Bell reduces roaming charges for South Korea

BCE Inc. on Tuesday said it has reduced the cost of wireless roaming in South Korea for voice, text and data plans.

Bell said in a press release it is now charging $30 for 60 minutes of voice time in the Asian country, compared to its previous rate of $40 for 50 minutes.

A new talk-and-text package is available for $45 that allows 60 minutes of talk, 200 sent texts and unlimited incoming texts. The company said this package previously went for $60 and provided 50 minutes of voice with the same number of texts.

Wholesale roaming caps won’t solve problem: Wind

OTTAWA — Proposed federal legislation that caps wholesale wireless prices is a good start but “doesn’t solve the issue,” Wind Mobile co-founder and chief regulatory officer Simon Lockie told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Lockie said the domestic roaming agreement his upstart carrier signed with Rogers Communications Inc. in 2009 in order to provide Wind’s customers with service outside a few major cities was "absolutely terrible.”

‘Abuses’ exist due to wholesale wireless ‘oligopoly’: Wind

Canada’s wholesale wireless market is “dominated by an oligopoly” and is not competitive enough to “stem abuses” from the three incumbent wireless providers, Wind Mobile told the CRTC in an intervention it filed as part of the regulator’s review of wholesale wireless services.

Bell warns against CRTC interference in wholesale wireless market

BCE Inc.'s Bell Mobility unit, in an intervention filed in the CRTC’s review of wholesale wireless services, said that meddling in the rates carriers charge to let other carriers use their network could affect the “vigorous competition” that exists in the wireless market.

In its filing, made Thursday, Bell said the CRTC must strike “the right balance” between encouraging infrastructure owners to invest in new technologies and allowing competitors to access those networks at reasonable rates.

French carrier Orange, Competition Bureau intervene in wholesale review

Orange Horizons, an arm of French telecom giant Orange SA tasked with exploring new markets, said in a CRTC filing on Wednesday that it is taking a close look at the Canadian wireless market.

Roam Mobility products available at Staples

Roam Mobility Inc. said Tuesday that Staples Canada would start carrying its SIM cards and unlocked phones, geared toward those travelling to the United States, through both its retail and online operations.

According to a press release, Roam Mobility has more than 100,000 customers with unlimited travel plans starting at $3 per day, billed separately from SIM cards that cost $19.95 and phones, such as one with a QWERTY keyboard, that go for $49.95.

Capping wholesale roaming rates at retail level not enough: study

While the federal government’s current plan for limiting wholesale roaming rates charged within the wireless industry is a “step in the right direction,” a new study from the SeaBoard Group said the move does not go far enough.

Bell Aliant first-quarter financials dip

Bell Aliant Inc. on Tuesday reported declines in both first-quarter revenue and profit.

The company’s financial records indicated that revenue came in at $675.7 million, down 1.2 per cent from the previous year. Net earnings for the quarter were $76.7 million, down from $89.3 million in the first quarter of 2013.

CRTC extends deadline on wholesale-wireless review

The CRTC said Friday that the deadline for initial interventions in its review of wholesale wireless services has been extended to May 15 from May 1.

Other dates, such as the Aug. 20 deadline for further interventions and the public hearing date of Sept. 29, have been left unchanged.

Rogers’ quarterly financials show decline

Rogers Communications Inc. took a hit in this year’s first quarter in both revenue and profit numbers, according to results released Monday.

The company said it had $3.02 billion in operating revenue for the three months ended March 31, down slightly from $3.03 billion a year earlier. Net income was at $307 million in the quarter, down from $353 million in the same quarter a year before, it said in a press release.

Rogers offers new overseas roaming packages

Rogers Communications Inc. on Tuesday announced some new overseas roaming deals, including a data-only plan for $9.99 a day.

Raj Doshi, Rogers’ senior vice-president of products, said in a press release: “Our customers have told us they want simpler solutions when travelling, no matter where their travels may take them.”

Rogers’ website shows that the $9.99 daily deal will give Rogers customers 20 MB of data for the day in Europe, 10 MB in places such as Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Latin America, and 3 MB in Africa.

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.

Wholesale roaming rate caps detailed by government

The government has released details of its plans for a clamp down on the domestic roaming rates Canada’s carriers charge one another for the privilege of moving between networks.

Roam Mobility cards available at Best Buy, Future Shop

Roam Mobility Inc. said Tuesday that its SIM cards for roaming in the United States are now available at Best Buy and Future Shop outlets.

It said in a news release that unlimited talk-and-text plans are available for as low as $2.95 a day, with the purchase of a SIM card for $19.99, which Roam Mobility marketing director Christian Paul said in an interview are good for a year.

Videotron reduces international roaming rates

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron unit said Wednesday it was reducing roaming rates for customers travelling to the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.

It said data roaming rates for the U.S. have been cut to 15 cents per megabyte from 40 cents, which harmonizes it with Videotron's data roaming rates within Canada. It said the data roaming rate for Europe has been cut to 60 cents per MB from $1. In the Caribbean, it said both its data and voice rates have been cut by half, to $1 per MB and 60 cents per minute, respectively.

CRTC looks into competition in wholesale wireless services

The CRTC said Thursday it has launched a public consultation into the competitiveness of the wholesale wireless market in Canada.

The commission said in a press release it is seeking comments on the state of roaming agreements and tower sharing between Canadian wireless carriers, the impact this has on the retail market and whether more regulation should be implemented if the CRTC finds the market is not sufficiently competitive.

CRTC to get power to fine telecoms: Budget 2014

OTTAWA — The federal government will propose amendments to Canada's telecommunications laws to “clarify” prohibitions against breaking Industry Canada's spectrum auction rules and to give the CRTC new powers to fine and regulate telecom providers, the government's budget said.

Bell reduces roaming prices for Cuba

BCE Inc. said that, as of Tuesday, its wireless customers would see “significant decreases” in the cost of roaming in Cuba.

Bell said in a release Monday that, for roaming packages bought in advance, data usage in Cuba is as low 60 cents per megabyte, voice is as low as 50 cents a minute and texts can be as cheap as 15 cents each. For just voice and text, it said customers can get 60 minutes of voice, unlimited incoming texts and 200 outgoing texts for $45.

Incumbents’ wholesale roaming rates ‘unjust’: competition commish

Canadian Competition Commissioner John Pecman called the roaming rates incumbent wireless firms charge new entrants “unjust” and repeated the Competition Bureau’s call for the CRTC to regulate wholesale roaming rates.

Roaming arrangements like Survivor alliances, consultant tells CRTC

Comments made to the CRTC as part of its review of domestic roaming rates paint a picture of different alliances made among Canadian wireless carriers — reminiscent of the TV show Survivor — with difficult circumstances facing those who find themselves on the outside of these relationships.

High roaming rates ‘likely’ hurting competition, says bureau

The Competition Bureau said high roaming rates charged to domestic wireless competitors are “likely” hurting the level of wireless competition in Canada.

On Wednesday, the bureau said in a release that “Canada’s largest wireless companies have an incentive to use high mobile wireless roaming rates to ensure that new entrants are not, and do not become, fully effective competitors.

Proposed roaming caps won’t hurt incumbents: experts

The government’s move to limit wholesale domestic roaming rates will have little impact on major wireless providers’ bottom lines, experts say, while not all agree on how much the move will help new entrants.

“The direct impact is fairly low, but it does, obviously, from a competitive standpoint, have an impact because now [incumbents] have to share their networks for less money,” Troy Crandall, telecom analyst with MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, said in a phone interview.

CRTC to review wholesale roaming rates

The CRTC has launched a consultation to examine wireless providers’ wholesale roaming rates and will launch another next year on the “sustainability” of wireless competition, the commission said Thursday.

“We are concerned that some wireless companies may be making it unfairly difficult for Canadian providers that do not operate a national network to compete in the marketplace,” CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais said in a press release.

AT&T launches LTE roaming in Canada with Rogers

U.S. telecommunications provider AT&T Inc. said Monday it has launched LTE roaming in Canada through a partnership with Rogers Communications Inc.

AT&T said the deal makes it the first U.S. carrier to offer international LTE roaming.

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.

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.