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BREAKING: Feds ban Huawei from 5G networks
The federal government Thursday announced that it would be banning equipment from “high risk vendors”, including Chinese telecom companies Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from the country’s 5G telecommunications systems. In addition, the government will also introduce legislation aimed at beefing up cybersecurity across the nation’s communications infrastructure and key industries. “Cybersecurity is …
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OPC not consulted, privacy experts concerned on cell phone border search bill
A new Government-backed Senate bill now seeks to establish a new framework for the search of digital devices like phones and laptops by Canada’s border agents, 1.5 years after the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the search of a traveler’s electronic devices at the Edmonton airport was unconstitutional. In launching the bill in late …
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UPDATED: CRTC approves Rogers-Shaw broadcasting acquisition
The CRTC has approved Rogers Communications Inc.‘s acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc.‘s broadcasting assets, meaning that the companies have now cleared the first of three regulatory hurdles on the way to cementing the merger. In a Thursday afternoon release after the close of markets, the regulator wrote that it “concludes that the transaction as modified …
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Gov. to ask CRTC to stop RT broadcasts over Ukraine invasion
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday afternoon that the Government is asking the CRTC to “begin the process” of reviewing the presence of the Russian-state funded Russia Today channel on Canadian broadcaster airwaves following last week’s invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. “The CRTC is an independent body and we will be asking them …
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CRTC rejects CNOC request for Scott’s recusal
The CRTC has decided that it will not consider a request from the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) for commission chair Ian Scott to recuse himself from all matters before the regulator related to the relationship of wholesale-based internet service providers (ISPs) and incumbents. In a Feb. 15 letter to CNOC, the CRTC wrote …
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UPDATED: Board can’t change “at the stroke of a pen”: RCI
Lawyers for Edward Rogers are arguing that the recently ousted chairman of the Board of Directors exercised his shareholder rights when he chose to replace five of the company’s board members, through a written resolution, in order to reappoint himself as chair. The battle for control of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) resumed Monday in the …
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Singh says he’ll oppose Rogers-Shaw merger
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is the first party leader to explicitly oppose the proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers Communications Inc., saying that telecommunication giants are already “exploiting people.” His comments came at a Friday morning press conference while on the campaign trail. “We already pay some of the highest rates for cell …
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Lower your prices or else, Trudeau tells big telecom at debate
GATINEAU, Que. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving Canada’s telecommunications companies an ultimatum: drive down your prices or face much more competition in the marketplace. His comments come after the second French-language leader’s debate held Wednesday, where Trudeau declined to say whether or not his government would overturn the CRTC’s decision on wholesale internet …
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Conservatives would reject mergers impacting competition: O’Toole
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said during a press conference on cell phone and internet affordability Tuesday that his party would stand against mergers that could hurt consumer interests. Though he did not specifically name the proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers Communications Inc. in his remarks, O’Toole said a major driver of …
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Broadband blues: the UBF and its discontents
With a federal election called for Sept. 20, parties have pledged to make Canadians’ lives better in a myriad of ways, including by connecting rural and remote communities to quality internet. The government has had a vision for increased connectivity for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic amplified the need as people were forced to …
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Bell seeks to block Quebecor set-aside 3,500 MHz purchases
BCE Inc. is going to court to stop Quebecor Inc. from purchasing valuable 5G-friendly spectrum in the 3,500 MHz band in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba — spectrum that is a crucial part of Quebecor’s plan to take its wireless business national. In an application for judicial review filed with the Federal Court Thursday, Bell …
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The Wire Report’s guide to the 2021 federal election
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally called Sunday for a widely-expected election to take place on Sept. 20, the political machinery across Canada’s parties has whirred into action, making promises and plans in the hopes of attracting voters. Here’s your early guide from The Wire Report into what issues across the telecommunications and broadcast sectors …
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Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor seek first-ever ‘dynamic’ site-blocking order
Nearly six weeks after a Federal Court of Appeal upheld Canada’s first-ever site-blocking order against an anonymous so-called pirate IPTV service, the same trio of rights holders is now asking for a new, broader blocking order from the Federal Court. In a fresh notice of motion filed Wednesday, BCE Inc, Rogers Communications Inc., and Quebecor …
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TekSavvy adds evidence of ‘bias’ to its petition to cabinet
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has provided the Liberal Government with what it says is “clear evidence” of CRTC chair Ian Scott’s bias, and doubled down on calls for the government to remove him from his post. In a Thursday release, TekSavvy said that it had filed “additional evidence” in support of a May petition to the …
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Wholesale rates decision signals shift at CRTC: wholesale ISPs, analysts
As reaction continues to pour in following the CRTC’s Thursday decision to finalize wholesale internet access rates at 2016 levels and effectively reverse a 2019 decision that dramatically lowered those rates, initial responses from both industry analysts and industry players (other than incumbents) has zeroed in on whether or not the decision represents a larger …
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UPDATED: CRTC reverts wholesale access rates to interim 2016 levels
The CRTC Thursday announced that it is setting permanent rates for third-party aggregated wholesale access to the level of interim rates established in 2016, before an August 2019 decision dramatically slashed the rates incumbent telecom companies were allowed to charge independent internet service providers (ISPs). The 2019 rates never came into effect because of a …
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GoldTV blocking order survives TekSavvy appeal
The Federal Court of Appeal has allowed Canada’s first-ever site-blocking court order to stand, dismissing an appeal of the order from TekSavvy Solutions Inc. In a Wednesday decision, Justice George Locke, writing on behalf of the three-judge panel, said that he was not swayed by TekSavvy’s argument — made during a two-day hearing in March …
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Telus appeals seamless roaming in CRTC’s wireless review decision
Telus Corp. is seeking permission to appeal two provisions of the CRTC’s April decision flowing from the commission’s wireless review. While Telus is not seeking to appeal the central decision of the regulator mandating wireless network access for a limited number of mobile virtual network operators, in a Friday afternoon filing with the Federal Court …
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Quebecor “pleased” with CRTC MVNO decision
Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau added his voice to a chorus of telecom CEOs who have praised the CRTC’s April decision which mandated access for a limited number of facilities-based regional mobile virtual network operators. “We’re pleased with the CRTC decision allowing facilities-based MVNOs, as it confirms the importance of maintaining healthy competition in …
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Data on Tap asks Trudeau gov. to review MVNO decision
Data on Tap Inc., one of the country’s hopeful mobile virtual network operators, has filed a petition to the governor in council, asking the government of Justin Trudeau to review the April decision of the CRTC to only mandate access to incumbent mobile networks for a limited number of regional operators. In a Tuesday release, …
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Rogers finds MVNO decision “helpful”, reports slight increase in profits
For Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Joe Natale, last week’s CRTC decision on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) will provide certainty for the industry “and Rogers can proceed with investments, knowing that the government is supportive of facilities-based competition and facilities-based approach to our market.” “We’ve been waiting for that decision for a while, and that …
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Efficiencies defense is a ‘serious’ exercise of discretion: competition comish
Allowing a merger to proceed on the basis of the so-called “efficiencies defense” is “a very, very serious exercise of enforcement discretion to approve an otherwise anticompetitive merger,” according to the man in charge of enforcing the Competition Act. Competition Bureau commissioner Matthew Boswell made his remarks Wednesday on the final day of the House …
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Without an MVNO mandate, Shaw must divest its spectrum: CNOC
Without a regime for mandated access for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), the regulatory authorities in charge of reviewing the proposed merger between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. should force the companies to spin off the Freedom Mobile wireless brand, its customers, and its spectrum. If such an MVNO regime were in place, …
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Quebecor would buy Freedom, but only with spectrum: PKP
Quebecor Inc. has indicated that, should the Competition Bureau force Rogers Communications Inc. to spin-off Shaw Communications Inc.‘s wireless assets as part of its regulatory approval of the Rogers-Shaw merger, Quebecor would be open to purchasing it, provided it came with associated spectrum and roaming agreements. Quebecor executives Pierre Karl Péladeau and Jean-François Pruneau made …
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Rogers, Shaw execs mum on spectrum at Industry committee
On the opening day Monday of hearings into Roger’s proposed acquisition of Shaw, MPs on the House of Commons Industry Committee sought answers from the companies’ executives on whether or not the two companies seek to hold on to Shaw’s discounted spectrum, and how the merger would affect wireless prices in Canada. On the spectrum …
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Regulatory approval of Rogers-Shaw deal will hinge on wireless: Execs, analysts
From the perspective of Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Joe Natale, regulatory approval of his company’s $26.2 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. will come down to the views of the various regulators on how the deal impacts the wireless market in western Canada. The wireless business, Natale pointed out on a Monday morning conference call …
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Focus turns back to CRTC as SCC rejects incumbent wholesale challenge
As the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an incumbent challenge to an 18-month old CRTC decision to slash wholesale access rates for independent internet service providers on Thursday morning, eyes are back on the CRTC, where an outstanding review and vary application is the last of the incumbents’ challenges to the lower rates. The court …
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