By John Bugailiskis
TWO YEARS AGO AT the 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit, industry executives largely agreed that for 5G to live up to its hype, service providers would have to forge new partnerships with non-traditional businesses and industries across Canada.
Jump ahead two years to yesterday’s virtual 2020 Telecom Summit panel on 5G and the only noticeable change is the (virtual) setting, not the outlook. The deployment of 5G will be marathon, not a sprint and the revolutionary changes will eventually arrive, but not for several more years predicted this year’s expert panel.
For telecom giants used to forging their own path…
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By Denis Carmel
VANCOUVER – Talk to anyone in the telecom industry and they know one of the most pressing challenges facing Canada is connecting our Indigenous communities to proper, and affordable, broadband.
In his Thursday keynote to the online Canadian Telecom Summit, Tony Geheran (above), executive vice-president, and chief customer officer, at Telus outlined the company’s commitment to connecting those communities to fibre.
Geheran went through the company’s various PureFibre, Health, Agriculture and Telus for Good spending, in the billions over the years, connecting millions of Canadians in various ways for various services.
However, what stood out in his speech was the…
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And why there’s much more to rural connectivity than funding
By Lynn Greiner
AN ADDITIONAL $1.75 BILLION for rural broadband, which the federal government announced this month, is certainly a good step, albeit delayed, in the right direction. But, it’s not enough.
“It’s not a silver bullet,” said Telus vice-president telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel Stephen Schmidt during the Canadian Telecom Summit’s annual Regulatory Blockbuster session on Wednesday. “It won’t work on its own… In our view, complementary spectrum policy reform is an essential companion piece that will ensure that the networks that get built with or without public…
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GATINEAU – When in August 2020, the CRTC found both Iristel and Telus had violated the Telecom Act, Iristel for traffic stimulation and Telus by taking matters in its own hand in blocking traffic to Iristel, it initiated a proceeding to determine whether Administrative Penalties (AMPs) were warranted.
After Iristel went to the CRTC seeking a Review and Vary (R&V) and a stay of the decision right away, on November 6, Telus also sought a R&V of the same decision to argue that they di not unjustly discriminated. It was posted to the Commission website on Thursday.
“The Commission,…
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VANCOUVER — Telus today released its 2020 Indigenous Connectivity Report, which outlines the benefits of partnerships between the company and Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia.
The report also provides an update on the investment Telus has made to bring connectivity to Indigenous communities and the current reach of its network. In partnership with Indigenous governments, the telecom has made high-speed Internet available to approximately 18,500 homes, businesses and community hubs.
To date, more than $25 million has been invested to connect Indigenous communities in B.C. to Telus’ PureFibre network, including enhanced wireline and wireless connectivity, says the company.
Among the report’s highlighted…
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Report due by February
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The federal government’s pledge to have wireless prices drop by 25% is expected to be studied during House of Commons hearings into accessibility and affordability of telecommunications services, starting next week.
The committee on industry will begin the proceedings on Tuesday with witnesses Telesat and Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX). Both satellite companies made news over the past two weeks as they push low earth orbit satellites to colve rural broadband coverage. The former this week formalized a $600-million agreement for the federal government to purchase satellite capacity to serve…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – To no one’s surprise, Bell Canada and the large cable companies have sought leave to appeal the Federal Court of Appeal decision of September 10, 2020, over CRTC Decision 2019-288 (about the fees third party internet access ISPs pay to the incumbents) to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Bell adopted the reasoning put forward by the large cable carriers (Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Cogeco, and Eastlink) and let them argue more at depth the issues at hand.
Their argument seems to focus on, besides the basic issues they contended before when they went to the Federal Court…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced the launch of Telus Agriculture today, a new business unit with which the company hopes to “digitally transform the global food system.”
The company has purchased a number of companies whose assets will give Telus a full suite of technology solutions which can “increase efficiency, production, and yields, delivering better food outcomes for businesses and the end consumer,” reads its press release.
Telus’s agriculture acquisitions (and what they do) include:
AFS Technologies – Florida, USA – Comprised of AFS, Exceedra and Ignition. Supply chain management, and sales and distribution
AGIntegrated – Pennsylvania, USA – Seamless API integration
…
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By Ahmad Hathout
CANADA’S LARGEST INTERNET service providers say they are pleased with the federal government’s infusion of cash with the $1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund, but some are concerned about the speed objectives.
On Monday, the federal government announced the program was open for applications with an additional $750 million in new money and $150 million of it dedicated to a faster stream for projects that can deploy by November 2021. All projects must meet the speed threshold of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
Rogers, Bell and Telus praised the announcement as one that will help connect those economically-challenging…
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VANCOUVER — Telus says it will be making an important announcement related to the agriculture industry on Thursday, which appears to be the official launch of “Telus Agriculture” based on the media invitation details.
Ag tech is something the company has consistently identified as a major growth opportunity.
The live virtual event scheduled for 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET) will be hosted by Telus group president Francois Gratton, and will feature Telus CEO Darren Entwistle and new Telus executives.
We’ll be bringing you the details once they’re announced on Thursday.
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