
BCE Inc. announced revenues of $5.86 billion for the second quarter of 2022 Thursday, a jump of 2.9 per cent over the figures for a year ago. Net earnings declined 10.9 per cent over the same period, to $654 million. Bell attributed the fall to higher expenses, higher depreciation and amortization and higher severance, acquisition …
Continue reading "Bell revenues up, profits down as company releases Q2 numbers"
China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. is seeking to challenge a court decision allowing the federal government to keep secret certain materials it used in ordering the Chinese state-backed telecom company to vacate the country. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "China Mobile still seeking evidence from Gov. banning order"
Conservative MP Todd Doherty continued his fight for a national three-digit helpline for mental crises and suicide prevention. He proposed a motion which passed unanimously in the House of Commons back in 2020 but there has been little progress made since. Saturday the United States unveiled its 988 number for emergencies. This content is available …
Continue reading "Doherty demands 988 service in Canada as US rollout begins"
Xplornet Communications Inc.‘s Xplore Mobile will shut down at the end of August, the company announced Friday afternoon. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire …
Continue reading "Xplornet to shut down Xplore Mobile, blaming CRTC delays in MVNO regime"
Quebecor Inc. is asking the Competition Tribunal for permission to intervene in the regulator’s review of the proposed merger of Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. …
Continue reading "Quebecor wants to make its case for Freedom divestiture to Competition Tribunal"
BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to rescind its order to make seamless handoffs available for in-footprint coverage gaps, arguing that the order is harming competition by mandating Bell, Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. to make the revised changes in its wholesale mobile wireless roaming service tariffs. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
Continue reading "In-footprint seamless handoffs hurt competition: Bell to CRTC"
The Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) issued the rules for its next spectrum auction Thursday. The auction will begin on Oct. 24, 2023 and will feature spectrum in the 3800 MHz band. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
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In a development that may pave the way for the merger of Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., the two companies and Quebecor Inc. announced a deal late Friday night that would see the Quebec-based competitor purchase Shaw’s wireless brand Freedom Mobile for $2.85 billion. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a …
Continue reading "Quebecor to buy Freedom Mobile for $2.85b"
The CRTC has denied a request from BCE Inc. to stay a 2021 commission order mandating that the incumbent change its tariff language to include all competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), finding that “there is no substantial doubt as to the correctness” of its previous decision. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a …
Continue reading "CRTC denies Bell’s review and vary on toll-trunk tariff language"
BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility Inc. has lost an application before the CRTC about Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. over the Quebec firm’s use of Bell’s wholesale roaming service. In a letter Wednesday, the commission dismissed the filing and urged the parties to negotiate between themselves. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "CRTC denies Bell application on Videotron roaming"
As the Competition Bureau takes Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. to the Competition Tribunal to block the merger of the companies, conversation on what will be required to get the deal done has shifted to whether or not a network sharing agreement is a central component of any possible remedy that would mollify …
Continue reading "On Rogers-Shaw, focus shifts to network sharing agreements"
A consortium of regional wireless competitors have filed an application with the CRTC seeking a review of the wholesale roaming tariff rates of the big three national carriers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
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When it comes to Canada’s wireless market this year, there are a number of trends that are benefiting the wireless industry as a whole, including the potential merger between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., according to BCE Inc. CEO Mirko Bibic. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
Continue reading "Rogers-Shaw merger benefiting wireless industry as a whole in 2022: Bell CEO"
Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Tony Staffieri declined to comment on what he called “rumours” that the company – alongside Shaw Communication Inc. – have presented a plan to the federal government that would see Xplornet Communications Inc. take over Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless brand as part of regulatory approval of the Shaw acquisition. This content …
Continue reading "Rogers boss won’t confirm Xplornet ‘rumours’"
The Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) is the only intervener in a CRTC proceeding that supports a Toronto-based attorney’s request to consider whether the CRTC’s general policy of forbearance remains applicable. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, …
Continue reading "Little support for CRTC forbearance policy review following Part 1 application"
The CRTC mostly accepted the arguments of small wireless carriers against the big three in a ruling on seamless handoff and 5G roaming. In a lengthy decision issued Wednesday, the commission sought to make life easier for the regional players by finding in their favour in almost every one of the disputed areas. Those topics …
Continue reading "CRTC sides with regional wireless carriers in roaming decision"
Telecom complaints fell by 26 percent in six months while disclosure issues and incorrect charges topped the top consumer grievances in the wireless sector, according to a mid-year report from the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS). This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock …
Continue reading "Telecom complaints down by 26 per cent according to CCTS report"
GATINEAU, Que.–The CRTC came in for a drubbing at two panels Wednesday at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Wireless Internet Service Providers (CanWISP). Many questioned the current mandate of the regulator and others criticized it for being slow and unresponsive to small competitors, such as the members of CanWISP itself. This content …
Continue reading "Panelists tell government to reform the CRTC"
Cogeco Inc.‘s ability to participate in the upcoming 3800 MHz auction will depend on what terms and conditions the CRTC eventually approves for negotiations between incumbents and regional carriers for mobile virtual network operations, according to its CEO. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock …
Continue reading "MVNO terms will determine our participation in 3800 NHz auction: Cogeco’s Jetté"
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) has approved a transfer of spectrum licences in the fixed wireless access band from a Sudbury, ON, telecommunications company to a municipally-owned telecommunication company in Thunder Bay, ON. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, …
Continue reading "ISED approves spectrum licence transfer in Northern Ontario"
Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Tony Staffieri has said that last week’s announcement from Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in which he said he would not allow the ‘wholesale’ transfer of Shaw Communications Inc.‘s spectrum assets to Rogers as part of the latter’s acquisition, was “very helpful in terms of articulating their broad view” and that it …
Continue reading "Rogers still expects Shaw deal to close in Q2"
The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an application by Iristel Inc. to appeal a decision by the Federal Court which rejected its motion to release $21.85 million in tax refunds which it claimed for the 2019-2020 reporting period pending the conclusion of an on-going audit and assessment. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already …
Continue reading "Appeal court dismisses Iristel application to release $21.85m in tax refunds"
Several Canadian telecom companies have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by temporarily waiving long distance calling fees to Ukraine. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe …
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The CRTC is calling for comments on proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Fees Regulations, it announced Wednesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report …
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The CRTC has relaxed its rules for the reporting of the telephone frauds known as number porting and SIM swaps. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to …
Continue reading "CRTC relaxes phone fraud reporting requirements"
The CRTC has released a dozen questions it wants stakeholders to answer regarding the establishment of a three-digit number reserved for suicide prevention and mental health crises. The questions seek to discover what barriers would prevent such a rollout and how to overcome them. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
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The CRTC has determined that all communications service providers (CSPs), including telecommunications service providers (TSPs), Canadian carriers, and broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs), must provide certain market segments with free paper billing, in an effort to protect vulnerable consumers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock …
Continue reading "Paper billing for vulnerable customers, not universally: CRTC"
A federal court judge has rejected a China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. request to order the office of Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and the governor-in-council (GIC) to hand over the evidence both offices used to decide to order China Mobile to pack up shop and leave Canada. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
Continue reading "Feds win fight to keep evidence secret in decision to ban China Mobile"
The Commission for the Protection of Quebec’s Agricultural Territory will reconsider its July 2021 move to reject an application made by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to build a freestanding telecommunications tower and a power line in Mascouche, Que. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "Quebec Ag. Commission to reconsider decision to reject Quebecor build"
OTTAWA–The House of Commons Ethics committee voted unanimously Thursday to call Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos to explain why the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) that would track the mobility of Canadians. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? …
Continue reading "Ethics committee votes for data hearing, Health Canada amends RFP"
Early consultations on regulations to 5G rollout affecting air traffic seems to have resulted in Canada avoiding a dispute that roiled the American telecom market. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a …
Continue reading "Canada avoids American confusion of 5G impact on airports"
The CRTC approved an application by its Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) to defer the application of its anti-spoofing technology, the STIR/SHAKEN condition, to all 911 emergency and callback calls to eliminate the risk of emergency calls being misidentified as spoofed calls or being dropped. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
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Overall, telecommunications companies pulled in some $53.4 billion in 2020, a 1.4 per cent decrease in overall revenues compared to 2019, according to the most recent edition of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report released Wednesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "Revenues dropped in 2020, EBITDA margins increased in 2020: CRTC CMR report"
The House of Commons Industry committee selected Joël Lightbound as its chair by a unanimous vote Tuesday. It is the first chairmanship for the Liberal MP for Quebec’s Louis-Hébert riding. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media …
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Parliament has established its committees for the new session, with the Industry and Technology committee and the Canadian Heritage committee being among those announced. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free …
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OTTAWA – NDP leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his party’s call for lower wireless and internet prices, calling for a price cap on billing. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial …
Continue reading "Singh calls for price caps on wireless and internet bills, opposes Shaw takeover"
A crown-owned Saskatchewan telecommunications firm is launching its new digital mobile service This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report now. FREE TRIAL Two weeks …
Continue reading "SaskTel launches new digital mobile service"
Canada’s telecommunications companies have begun implementing the STIR/SHAKEN technology in the CRTC’s effort to combat spoof and fraudulent calls which mask the identity of callers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a …
Continue reading "STIR/SHAKEN rolling out despite incumbent demands for delay"
Telus Corp. Monday unveiled a program to connect Indigenous communities to its network, in which the company sets out a five-year timeline of goals to be achieved. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. …
Continue reading "Telus launches Indigenous reconciliation plan amid goals for connectivity"
The Markham, Ont.-based manufacturer of wireless network technology for mining, oil-and-gas, and utility groups, Redline Communications Group Inc., announced in a Wednesday release that it will be deploying its Virtual Fiber technology in the Middle East. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "Redline expands its services in Middle East"
A telecommunications service provider owned by the Chinese government sought Wednesday to convince a Federal Court judge to stay a move by the Canadian Government to order it to pack up and leave the country by January. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "China Mobile pleads for court stay on Gov. order to leave country"
The CRTC is fining a Toronto-based window manufacturing and repair company for making telemarketing calls to consumers registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take …
Continue reading "CRTC fines Toronto company $59,000 for violating unsolicited telecoms rules"
The federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), by having rural and Indigenous connectivity initiatives lumped together, ignores the “very different” economics of connecting the two, according to Telus Corp.’s vice-president of Customer Network Implementation. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, …
Continue reading "Indigenous connectivity needs separate funding from feds’ UBF: Telus exec"
BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility has restored service to its wireless customers following an outage caused by storms in British Columbia. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to …
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MISSISSAUGA – Even at the earliest stages of the CRTC’s new mobile virtual network operator regime, incumbents are already obstructing the goals of the decision, according to the CEO of one of the companies tipped to be the biggest beneficiary of the new regime. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "Cogeco’s Jetté concerned about MVNO tariff negotiations"
MISSISSAUGA — The government’s set-aside spectrum policy has, rather than promoted competition in the telecommunication sector, instead led to underinvestment in networks and underserved communities, according to an opening keynote address from Telus Corp. executive vice president of home solutions Zainul Mawji at the 2021 edition of the Canadian Telecom Summit. This content is available …
Continue reading "Telus opens conference with attack on set-aside spectrum policies"
Canada’s incumbent telecoms made another plea for deferral of the application of the STIR/SHAKEN condition. In a Nov. 9 letter to the CRTC, the Emergency Services Working Group (ESWG) and the Network Working Group (NTWG), augmented by BCE Inc., Telus Corp., and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holdings Corp., noted that only two filings have been made regarding …
Continue reading "Telecoms renew call for delay of STIR/SHAKEN"
Ottawa and the surrounding eastern Ontario area will be getting a third area code within the five months, and central Ontario will get a third code by Spring, the CRTC said in two separate Wednesday decisions. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "Ottawa, northeastern – central Ontario, getting new area codes: CRTC"
The CRTC released its semi-annual report on Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) on Tuesday. The commission had over 154,406 complaints from Apr. 1 to Sept. 30 this year. That works out to an average of 5,939 per week. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "Spam calls complaints high in September, CRTC finds"
Bell reported a slight increase in overall revenue of $49 million or 0.8 per cent, up to $5.84 billion versus $5.79 billion for this time last year. The company attributed the results to “greater media advertising and subscriber revenues, and ongoing growth in mobile phones, retail internet and internet protocol TV (IPTV) subscriber bases coupled …
Continue reading "Bell posts quarterly profits driven by wireless growth"
A Quebec-based company that specializes in the sale of wellness products to seniors was penalized for sending millions of unsolicited calls to Canadians, some of which were registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "Quebec company fined $200k for violating telemarketing rules"
Bryson Masse is the new Regulatory and Communications Advisor at Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC). He previously served as Regulatory Analyst at TekSavvy Solutions Inc. where he worked from September 2019. From October 2017 until September 2018 he was a reporter at the Wire Report. The Algonquin College graduate has also worked as a freelance writer. This content …
Continue reading "Masse moves from TekSavvy to CNOC on regulatory file"
Montreal will be getting a third area code within the next year, the CRTC said in a Monday decision. The commission agreed that the threat of exhaustion of the 438 and 514 codes necessitated the adoption of the 263 code as of Oct. 22, 2022. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? …
Continue reading "263 area code coming to Montreal next year"
The Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) has filed a review and vary application with the CRTC, in which the trade group representing smaller independent and wholesale-based Internet Service Providers is asking the regulator to reassess its July decision on access to in-building wire (IBW) in multi-dwelling units (MDUs). This content is available to wirereport.ca …
Continue reading "CNOC files review and vary application on CRTC in-building wire access decision "
OTTAWA — MP Pablo Rodriguez is back in familiar territory as he is once again appointed the Minister of Canadian Heritage. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe …
Continue reading "UPDATED – Rodriguez back as Heritage minister, Champagne remains in Innovation"
Albertans will be introduced to a new area code in six months as part of a CRTC effort to meet the continuously growing demand for new telephone numbers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "368 area code to be introduced in Alberta"
BCE Inc.’s subsidiary Maskatel Monday filed a plan for establishing local competition in Upton district, Que., with the CRTC after CoopTel notified the company it intends to compete in the area. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "Maskatel submits local competition plan to CRTC "
The Markham-Ont.-based manufacturer of wireless network technology for mining, oil-and-gas, and utilities groups, Redline Communications Group Inc., announced in a Thursday release that it is providing Citizens Broadband Radio Systems (CBRS) spectrum and Private LTE services for a mine in Salt Lake City, Utah. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "Redline partners with Utah-based mining company"