CRTC sides with small ISPs on Shaw Internet pricing dispute

The CRTC ruled against Shaw Communications Inc.’s proposed new prices for third-party Internet access on Monday, approving interim wholesale broadband rates that are roughly half what the company was seeking.

Google confirms wireless plans in U.S.

Google Inc. will enter the U.S. wireless market, senior vice president of products Sundar Pichai said Monday at the WorldMobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

He said the service would be small-scale and not meant to compete with large wireless carriers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The service “would be intended to demonstrate technical innovations that the carriers could adopt,” WSJ said, adding that Google will partner with other carriers to launch the new service.

Google to give mobile-friendly websites more priority

Google Inc. said Thursday that it will start giving mobile friendliness more weight in terms of how websites are ranked in Google searches.

It said on its Webmaster Central Blog on Thursday that the change will take effect April 21 and "will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices."

Rogers denies exec called for ban on VPNs

Rogers Communications Inc. said Friday that David Purdy, its senior vice-president of content, did not call on government to ban virtual private networks (VPNs) during a media-industry conference in Toronto on Thursday, despite suggestions on Twitter to the contrary.

Broadcasting consultant Kelly Lynne Ashton, commenting on proceedings at the Content Industry Connect conference, posted Thursday: "Purdy - need the govt to shut down VPNs, enforce copyright then can have a viable business."

FCC approves open-Internet regulations

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a set of rules that, among other things, prevents Internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or giving priority to content from an affiliate or any company that's willing to pay to secure "fast lanes" for its content.

IPhone 6 Plus data usage double that of regular iPhone 6: report

Users of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 6 Plus are using twice as much data as those with the iPhone 6, according to a report from Citrix Systems Inc.

The U.S. provider of workplace mobility technology said in a press release earlier this month that the bigger, 5.5-inch screens of the iPhone 6 Plus — compared to 4.7 inches for the regular iPhone 6 — leads more video viewing. Its report said that data usage on the iPhone 6 Plus is 10 times that of the iPhone 3GS.

Online video factors into cord-cutting: CIRA survey

Newly released results from a Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) survey show the availability of online video content is a factor for four in 10 Canadian Internet users who do not subscribe to cable TV.

Telus partners with Jasper on IoT

Telus Corp. announced Tuesday it is partnering with Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider Jasper Inc. for its own IoT platform, the Telus Control Centre.

The new platform “simplifies the deployment and management of IoT services by offering automated device provisioning, real-time diagnostics, integrated billing, and deep reporting and cost-management features,” Telus said in a release.

Bell seeking costs in appeal to overturn mobile-TV ruling

BCE Inc. is seeking to recover legal costs from a range of parties — including an advocacy group representing senior citizens, private individuals and companies in the telecommunications sector — in a case it has brought before the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn a January CRTC ruling that compelled it to treat video streamed through its mobile-TV app like any other data.

Snapchat reportedly worth as much as $19B US

Snapchat Inc., the maker of mobile apps for picture and video sharing, is being valued at as much as $19 billion US in current talks to secure a new round of funding, Bloomberg reported this week.

An article Tuesday said the company is seeking a new round of funding of as much as $500 million US on the basis of its value being between $16 billion US and $19 billion US, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

CBC considers sale of Toronto headquarters: report

CBC/Radio-Canada is considering selling its headquarters in Toronto, according to a report in the National Post.

An article published Thursday said a consultant has been hired to determine whether it should sell the million-square-foot building. Fred Mattocks, general manager of media operations for CBC's English services, is quoted as saying it only needs one-third of the space there, though it would like to remain a tenant.

Canada lagging in health technology innovation: experts

The next generation of health technology is slowly rolling out in Canada, but experts say more government leadership is needed to bring innovations such as remote health monitoring and personalized universal health records into widespread adoption.

According to a recent report from Reuters, at least 10 of the 23 top-ranked hospitals in the United States are involved in a pilot program of Apple Inc.’s HealthKit service, using the platform to store patient information such as blood pressure, weight and heart rate.

Telus institutes Internet data caps

Telus Corp. announced Thursday it is implementing usage-based billing for customers who exceed their monthly data caps on its wireline Internet packages, starting next month in some areas.

The company will charge customers an extra $5 for the first 50 GB they go over the limit, and $10 for each subsequent 50 GB to a maximum of $75 per month.

Telus said on its website it will offer unlimited usage for extra $30 per month, or $15 per month if a customer subscribers to Telus’ TV package.

Bell, PIAC trade procedural shots regarding streaming complaint

BCE Inc. on Thursday reiterated its position that a complaint from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) about its CraveTV streaming service is "frivolous" and should be dismissed, but if the CRTC review does go ahead, the deadline for responding should be extended by 30 days.

Canada lags in mobile broadband adoption: OECD

Mobile broadband subscriptions rose 11.9 per cent for the 12 months to June 2014 in the 34 countries the make up the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the group said in a Thursday release.

Mobile broadband usage has risen to 78.2 per cent overall, the OECD said, or a little more than three subscriptions for every four inhabitants.

Digital advertising exchange adds 4 companies

A coalition called Canada's Premium Audience Exchange (CPAX) said Thursday that four new companies have joined the exchange, which allows website operators to sell digital advertising in real time.

CPAX said in a press release the companies joining the exchange are Postmedia Network Canada Corp., Yellow Pages Ltd., the Chronicle Herald and DHX Media Ltd.

CTV Go picked up by Rogers, other BDUs

BCE Inc.'s online TV-everywhere service, CTV Go, is now available to customers of Rogers Communications Inc. and four other TV service providers, CTV said Thursday.

The network said in a press release that other broadcast distributors added include Bell subsidiary Northwestel Inc., Access Communications Co-operative Ltd., Cable Cable Inc. and Nexicom Systems Inc.

Mobile shopping growth doubling overall e-commerce gains: PayPal

Mobile shopping in Canada is growing at a pace that more than doubles the growth of overall online purchasing, PayPal said Wednesday.

The digital-payment processing company said in a press release that research it has conducted with polling company Ipsos shows mobile shopping is expected to show average annual growth of 34 per cent between the years 2013 and 2016, compared to 14 per cent for overall e-commerce.

Bell to be part of M2M demo at Mobile World Congress

BCE Inc. will be among an international coalition of six telecommunications service providers demonstrating what it called a "revolutionary" new integrated platform for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications at next month's Mobile World Congress.

CBC to focus spending on content, Conway says

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada will emphasize "content over all other expenditures going forward," Heather Conway, the public broadcaster’s executive vice-president of English services, told the Senate's transport and communications standing committee Tuesday.

“So that means when we have the choice of spending money on infrastructure or real estate or content, we will privilege the spending on content,” she said.

Rogers expands Smart Home service to Vancouver

Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday it has brought its Smart Home Monitoring service to Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia's Lower Mainland.

Rogers said in a press release there are multiple packages available, including remote access to door locks, lights, night-vision cameras and thermostats, on a system that features 24-hour links to police, fire and ambulance, as well as real-time messaging on various aspects of a protected home.

One-third of Netflix users have used U.S. IP address: survey

About one in three Canadian customers of Netflix Inc. have used a U.S. IP address to access the company's American service because it offers more content than the Canadian version, Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said in a report released Tuesday.

CRTC gives 90 days for talks on wholesale Internet service dispute

The CRTC is demanding that four of Canada’s largest cable companies and small ISPs represented by the Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium (CNOC) work out a dispute over customer service and network reliability at the negotiating table within the next three months.

Tom Jenkins named NRC chairman

OpenText Corp. chairman Tom Jenkins was announced by Industry Canada Thursday as the new chairman of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

It said in a press release that the appointment took effect Feb. 5.

Jenkins was president and CEO of OpenText between 1994 and 2005, and had experience with other technology companies and the government before that, according to his biography on the OpenText website.

Amazon makes Kindle Unlimited available in Canada

Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday its Canadian division, Amazon.ca, is making Kindle Unlimited available in Canada.

The company said in a press release that Canadians will have unlimited access to more than 750,000 e-books for $9.99 a month with their Kindle e-readers and the free Kindle apps available for personal computers, Apple Inc.'s iPhones and iPads, devices powered by Google Inc.'s Android system, and smartphones equipped with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone software.

CTV Go now works with Google Chromecast

BCE Inc.'s CTV network announced Thursday that its TV everywhere service, CTV Go, has become the first of its kind in Canada to work with Google Inc.'s Chromecast streaming device.

Chromecast is a thumb-sized device that plugs into a television's HDMI port and can access over-the-top streaming services as well as pick up video from a computer or mobile device.

Q9 Networks launching new support services for data centres

Q9 Networks Inc. said Thursday it is launching a new support option for its data centre customers that includes hardware installation and management for the full life cycle of customers’ servers and co-located products.

The company said in a press release that the new onsite support services (OSS) allow it to support “entire physical computing infrastructure layer, from the data centre to the device,” and lets customers optimize their IT spending.

Sun News employees expect shutdown Friday: report

Employees of Quebecor Inc.'s Sun News Network expect the channel to shut down operations Friday due to a failure to strike a deal to sell the service to Moses Znaimer's ZoomerMedia Ltd., according to a report Thursday on the Cartt.ca website.

Telus profits up on higher data revenues

Telus Corp.’s fourth-quarter profits rose 7.6 per cent from a year earlier as the company reported a double-digit jump in data revenue from its wireless and wireline customers.

According to the company’s latest financial report, released Thursday, net income rose to $312 million on revenue of $3.13 billion in the fourth quarter, up from a profit of $290 million on revenue of $2.95 billion of in the same period a year earlier.

Shaw shutting call-centre operations in 3 cities

Shaw Communications Inc. said Wednesday it is shutting down call-centre operations in Edmonton, Calgary and Kelowna, B.C., with about 1,600 workers at these locations having a choice of whether to move, assume a different position or take a buyout.

The company said in a press release that it will realign its customer service along "centres of expertise," including technical service, sales and billing, loyalty care, technical field support, e-care, payment solutions and satellite operations.

Telus to make Netflix available for Optik TV users

Telus Corp. said Wednesday it will be making services from Netflix Inc. available through its Optik TV set-top boxes in the coming weeks.

Telus said in a press release that almost half of its Optik TV customers are Netflix subscribers, and this development removes "the inconvenience of having to switch hardware and source inputs or fumble with additional remotes" when watching Netflix on a television.

CRTC extends deadline in Shaw wholesale dispute

The CRTC has extended the deadline for Shaw Communications Inc. to reply in a dispute over the company’s  proposed changes to the prices for wholesale access to its Internet network.

The regulator said in a letter posted to its website Wednesday that Shaw now has until Feb. 19 to respond to the applicants and provide more information about its proposal.

Super WiFi ‘exciting new area’ for wireless: spectrum expert

Industry Canada’s announcement last week that it is opening up TV white space for the use of "super WiFi" technology could improve broadband availability in rural areas and has the potential be used for Internet of Things connectivity, experts say.

International Datacasting discussing sale

International Datacasting Corp., an Ottawa-based provider of technology for the broadcasting industry, said Tuesday it is in talks with an undisclosed party about the sale of the company.

International Datacasting said in a press release that the discussions are "preliminary in nature and there can be no assurance that they will result in a transaction."

It said it has established a committee of independent directors to assess the potential sale and other "strategic alternatives."

SOCAN reports record revenues for 2014

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) said Tuesday that collected a record amount of royalties last year, based on preliminary results.

The collective representing songwriters, composers and publishers, said in a press release its total for the 2014 is expected to be $299 million, up eight per cent from $276 million in 2013, which itself was a record.

Cogeco launching Montreal data centre in spring

Cogeco Cable Inc. said Tuesday it expects to open a new 100,000 square foot data centre in Montreal in the spring.

The facility is designed to meet Tier 3 standards, the company said in a release, and will serve customers in Montreal and the surrounding area with colocation and cloud services.

Cogeco said Montreal is an ideal location to host the data centre because of its access to abundant and reliable power and a cool climate for most of the year.

Twitter releases latest transparency report

The Canadian government asked Twitter Inc. for users’ personal information 32 times in the last six months of 2014, the social network said on Monday in its latest transparency report.

The requests covered 37 different user accounts, the company said. Twitter said it handed over at least some information in 11 of the requests.

In the first six months of 2014, the company said, it received 30 requests for personal information from the Canadian government tied to 30 accounts, and provided information for seven of the requests.

Netflix goes to Cuba

Netflix Inc. said Monday it is now offering service in Cuba.

"Bienvenida Cuba! Netflix is now available," Netflix said in a Twitter post.

The move follows the December announcement that the U.S. government is restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades.

Ont. municipality still interested in Eastlink buyout: report

The Municipality of Kincardine in southwestern Ontario is interested revisiting the issue of selling publicly owned Bruce Telecom to Eastlink-owner Bragg Communications Inc., according to a news report, despite a potential deal last year that was called off after the Competition Bureau raised concern.

Government looks to TV white space to connect rural Canadians

Industry Canada said Thursday it was moving forward with initiatives it says will provide new opportunities for rural Canadians to access "WiFi-like services" through the use of TV white space.

It said in a press release that use of underused spectrum, traditionally used for TV broadcasting, can provide broadband Internet signals that are "similar to WiFi."

Moore stands by Bill S-4 at House committee

OTTAWA — Industry Minister James Moore continued to back his Digital Privacy Act, or Bill S-4, on Thursday as he faced questions from opposition members of a House committee about clauses that allow individuals' information to be shared between private-sector organizations.

Bell reports surge in wireless data usage

BCE Inc.’s net earnings the fourth quarter grew slightly compared to a year earlier, though its wireless revenue gained by a wider margin largely on increased data usage.

Bell's reported in a press release that revenue rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier to $5.53 billion. Net earnings were $594 million, up from $593 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

MTS reports lower Q4 revenue as wholesale wireless declines

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. on Wednesday reported lower revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, though unlike the year-earlier period, it was profitable.

The company said in a press release that revenue was down less than one per cent from the year before to $404.8 million in the three months ended Dec. 31. It reported net earnings of $24.2 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $87.9 million a year before.

Péladeau says he still controls Quebecor: report

Pierre Karl Péladeau, the controlling shareholder at Quebecor Inc., who was elected a member of Quebec’s national assembly last year, said Wednesday he maintains control of the company, the Montreal Gazette reported.

“Yes. I have control,” the Gazette quoted him as saying.

Péladeau said the share structure of the company allows him to currently to “name the administrators for 75 per cent of the composition of the board,” though he does not manage the company on a day-to-day basis, the Gazette reported.

VMedia now offering triple-play bundles in Ontario

VMedia Inc. said Wednesday it has become the first independent telecommunications service provider to offer a triple-play bundle of television, Internet and home-phone service in Ontario.

The company said its packages start at $69.85 a month for DSL Internet with 6-Mbps download speeds, more than 50 channels of mostly high-definition TV and unlimited Canada-wide calling.

FCC chairman proposes common-carrier net neutrality rules

U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler said on Wednesday that he will propose new rules this week to enshrine net neutrality in law and ban paid prioritization and throttling of “lawful content and services” on both wireline and, for the first time, wireless connections.

In a post on the website of Wired, Wheeler said the regulations would redefine ISPs and mobile providers as common carriers using the FCC’s so-called Title II authority.

CRTC says public proceeding on new powers to levy fines not ‘appropriate’

A public proceeding regarding new CRTC powers to impose monetary penalties on telecommunications companies would “not be appropriate,” given “the fact that further guidance will be provided in the coming weeks,” the commission said in a letter to Telus Corp.

Canada agrees to 20-year copyright extension: report

Canada has agreed to extend the copyright term to 70 years after the death of the author as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade deal currently under discussion, the Japanese Broadcasting Corp. reported Feb. 2.

The extension was sought by the United States, the report said, which already has a 70-year copyright term. Canada’s copyright term is currently 50 years after the death of the author, according to the website of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Business market growth elusive for some telecoms

Canadian telecommunications providers are looking to the business market to pick up the slack from the increasingly competitive consumer space, yet financial data from the incumbent service providers shows, in the opinion of one analyst, that competing in that low-margin segment is a challenge.

Macquarie Capital Markets analyst Greg MacDonald said that entering the business market as a new competitor would be "very, very difficult" but that there could be opportunities in serving small businesses.

Senators going to U.K. as part of CBC review

Five Canadian senators are going to the United Kingdom this month on a "fact-finding mission" as part of a study on the difficulties faced by CBC/Radio Canada.

The Senate's transport and communications standing committee said in a press release that five members would be in London from Feb. 9 to 12, to consult with British parliamentarians, representatives of that country's public broadcaster, the BBC, and the BBC Trust, which is its governing body.

Canadian mobile data to grow sevenfold by 2019: Cisco

Data running on mobile networks in Canada is set to grow an average of 46 per cent a year between now and 2019, resulting in a quantity of data that's seven times what it was last year, Cisco Systems Inc. said in a report Tuesday.

Cisco said in the Canadian highlights of its Visual Networking Index for mobile data traffic that the amount of mobile data in Canada was about 400 petabytes a year in 2014, or 30.8 petabytes per month (more than 30 million gigabytes), up 59 per cent from a year earlier.

Pirate Bay site back in operation: report

The Pirate Bay filesharing website is back online, website TorrentFreak reported Friday.

It said "the look and feel of the site is familiar, and the user accounts are working properly too."

The Pirate Bay went offline in December. According to TorrentFreak, the site's "nuclear-proof" data centre in a mountain complex near Stockholm was raided by Swedish authorities that month.

Toronto commuter trains expand WiFi

Greater Toronto transit authority Metrolinx said in a press release Monday that it’s expanding WiFi service to an additional 22 stations on its GO network transit system.

Metrolinx said in a press release the expansion, which began Monday, follows a 2013 pilot project which made WiFi available at 14 stations and terminals.

Videotron launches original content for Club Illico streaming service

MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron hopes that producing original content exclusively for its Club Illico streaming service will help the company attract and keep subscribers, said Videotron CEO Manon Brouillette.

At a Monday press conference in Montreal, the company announced it would launch Blue Moon, the first original series for Club Illico. The scripted series, about a woman taking over her father’s private security firm, will premiere in 2016 and, a press release emphasized, was designed to be binge-watched.

FCC raises broadband definition to 25 Mbps

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raised the minimum speeds required to meet its definition of broadband internet on Friday to 25 Mbps from 4 Mbps, according to a posting on its website.

The regulator called the old standard, set in 2010, “dated and inadequate” for assessing the broadband needs of the country in its latest report on the deployment of high-speed Internet connections.

Google deals with declining ad rates

Google Inc. said in its fourth-quarter results that the average “cost-per-click” for ads on its sites and those of its network members decreased by three per cent over the fourth quarter of 2013.

Cost-per-click for Google sites specifically was down eight per cent at the end of the three-month period ending Dec. 31, compared to a year earlier.

Revenues for the quarter were $18.1 billion US, up from $15.71 billion a year earlier, Google said, but below analyst expectations, Bloomberg noted Thursday.

CRTC gives SaskTel pass on flood-related problems

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp.'s network problems following floods in the company's home province last summer will not result in it owing rebates to companies like BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. that rely on its network, the CRTC said Friday.

Mobile-TV ruling could be harbinger of streaming regulation: Klass

The CRTC’s ruling on Thursday that BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc.-owned Videotron can no longer exempt their mobile-TV services from data charges could have implications for the regulation of streaming services such as CraveTV and Shomi, according to the man behind the original complaint.

Seevibes expands to Toronto

Montreal-based social-TV audience measurement company Seevibes is opening an office in Toronto, the company said in a press release Wednesday.

Telus buys stake in Quebec IT and consulting company

Telus Corp. said Wednesday it has purchased a 20 per cent share in and formed a partnership with a Quebec City-based IT and consulting service.

Telus said in a press release it is teaming up with Alithya, which according to its website has offices in Canada and France, to offer information and communications service packages with a focus on managing "infrastructure solutions."

Spy agency monitors file downloads: report

Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is collecting data on the downloads of millions of people as part of its efforts to fight terrorism, according to reports from CBC News and U.S. news website The Intercept.

The project, called “Levitation,” was revealed in documents leaked by former N.S.A. contractor Edward Snowden.

Connecting Canadians receives more than 300 ISP applications

The federal government’s $305-million Connecting Canadians program, meant to bring high-speed Internet to 280,000 homes, has received more than 300 proposals from Internet service providers (ISPs), said Industry Minister James Moore.

“Great progress to connect more Canadians than ever to faster Internet,” Moore posted on his Twitter account Tuesday. The deadline for applications for ISPs was Jan. 12.

Sun News Network close to closing: report

Quebecor Inc.'s Sun News Network is close to shutting down, a report on the news website Canadaland said Monday.

The report cited unnamed sources as saying negotiations for its acquisition by Moses Znaimer's ZoomerMedia Ltd. had hit an impasse over severance packages for Sun News executives who would not be staying on after a sale.

The Canadaland story said Quebecor spokesman Martin Tremblay would not comment on speculation about Sun News' pending demise.

Shaw fights back in wholesale Internet pricing dispute

Shaw Communications Inc. is fighting back against accusations from small ISPs that its new pricing proposal for third-party Internet access is exorbitant, saying in a recent filing with the CRTC that higher costs are necessary to deal with “dramatic” growth in Internet usage.

Distributel gets word out on TV service

Distributel Communications Inc. announced on Thursday its new television service, which is available in markets throughout Ontario and Quebec.

The independent Internet service provider had already began offering TV service last year, though it announced in a news release this week the "official launch" of Distributel TV.

Distributel said its service includes more than 90 channels in its base packages, and its rates, which also include Internet service, range from $99.95 to $149.95 a month.

CMF awards $8 million for 31 digital media projects

The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) said Thursday it would provide $8 million to finance 31 digital media projects, as part of the second round of its "experimental stream" for 2014-15.

CMF said in a press release that 23 companies received $6.2 million to “to develop three applications, one eBook, seven interactive platforms, 11 games and one social media platform,” while $1.8 million went toward marketing support for eight interactive digital media projects.

BlackBerry boss takes aim at Netflix in neutrality battle

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said the battle for net neutrality in the United States should not only focus on service providers' traffic management practices, but should also include companies, such as Netflix Inc., that create content distributed through the Internet.

CBC funding becoming political ahead of budget, election

MONTREAL — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is promising, if elected, to reverse funding cuts imposed on CBC/Radio-Canada in recent years, though political observers do not expect the Conservative government to make any surprise moves regarding the public broadcaster in the coming months when it lays out its last budget before the next federal election.

Shomi gets rights to original Amazon content

Canadian video streaming service Shomi said Thursday it has secured the Canadian rights to original content made for Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime streaming service in the U.S.

VMedia secures Blue Ant content for cloud-TV service

VMedia Inc. said it has secured its first specialty-TV channels for the cloud-based PVR service it makes available to IPTV customers.

The company said in a news release Thursday that it has reached a deal to include Blue Ant Media Inc.'s Bite, T&E and Cottage Life channels on its cloud PVR, from which programming is available on an on-demand basis for up to seven days after the initial broadcast.

TMN Go now available to Shaw customers

Shaw Communications Inc. said Thursday that TMN Go is now available to its cable customers in northern Ontario and satellite-TV customers throughout Eastern Canada, allowing them to watch The Movie Network, HBO Canada, Showtime and TMN Encore content on-demand on televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones.

The availability is limited to Eastern Canada customers because BCE Inc.'s The Movie Network does not have broadcast rights in the West, Bell Media spokesman Scott Henderson confirmed.

Americans want wireless exceptions to net neutrality: survey

Most Americans say mobile communications should be treated differently than wireline connections when it comes to enforcing net neutrality principles, according to recently released survey.

A poll commissioned by CTIA-The Wireless Association, which represents wireless-related companies in the United States and elsewhere, found 78 per cent of respondents support different regulations for net neutrality imposed on mobile than wired Internet services, the organization said in a press release Friday.

New Windows will run on PCs, tablets, mobile phones

On Wednesday Microsoft Corp. announced two new devices as well as more details about the latest version of its Windows operating system, which will be the first to run cross-platform on desktops, tablets and mobile phones.

Netflix wants to complete global expansion in 2 years

Netflix Inc. can expand to pretty well everywhere in the world while staying profitable over the next two years, the company said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday.

“Acceleration to 200 countries is largely made possible by the tremendous growth of the Internet in general, including on phones, tablets and smart TVs,” it said, noting its streaming service is already available in “about 50” countries.

Prepare for automated vehicles now: Conference Board

Automated vehicles are about to become the most disruptive near-term technology in the average person's life, the Conference Board of Canada said in report released Wednesday.

The research group said the impact of driverless cars will be even more substantial than other technologies coming in future years, such as 3D printing and 5G wireless technology.

Music streaming in Canada ramps up

In the past six months, Canadians’ usage of streaming music services seems to have jumped, in a trend that’s not only good news for streaming services, but wireless companies as well.

Nielsen Co. only began tracking music streaming in Canada in July 2014. By September, when Spotify AB entered the market, streaming had increased by 18 per cent, according to numbers provided to The Wire Report by independent broadcast consultant Andrew Forsyth, who collected the data for Nielsen.

YouTube to host own Super Bowl halftime show

For the first time, Google Inc.’s YouTube streaming service is hosting a live Super Bowl halftime show of its own that will stream during the break of the NFL championship game on Feb. 1.

Hosted by Harley Morenstein, Montreal-based creator of the Epic Meal Time web series, the halftime show will be live-streamed on the same Ad Blitz channel on which YouTube hosts its Super Bowl-related content, such as pregame and halftime advertisements from major brands as well as behind-the-scenes footage and other extra content.

Ex-Microsoft exec calls out wireless industry on radiation issues

OTTAWA — The former president of Microsoft Corp.'s Canadian operations is calling on companies involved in wireless technology to be more forthcoming in addressing what he says are health risks associated with exposure to signals transmitted from various devices.

Voltage Pictures president speaks on piracy

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published Jan. 15, Voltage Pictures LLC president Nicolas Chartier detailed the motivations behind his company’s ongoing efforts to sue those involved in file sharing.

According to the Reporter, Chartier is “the individual most responsible for an exponential growth of copyright litigation in the U.S.” for his “super-aggressive, take-no-prisoners approach to the war on online piracy.”

Obama supports more government investment in broadband

U.S. President Barack Obama this week called for measures that would facilitate more investment from various levels of government to improve broadband Internet performance.

He made a speech Wednesday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where there is a municipally built Internet network that provides speed 100 times faster than the national U.S. average, according to a report in USA Today.

Sony to close Canadian stores

Electronics maker and retailer Sony Corp. is closing all of its Canadian stores.

Robin Powell, a spokesman for Sony Canada, said in a phone interview that all 14 Sony outlets in Canada would shut down over the next six to eight weeks. He would not provide a reason for the closures. There had been speculation mounting this week that Sony would take some drastic measures in response to disappointing financial results in recent years.

Powell said about 90 employees are affected by the closures.

Privacy commish looking into targeted advertising

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is launching a research project into online advertising that targets users based on their online behaviour.

In a letter to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB), privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said that despite “the launch of an industry-led self-regulatory program, informal observations of major web sites viewed by Canadians show that privacy compliance may still be an issue.”

Non-consensual software installation outlawed

It became illegal Thursday to install software on another person's computer, smartphone or other device without their consent, the CRTC said.

Cogeco creating public WiFi hotspots from people’s homes

Cogeco Cable Inc. has quietly rolled out home spotting, or the use of multi-signal routers in people's homes to provide both private WiFi signals to residents and separate public signals to visitors or those in the vicinity, according to CEO Louis Audet.

Audet said in phone interview that Cogeco “started doing it in a modest way” a few months ago.

Small ISPs raise fuss over new Shaw wholesale price proposal

Small ISPs are speaking out against an “egregious” new pricing proposal from Shaw Communications Inc. for wholesale access to its Internet lines.

The Calgary-based incumbent introduced new prices for a new set of retail Internet plans on Jan. 6, and filed a CRTC application on the same day to update its rates for third-party Internet access.

Government to spend $100M on computer security: report

The federal government will spend about $100 million to bolster the security of its computers in order to safeguard against breaches like last year's hacking of the National Research Council, believed to have been backed by China, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.

Attributing the information to an unnamed senior government official, the Globe said more money will be sought in the upcoming budget for the project, and the $100 million or so would be spent over the course of a year.

ISPs prepping for increase in copyright infringement notices

After "significant" investments in time and money to prepare for the notice-and-notice regime that went into effect this month, independent Internet service providers Teksavvy Solutions Inc. and Distributel Communications Ltd. say they haven’t seen an increase in the number of rights holders' requests that infringement notices be passed on to customers — but they’re expecting one.

Enterprise to assume bigger role in technology adoption: Deloitte

After a decade of consumers being the trendsetters in the adoption of emerging technology, the enterprise sector will take on a bigger role in 2015 as leaders in the use of cutting-edge IT products, according to a new report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.