Shaw reorganizes with units for consumers, businesses

Shaw Communications Inc. said Monday it is reorganizing the company’s telecommunications businesses into two units that will focus on either consumer or business services.

It said in a press release it would consolidate its residential cable, satellite, Internet and home-phone services into a single consumer unit. Meanwhile, its enterprise cable, phone, satellite and tracking services will be merged into a unit for business services. Its media division will remain as a stand-alone unit, Shaw added.

Telus protests TBayTel’s wholesale rate hike

Telus Corp. is asking to CRTC to side in its favour over a proposed retroactive rate hike it said TBayTel is trying to impose for access to TBayTel's digital network in northern Ontario.

Telus said TBayTel sent it a letter on Jan. 15 that informed the bigger carrier of its sought-after rate increase, though Telus said to implement this increase would contravene CRTC regulations regarding a “phase-out” period of such services to a competing telecom company.

Acquisition helps boost Cogeco Cable numbers

Cogeco Cable Inc. on Wednesday reported higher second-quarter numbers for both profit and revenue, helped along by an acquisition that took effect about a year earlier.

The company said in a press release that revenue for the period ended Feb. 28 was up 13.1 per cent from a year earlier to $486 million. It credited the acquisition of Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc. in January 2013, a favourable effect of foreign-exchange fluctuations and organic growth in all units.

Shaw earnings rise, TV subs decline

Shaw Communications Inc.’s second quarter earnings released Thursday showed gains in both overall revenue and profit, though a decline in TV subscribers was noted, as was a dip in revenue from its media business.

The company said in a press release that net income for the three months ended Feb. 28 was $222 million, up from $182 million one year earlier. Revenue for the quarter was up two per cent to $1.27 million.

CRTC reports fewer throttling complaints

The CRTC said it received fewer complaints about Internet traffic management practices, otherwise known as throttling, in the first three months of 2014 than the three months before that.

The commission said on its website Wednesday it received 11 complaints about throttling between Jan. 1 and March 31, down from 13 in the October-December quarter and 17 in the July-September period.

Air Canada to expand WiFi capacity

Air Canada said Wednesday that it would begin equipping the rest of its North American fleet with WiFi capabilities next month.

The airline said in a press release it already has two planes equipped with WiFi. Subject to a final agreement with WiFi service-provider Gogo Inc., Air Canada said it will equip the rest of its fleet of 130 planes that service North American locations by the end of 2015.

VMedia offers cloudy version of IPTV

George Burger wants to give Canadians a more streamlined television experience, yet analysts say the high-tech Internet-protocol TV offerings from his VMedia Inc. might have limited appeal.

The IPTV service from VMedia now includes a cloud-based PVR, the company announced last week.

Digital Privacy Act tabled in Senate

The federal government on Tuesday announced it has introduced the new Digital Privacy Act in the Senate, which, among other things, proposes fining companies up to $100,000 for not informing Canadians when their personal data is breached.

U.S. warns EU on Europe-only data network

Government’s long-awaited digital strategy ‘nothing new’: analyst

A document released by Industry Minister James Moore Friday that outlines the government’s long-promised digital strategy includes “nothing new and nothing bold,” according to telecom analyst Jean-Francois Mezei of Vaxination Informatique.

The government has already put in place many of the measures included in the strategy, Mezei said, making the document “more of a report card than a vision for the future.”

EU votes to enshrine net neutrality, end roaming charges

The European Union voted on Thursday to end roaming charges by December 2015 and enshrine net neutrality in all 28 member nations as part of its efforts to build a “connected continent,” according to a statement.

The vote in the European Parliament closed loopholes in proposed legislation critics said would have created a two-tier Internet, according to media reports.

CRTC’s consumer focus not at odds with industry: Blais

GATINEAU, Que. — The reviews the CRTC will be holding over the coming year, which include proceedings covering wholesale access to wireless and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks, the future of television and commercial radio, could set the direction for the CRTC over the next decade, said CRTC Chairman Jean Pierre Blais.

Canadians replacing PCs with mobile phones for browsing: ComScore

Canadians are among the most active Internet users in the world and are replacing traditional desktop computers with mobile phones for consuming online content, according to a new report from consumer data tracker ComScore Inc.

According to data compiled by ComScore between December 2012 and December 2013, Canadians spent 17 per cent less time using desktop computers to browse the Internet and viewed 21 per cent fewer webpages than the year before on such devices.

Streaming services need certainty to thrive: Songza exec

OTTAWA — Canada’s regulatory environment doesn’t promote technological innovation in the music industry, and that’s part of the reason why streaming services here are lagging behind their U.S. counterparts, said Vanessa Thomas, managing director for Canada at Songza Media Inc.

Thomas made the remarks Tuesday while speaking by video link to a House of Commons heritage committee meeting, which is undertaking a review of the Canadian music industry.

Blue Ant Media partners with YouTube-focused music network

Blue Ant Media Inc., a Toronto-based media group, said Tuesday it has struck a partnership with Omnia Media, which it said is the third-largest largest music-focused network on Google Inc.’s YouTube platform.

Blue Ant said in a press release that it has become Omnia’s “exclusive sales representative” and “the preferred production partner for original content creation and brand integrations.”

Online video watched by 3 in 4 anglo adults: MTM

More than three out of every four anglophone Canadian adults are consumers of online video, according to report released Thursday.

Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said 76 per cent of respondents in a survey last fall indicated they had watched video online within the previous month. That was up from 73 per cent who answered this way a year earlier and 69 per cent two years before.

ISP to launch first 1 Gbps Internet service in Ontario

Lakeland Networks, an Internet service provider for businesses in Ontario’s cottage country north of Toronto, said it will become the first in Ontario to offer speeds as fast as one gigabit per second.

The service will be available to businesses and public agencies in the Muskoka and Almaguin regions in April, Lakeland Networks said in a press release issued Tuesday. Bill Gispen, manager of Lakeland Networks, said in an email Thursday that the company does not provide residential service.

Crack down on free online services: PIAC

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is calling on governments to do more to protect people from companies that offer so-called free online services.

In a press release issued Wednesday, it said consumers have little protection when they encounter problems or have disputes about issues such as privacy with companies that offer online services that entail no direct charges.

Use spectrum auction proceeds to improve Net access: OpenMedia

A group that promotes open access to the Internet said the federal government should use funds from the 700 MHz spectrum auction to improve accessibility to high-speed Internet in Canada.

In a press release issued Wednesday, OpenMedia.ca called on Industry Minister James Moore to use the $5.27 billion raised in that auction to counter what it called Canada’s “growing digital divide.”

Rivals must collaborate on ‘TV everywhere’ offerings: Bell exec

As Canadian television providers have rolled out their TV-everywhere strategies, aimed at fighting off over-the-top (OTT) competition by making content easier to access online, customers can be forgiven if they’re left somewhat confused.

Can carriers make the switch to become M2M service providers?

Canada’s big telecom providers have a lot to prove as service providers in machine-to-machine communication (M2M), according to Macquarie analyst Greg MacDonald.

Ray-Ban maker to help manufacture Google Glass

Italian eyewear maker Luxottica Group S.p.A. said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Google Inc. to collaborate on making its Google Glass wearable technology.

The company said in a press release that its main brands, Ray-Ban and Oakley, would be included in the partnership, which would combine Luxottica's expertise in eyewear-making with Google’s technological know-how “to design, develop and distribute a new breed of eyewear for Glass.”

Telus purchases IT security firm in Quebec

Telus Corp. said Monday it is buying Enode, an IT security firm based in Quebec City.

No financial terms for the transaction were disclosed in the press release Telus issued. It said it has been partners with Enode for years on several projects in Quebec.

“By expanding our capacity with the acquisition of Enode, we are strengthening our ability to protect our customers against web-based threats for many years to come,” Yogen Appalraju, vice-president of security solutions at Telus, said in the release.

Viacom, Google settle copyright lawsuit

Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. have settled a copyright lawsuit relating the uploading of content owned by the latter on Google’s YouTube platform, the company’s said in a joint news release issued last week.

Terms of settlement were not disclosed.

“This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together,” the companies said in the release issued on March 18.

Netflix CEO attacks ISPs that demand payment for connectivity

Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings said in a blog post on the company’s website Thursday that a stronger sense of net neutrality is needed to prevent situations like the one that has his company paying Comcast Corp. to ensure customers get a more reliable connection to Netflix content.

NHL should focus on digital coverage, new Canadians: study

A research group studying the demographics of Canadians who follow the National Hockey League said Rogers Communications Inc., which has exclusive national rights to NHL broadcasts as of next season, should focus more attention on using digital pathways to viewers and reaching out to new Canadians.

Solutions Research Group (SRG) said in a release that 56 per cent of Canadians aged 12 or older follow the NHL on television, online and on social networks. That proportion was 59 per cent for those born in Canada and 48 per cent for those born outside the country.

Shaw introduces online closed captioning

Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division on Wednesday said it has become the first private-sector Canadian broadcaster to offer closed captioning for television programming accessed online.

It said in a press release that closed captioning is available for more than 1,300 online episodes of its shows that air on Global and its specialty channels. It said the function can be turned on by clicking the CC button during video playback.

Tablet ownership in English Canada over 40%: MTM

Tablet ownership among English-speaking Canadians was at 42 per cent late last year, according to a report released Tuesday, and was approaching 80 per cent among those with family incomes of $200,000 a year or more.

Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in the report that tablet ownership had had grown to more than 40 per cent from 28 per cent a year earlier, based on surveys taken last fall.

Bell Media releases 2 news-channel apps

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Tuesday announced the release of two new applications that will bring live breaking news video to smartphones and tablets.

Apps for CTV News Go, featuring content from the national news service CTV News Channel, and CP24 Go, based on Toronto TV station CP24, are now available for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads, and smartphones and tablets powered by Google Inc.’s Android software, Bell said in a news release Tuesday.

Canadians heaviest website visitors globally: CIRA

Canadians are the most prolific visitors of websites in the world, according the Canadian Internet Registration Authority’s Factbook, released Tuesday.

Citing data from ComScore, CIRA said Canadians, on average, visited 3,731 websites per month last year. The United States was second at 3,709 and the global average was 2,278.

Bell’s customer-info tracking can’t be treated like Google’s: PIAC

BCE Inc. should not compare itself to companies like Google Inc., Facebook Inc. or LinkedIn Corp. when it comes to tracking and collecting customer information for advertising purposes, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said.

One in five downgraded TV services in last year: survey

One in five Canadians surveyed by U.S. research firm Parks Associates said they downgraded their TV service over the last year.

A report from the company said 20 per cent of Canadian households, out of 1,500 with broadband Internet that were part of its online survey late last year, said they had downgraded their TV service within the last 12 months to something cheaper.

Quebecor reports higher profits, revenue up slightly

Quebecor Inc. reported higher fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday on revenue that was slightly higher than a year earlier.

Overall revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.12 billion, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, Quebecor said in a press release.

Net income was $43.4 million, up from $7.1 million a year before, the company said. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $68 million, up from $52.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

TSN launches online streaming app

BCE Inc.’s media division on Wednesday announced that online streaming of TSN content is now available to those who subscribe to the channel through TV service from either Bell or Rogers Communications Inc.

Bell Media said the service is available on the TSN Go app for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads as well as devices running on Google Inc.’s Android software, and content can also be streamed online from computers.

Collecting customer data not against Telecom Act: Bell

BCE Inc.’s collection of customer data for its targeted-advertising program doesn’t violate the Telecommunications Act, the company said in a filing to the CRTC.

Pierre Karl Péladeau resigns after PQ announcement

Pierre Karl Péladeau has resigned from a number of Quebecor Inc. board positions following news that he intends to run as candidate for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the upcoming provincial election in Quebec.

A press release from Quebecor on Sunday said Péladeau had quit that morning as vice-chairman and a board member of Quebecor, and chairman and a member of the boards at Quebecor Media and TVA Group.

Shaw lobbying activity spikes in recent weeks

There were 18 communications between Shaw Communications Inc. and the federal government within the last month, for which company CEO Brad Shaw was listed as the lobbyist, according to the federal lobbyists registry, including one involving Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The recent filings show 18 communications starting Feb. 13 with officials at Canadian Heritage, including one with Harper on March 5, and the most recent one on Friday with officials from the Department of Finance.

Mobile TV not undue preference, promotes Canadian content: Rogers

Rogers Communications Inc.’s mobile-TV service upholds the Broadcasting Act by making Canadian content available and is not an undue preference, the company told the CRTC Wednesday.

Telecoms offer few details on info disclosure

A group of academics has received responses from most of the telecommunications companies they questioned about practices and policies relating to sharing customer information with government authorities, though these responses did not go far in answering the questions posed to them.

Telus, Rogers customers get preferred treatment on Radio-Canada platform

CBC/Radio-Canada announced Thursday that will be adding a subscription-based section to its ICI Tou.tv streaming platform, and a partnership with Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. will give postpaid subscribers to services of those companies free access to the new content.

Radio-Canada said it will add a section to its French-language, multi-platform video service, Tou.tv, called Extra, which will include about 400 exclusive titles for premium customers while a further 1,200 titles will remain free.

CBC at ‘forefront’ of digital media: CRTC’s Hutton

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada has been at the vanguard of changes the broadcasting industry has faced due to the emergence of digital media in recent years, Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting, told a Senate committee on Wednesday night.

Cisco plans innovation centre in Toronto

Cisco Systems Inc. said Wednesday that Toronto has been selected to host one of its four global “Internet of Everything” innovation sites.

It said in a press release that other spots include Songdo, South Korea, Rio de Janeiro and an unspecified location in Germany.

The Toronto innovation centre will see an investment of up to $100 million over 10 years, Cisco said. The facility will be located in a new office tower slated for completion in the spring of 2015, which will also become home to Cisco’s Canadian headquarters.

Unlimited Internet making inroads, but for how long?

In the year since big Internet providers like Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. reintroduced unlimited-bandwidth Internet plans, customer demand has kept them in place. Whether that means bandwidth caps are on their way out or whether reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated remains to be seen.

Disney signs first major OTT deal with Dish Network

Dish Network Corp. announced a deal with Walt Disney Co. that will bring content from some of the most popular channels in United States, including worldwide sports leader ESPN, to over-the-top streaming services for the first time.

Avaya architect pleased with network performance in Sochi

The Canadian who led the efforts of Avaya Inc. to build the communications network for use by athletes, journalists, volunteers and others directly involved with the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, said the project was a success.

“We’re pretty proud at how it went, from an Avaya perspective,” Dean Frohwerk, Avaya’s director of technical architects, said in a phone interview.

Canadian TV subs fall for first time

A compilation of 2013 year-end data from Canada’s major telecommunications companies verifies suspicions that it was the first year on record in which TV subscriptions in Canada declined.

Bell Media makes Oscars free on CTV Go app

BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary will make the live broadcast of the Oscars free on its CTV Go service.

It normally requires viewers to have an account with a participating TV service provider, Bell Media said in a release Thursday, adding it would lift that requirement “as a special showcase of the app and its content.”

Shaw launches on-demand viewing of History

Shaw Communications Inc. said Thursday it has launched a mobile app and upgraded the website for its History channel to allow its subscribers on-demand viewing of almost 300 hours of programming.

Shaw said in a press release the History Go application is available for users of Apple Inc.’s iPhones and smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android software. The on-demand service can also be accessed at history.ca.

Canada falls short in broadband upload speed ranking

A lack of competition is behind slow upload speeds for Canadian broadband Internet customers, according to analyst Alan Breznick, and only the entry of a disruptive force like Google Inc. will bring the country up to speed.

Despite the rollout of new technologies, Canada ranks 55^th out of 172 countries when it comes to broadband upload speeds, stuck behind places such as Cambodia, Kenya and Mexico, according to American broadband testing and web diagnostics company Ookla.

CBC says 15M tuned into men’s gold medal hockey game

About 15 million people in Canada tuned in to at least part of the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game on Sunday, which had an average audience of 8.5 million throughout the contest, CBC/Radio-Canada said.

In a press release issued Monday, CBC said the audience for the game, which saw Canada triumph over Sweden, peaked at 12 million at around 9:19 a.m. ET as the game came to a close.

CBC said the gold medal game captured 90 per cent of Canada’s English-viewing audience while it aired between 7:10 and 9:19 a.m. ET. 

Companies bet on finding profits in free public WiFi

Local authorities in some of Canada’s major cities are arranging to have communications infrastructure installed for use by their citizens, and these projects have something in common — public money is not part of the deal.

TekSavvy ordered to turn over subscriber info to Voltage

A Canadian Internet service provider is being required by court order to give information on its subscribers linked with illegal filesharing to a Hollywood production company, and advocates on both sides of the issue are expressing appreciation for the decision.

The Federal Court issued a decision Thursday ordering ISP TekSavvy Solutions Inc. to turn over the names and addresses of about 2,000 subscribers to Voltage Pictures LLC.

WestJet to offer in-flight WiFi

WestJet Airlines Ltd. will begin to offer in-flight WiFi and Internet access this year thanks to a multi-year deal between the low-cost carrier and Panasonic Corp.’s avionics division.

The deal, announced in a Feb. 14 press release, will see Panasonic install all-new entertainment systems that provide paid wireless Internet access via satellite as well as a mix of free and paid content streamed from a server located on the plane itself.

Telus working on Public Mobile integration

Telus Corp. is “assessing” the pricing plans it makes available to Public Mobile subscribers as it works to migrate those customers onto its LTE network this year, the company’s chief commercial officer said.

“We are assessing Public Mobile pricing right now and looking at product offerings,” Joe Natale, Telus’ executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said Thursday in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth quarter results.

Affordability, not access, key to rural Internet delivery: ISPs

The federal government’s new rural broadband funding program should help reduce the cost of connecting rural locations’ Internet services with the rest of the country and not just focus on expanding existing telecom networks, rural Internet providers said.

“The bigger issue for adoption of broadband isn’t availability, it’s affordability,” Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), said in a phone interview Wednesday.”

Rules could stymie inquiry of telecoms’ info disclosure to government

Chris Parsons suspects he won’t get the answers he’s looking for.

At the very least he’s hoping the public will soon know why.

Electronic Box Internet comes to Ontario

An independent Internet service provider that was already operating in Quebec is bringing its high-data-limit home-service option to Ontario.

CBC Olympic coverage to hit YouTube

CBC/Radio-Canada said Thursday it reached licensing agreements for coverage of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games with Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd., Telus Corp., Google Inc. and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance.

MTS reports lower fourth quarter, year-end numbers

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. released on Thursday lower earnings and revenue for both the fourth quarter and 2013 as a whole.

The company’s press release indicated quarterly net earnings fell to $16.2 million from $29.5 million one year earlier. Its revenue for the quarter was down 1.1 per cent to $408.5 million.

Wireline data gains ‘highlight’ of Q4: BCE’s Cope

BCE Inc. CEO George Cope called the company’s wireline data revenue growth the “highlight” of its fourth-quarter results, released Thursday.

“From my perspective, the highlight of the quarter is the data revenue growth in wireline of four per cent,” Cope said in a conference call with analysts.

Wireline data revenue came in at $1.51 billion during the quarter, BCE said in a press release, driven by services to businesses and higher residential revenue from Internet and television customers. 

CRTC decision on condo access could be ‘warning’: analyst

Unless BCE Inc. is allowed to install its infrastructure in a Toronto condo building, as of March 31, Rogers Communications Inc. will not be allowed to provide services to its residents either, the CRTC said Wednesday.

Allstream to open tech support centre in Montreal

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream unit said Tuesday it will establish a new technical support centre in Montreal.

Allstream, a national provider of business communications services, said the expansion is meant to support its growing client base of companies. It said the new centre will result in the creation of about 50 jobs and provide support to companies across the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Canadians leave ISPs over price, TekSavvy survey says

Price is a common reason for Canadians to leave one Internet service provider (ISPs) for another, according to survey results released Wednesday.

A poll commissioned by small Internet and phone-service provider TekSavvy Solutions Inc. found 60 per cent of those who had switched ISPs had done so due to price, the company said in a  release. Thirty per cent said they switched providers because of poor customer service, the release said.

Weather Network to expand to U.K.

Pelmorex Media Inc. said Wednesday it is expanding its Weather Network brand into the United Kingdom.

The Oakville, Ont.-based company said in a release that establishing the Weather Network U.K. marks the second phase of its international expansion strategy that started with last’s year acquisition of Eltiemp.es, a Spanish weather service on multiple platforms.

"We believe there is an opportunity for a focused company with deep weather expertise to establish a strong presence in the U.K.," Pelmorex CEO Ron Close said in the release.

TeraGo names Joe Prodan chief financial officer

TeraGo Inc., a provider of online, data and voice services, said Tuesday it has appointed Joe Prodan as chief financial officer.

Telecom, media industries see opportunities in connected cars

While mobile devices have allowed Canadians to stay connected to the Internet when they’re on the go, the coming emergence of Internet-connected vehicles will soon allow their cars to do the same.

This means cars, trucks, vans and SUVs could, in the near future, be letting their drivers know when they need to be taken to a mechanic, while also providing the driver access to dashboard apps like music streaming and online maps, and allowing passengers to catch up on TV shows they missed.

Bell Aliant reports 50% growth in IPTV revenue

Bell Aliant Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday showed it was doing about 50 per cent more business in the area of Internet-protocol television than a year earlier.

Revenue from its IPTV services was up 50.2 per cent to $36.8 million, according to the earnings report, which showed that its IPTV customer base grew 44.8 per cent to 178,083 people.

Telus opens $75M data centre in B.C.

Telus Corp. on Friday said it has opened a new Internet data centre in Kamloops, B.C., which will serve as “the foundation” for the company’s “next-generation cloud computing services for thousands of Canadian businesses.”

The company said in a press release it has invested $75 million in the data centre, which is resulting in 75 new permanent jobs.

More households went mobile-only in 2012: StatsCan

The percentage of Canadian households saying they use just a cellphone and no landline rose to 15.7 per cent in 2012, according to Statistics Canada’s survey of household spending for that year, which was released Wednesday

That was up from 12.8 per cent 2011, the federal agency said in a release.

The data showed that 81.4 per cent of households reported having at least one cellphone. The previous year’s release put that figure at 79.4 per cent.

Broadband revenue gains to offset phone, TV declines: analyst

Gains in revenue derived from broadband Internet services in the next decade will be more than enough for Canada’s telecom service providers to make up for a shrinking amount of money taken in from home-phone and pay-television service in the next decade, according to Scotiabank analyst Jeff Fan.

In a report entitled “Embracing the Evolution,” Fan noted Monday that pay-TV services in Canada saw their first year-over-year decline ever in the third quarter of last year and said that “the Canadian TV market is at the start of a steady decline.”

Academics ask telcos about information disclosure to government

A group of academics have written to Canada’s leading telecommunications-service providers to ask them about the sharing of customer information with government agencies.

The academics sent letters to BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc., Telus Corp. and several other providers of mobile, home-phone and/or Internet service.

Commission to study future of Internet governance

A Canadian-based think-tank said Wednesday it has teamed with a British organization to launch a commission to study and present recommendations on the future of Internet governance.

The Waterloo, Ont.-based Centre for International Governance Innovation said in a release that it and the London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs — also known as Chatham House — have launched the Global Commission on Internet Governance.

Allstream’s fibre-optic network reaches 3,000-plus buildings

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s Allstream unit said Wednesday that its national fibre-optic IP network is now hooked up to more than 3,000 buildings.

Allstream, which provides communications services to businesses, said in a press release this marks a 50 per cent increase in the last three years. It added that in 2010 it embarked on a program focused on connecting multi-tenant buildings in proximity to other buildings already on the fibre network, which could be connected at a low cost.

Cogeco doubles top Internet speeds in Ontario, Quebec

Cogeco Cable Inc. said Tuesday that it has doubled the speed of its fastest residential and business Internet speeds in Ontario and Quebec.

In two different releases, Cogeco said it was offering packages called Ultimate 120 to residences in Ontario and Quebec, where the existing technology permits. These Internet packages feature download speeds of up to 120 megabits per second, and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps, it said.

Facebook launches trending feature

Facebook Inc. said Thursday that it is launching a trending feature that will highlight the most talked-about topics on the social network.

Seniors bigger users of radio, TV: report

Canadian seniors are bigger users of traditional media such as television and radio than younger people, while they are less frequent users of newer media and less likely to own smartphones and tablets, according to a new report.

U.S. net neutrality rules struck down

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday struck down Federal Communications Commission rules that require Internet service providers to treat similar traffic equally in its transmission.

The decision also throws out a regulation that prevented ISPs from outright blocking some Internet content, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The court found that the FCC does not have the authority to regulate the way ISPs regulate net traffic because the Internet is not classified as telecommunications like traditional phone service.

Bill C-8 passes committee with some amendments

The Conservative government’s new anti-counterfeiting bill passed committee stage with amendments and was referred back to the House of Commons for further debate, a parliamentary committee said.

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.

Allstream no longer for sale as Accelero deal the first blocked for national security

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is removing the “for sale” sign from its Allstream division following the Conservative government's decision to block its sale to Accelero Capital Holdings, said Chris Peirce, the company’s chief corporate officer.

“We think Allstream is in the right place in terms of our market niche,” Peirce said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “We’re going to focus on building the Allstream business.”

More Canadians surf and watch, MTM says

The rate of English-speaking Canadians using the Internet while watching television has more than doubled from seven years ago, a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said.

Quebecor revenues up on telecom services

Sustained growth across Quebecor Media Inc.’s telecommunications services boosted the company’s revenues by $73.5 million in the first quarter to $1.06 billion, the company announced on Wednesday.