Cheaper data for mobile TV not an undue preference, BCE says

BCE Inc.’s mobile TV product is a distinct broadcast distribution business and its pricing structure does not disadvantage competitors' over-the-top video services any more than the pricing of home TV services offered by other Internet service providers (ISPs), the company said in regulatory filings.

Verizon CEO says unlimited data ‘has to go away’

Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Communications Inc., said wireless carriers will have to stop offering unlimited data.

Speaking at the Citi 2014 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas Tuesday, McAdam said it’s “just sort of a fact of life” that “eventually unlimited has got to go away,” according to a transcript on Verizon’s website.

Bell reduces roaming data charges for certain locations

BCE Inc. said Monday it is reducing data roaming charges for customers travelling in Mexico, China, Australia, New Zealand and most European countries.

Bell said travel data passes for these areas will provide customers with 50 megabytes for $30, down from 100 MB plans that sold for $75. Bell said this new deal brings its data roaming rates in those countries to 60 cents per megabyte, down from 75 cents.

Rogers offers new U.S. roaming rates

Rogers Communications Inc. on Thursday announced new U.S. roaming rates, which it said double its previous data caps and provide more talk time as well as unlimited texting at lower prices.

A basic data plan starts at $7.99, provides 50 megabytes of data and is good for 24 hours. It makes no provisions for voice or outgoing texts, though Rogers said incoming texts are free with any travel package while roaming.

Despite challenges, 5G wireless could arrive by 2020

Though all the possibilities that 4G wireless technology presents still haven’t been fully explored, industry experts gathered in Ottawa on Wednesday to look ahead at the next generation of wireless networks and discuss what 5G mobility will be like.

The commercial availability of 5G networks is expected around 2020, Wen Tong, an Ottawa-based fellow with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., said at the 5G@Canada Roundtable, organized by the global Chinese telecom company.

Bell lowers roaming rates to Caribbean

BCE Inc. cut the cost of its roaming packages for customers visiting Bermuda and “most Caribbean islands,” the company said.

In a release Tuesday, BCE said its “30-day Travel Bundle,” which previously cost $95, will cost $50 starting Wednesday, for its subscribers who travel to Bermuda or one of at least 12 other Caribbean countries.

The package, the company said, includes 25 MB of data, 50 minutes of calling, and 50 outgoing and unlimited incoming text messages.

Bell cuts roaming rates as CRTC ponders regulations

BCE Inc. chopped its U.S. mobile roaming pricing as telecom carriers face possible regulatory intervention from the CRTC on roaming rates.

In a release Monday, BCE said it was cutting the cost of its monthly U.S. roaming package in half, from $50 to $25. That package, which allows BCE’s wireless consumers to piggyback on American carriers’ networks when travelling to the United States, includes 50 MB of monthly data usage, 50 minutes of calls to the U.S. or Canada, unlimited incoming text messages and 200 outgoing texts, the release said.

CRTC looking into wireless roaming agreements

The CRTC is ordering Canada’s mobile providers to answer questions about the roaming agreements they enter into with other wireless carriers after hearing “concerns” from consumers and new entrant players about roaming rates.

CRTC says consumers can cancel wireless contracts after two years, no fees

Canadian wireless consumers can cancel long-term wireless contracts with mobile phone providers after two years without any cancellation fees, the CRTC said in new wireless code of conduct regulations, which is expected to mean the end of three-year mobile contracts.

Bell, Telus chipping away at Rogers’ lead in postpaid wireless

Data usage and subscriber growth powered BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to higher first quarter wireless revenues as the two companies added more postpaid subscribers at a faster pace than rival incumbent Rogers Communications Inc.

In an earnings statement released Thursday, Bell said it added a net 59,497 postpaid wireless subscribers in the three-month period that ended March 31, bringing its total postpaid subscriber base to 6.48 million, representing 84.5 per cent of its 7.67 million total wireless subscribers.