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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MONTREAL – In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, Cogeco Inc. announced it hired Paul Beaudry (above) as its new vice-president, regulatory affairs.
He will be succeeding Nathalie Dorval, “who is beginning a well-earned retirement,” reads the LinkedIn post. “We are sending our best wishes to Nathalie, who will remain in her position until November 27th.”
Beaudry, a lawyer, who has been based in Calgary as director of broadband policy and regulatory affairs with Telus and before that as director of development at the school of public policy, will be joining Cogeco in Montreal in the new year, he said on LinkedIn.
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TORONTO — Calling it a first for Canada, Telus Health today announced it’s piloting an electronic drug prior authorization (ePA) solution in partnership with insurance and benefits provider Canada Life and patient support service provider Innomar Strategies.
Prior authorization is applied to certain prescription medications to determine if a benefits plan member is approved to receive coverage for that specific drug, explains a Telus press release. Available in other countries, digital ePA solutions help to decrease time spent fulfilling prior authorization submissions.
“With the new Telus Health ePA solution, physicians and patient support program staff can easily initiate the prior authorization…
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Bell takes top speed spot
NEW YORK — Bell is the fastest wireless carrier in Canada, according to PCMag’s annual Fastest Mobile Networks Canada 2020 report, released today.
Bell is regaining the fastest mobile network title this year, after Telus topped the list for the last three years.
To test the country’s mobile networks, PCMag’s Canada-wide testers drove through 20 cities, some as large as the Greater Toronto Area and as small as Sudbury, Ont., and Drummondville, Que., as well as rural areas in parts of Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The tests were conducted from September 14 to October 15.
Overall, PCMag awarded…
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By Ahmad Hathout
VANCOUVER – Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said Friday the company’s roll-out of 5G technology, which now has 150,000 subscribers, isn’t based on necessity because its current generation of wireless technology is presently the best available.
“It’s not a situation where we’re deploying 5G out of necessity when we’re already leading the world on wireless speeds, coverage and reliability with our 4G networks,” Entwistle said during a third quarter conference call. “Our 4G technology is beating 5G technology in other jurisdictions as it relates to speed, coverage and reliability, which is an exceedingly good position to be winning on…
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Transparent measure follows Telus
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Bell Canada may begin formally separating its mobile phones from tablets and other connected devices in future financial reporting, which will better isolate subscriber figures for 5G-connected peripherals and enhance transparency and comparability with competitors in the industry.
Back in 2018, Telus – which had trailed its competitors on paper when it came to new wireless subscribers – declared that it actually had similar, if not better, smartphone-specific new additions in its base versus its major competitors for certain quarters. The problem was that it, and its competitors, didn’t separate the “quality” smartphone…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Some of the country’s largest carriers have lost an appeal challenging the process by which the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) set higher pole attachment rates they say could hamper the delivery of broadband services.
Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor and Bragg (Eastlink), among others, didn’t like the consultation process that saw the rate to attach their cables on structures jump from an annual rate of $22.35 per attachment set in 2005 to $43.63 across the province. They argued in the province’s divisional court in late September that the OEB had not provided them with the appropriate…
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