I heard Rogers would buy Shaw. Too soon. Much too soon,…
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REGINA — SaskTel announced today it has selected Samsung Electronics as the single vendor who will supply SaskTel with its 4G/5G radio access network (RAN) and core network.
Under the companies’ agreement, Samsung will supply all hardware, software and associated expertise to ensure the successful deployment of an end-to-end 5G solution, says the press release.
“We are pleased to select Samsung as the sole vendor for our 5G network deployment and we are confident that Samsung’s state-of-the-art 5G technology will deliver robust network capability and exceptional connectivity inherent in their 5G solutions,” said Doug Burnett, president and CEO of SaskTel, in…
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