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Mobile Syrup

Governments of Ontario and Canada allocate millions for high-speed internet in Southwestern Ontario communities

Canada and Ontario flags in front of skyscrapers in Toronto

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing $24 million to improve access to high-speed internet in 1,180 households in rural Ontario.

The communities include Brooke-Alvinston, Inwood, Oakdale, Oil City, Oil Springs, Pelee Island, Wheatley Harbour, Elmdale, rural areas near Tilbury, Birr, Clandeboye, Denfield and Lucan.

“Access to reliable, high-speed internet is equally as important to rural residents and businesses as it is to those in larger urban centres,” Bob Bailey, MPP for Sarnia-Lambton, said.

The two governments entered a $1.2 billion partnership in July 2021 to support projects that will provide high-speed internet access to 280,000 rural and remote projects in Ontario.

Earlier this week, the two governments announced $6 million to connect 1,191 homes with high-speed internet under that agreement.

“By working together with our federal partners and internet service providers, we are expanding access to high-speed internet to more communities across the province — including in Southwestern Ontario — so everyone can access critical health services, learn, work, start a business, and connect with their loved ones–all online,” Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, said.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s what’s new on Disney+ Canada in April 2022

Disney has confirmed the full lineup of movies and shows hitting Disney+ Canada in April.

While it’s a light month for new original content, some of the older titles joining the catalogue include Scandal, a few seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Prison Break.

April 1st

  • Better Nate Than Ever [Disney+ Original]
  • Books of Blood [Star]

April 6th

  • Anita: Director’s Cut [Star]
  • City of Angels/City of Death (Season 1) [Star]
  • The Hardy Boys (Season 1) [Star]
  • Homeland (Season 7) [Star]
  • Private Practice (Seasons 1-6) [Star]
  • Scandal (Seasons 1-7) [Star]
  • Terapia Alternativa [Star]

April 8th

  • The Housewife & the Shah Shocker [Star]
  • The Sinfluencer of Soho [Star]
  • Trust (Season 1) [Star]

April 13th

  • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Seasons 10-13) [Star]
  • The Ignorant Angels (Season 1) [Star]
  • Last Man Standing (Season 9) [Star]
  • Scrat Tales [Disney+ Original]
  • Single Drunk Female (Season 1) [Star]

April 14th

  • The Kardashians [Disney+ Star Original]

April 15th

  • Hysterical [Star]
  • She’s The One [Star]
  • Stuck on You [Star]

April 20th

  • The Amazing Race (Seasons 30-32) [Star]

April 21st

  • Captive Audience (Season 1) [Star]

April 22nd

  • Bear Witness
  • The Biggest Little Farm: The Return [Disney+ Original]
  • Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER (Season 9)
  • Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet (Season 9)
  • Explorer: The Last Tepui [Disney+ Original]
  • The Incredible Dr. Pol (Season 18)
  • Polar Bear [Disney+ Original]

April 27th

  • Brain Games: On the Road (Season 1)
  • Code Black (Seasons 1-3) [Star]
  • Eye Wonder (Season 1) [Shorts]
  • Godfather of Harlem (Season 2) [Star]
  • NYPD Blue (Seasons 1-12) [Star]
  • Prison Break (Seasons 1-4) [Star]
  • Sketchbook [Disney+ Original]

April 29th

  • Crush [Star]
  • The Guardian [Star]
  • Kiss of the Dragon [Star]
  • Out of the Shadows: The Man Behind the Steele Dossier [Star]

A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99 CAD/month or $119.99/year.

Find out what came to Disney+ Canada last month here.

Image credit: Disney

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Mobile Syrup

Lucky, Chatr expand flash sale with one-month free credit

Over the weekend, Bell’s Lucky Mobile and Rogers’ Chatr Mobile launched flash sales offering customers 3GB of bonus data per month for six months.

Now, both flanker brands have added a free month, sweetening the offer.

Lucky’s website notes that customers can sign up and “get one month of free service.” According to the fine print, the free month is applied as a credit to customers’ second month of service and is based on the price of customers’ rate plan before tax.

Customers can get this alongside the six months of bonus data. Both offers end March 31st.

Chatr, on the other hand, extended its flash sale until April 1st. Along with the 3GB bonus data for six months, Chatr offers one month’s fee in credit. That credit will be applied on customers’ “third-anniversary date.”

Additionally, Chatr’s one-month free credit is available on some plans that the bonus data is not. To get the bonus data, you need to activate a $35/mo plan or higher, while the one-month credit is available on all Chatr plans.

At the time of publication, Telus’ Public Mobile had not offered a free month, but it was offering 2GB of bonus data per month for 12 months compared to Lucky’s and Chatr’s 3GB/mo for six months.

You can learn more about Lucky’s offer here and Chatr’s offer here.

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Mobile Syrup

Bell rolling out $3/mo price increase to some mobile customers

Bell is raising prices for several mobility customers by about $3 per month.

The change should be appearing on bills for some customers now, although some may have seen the change on a previous bill. Additionally, I am currently a Bell Mobile customer, and I noted the price change on my March bill.

MobileSyrup has reached out to Bell for clarification on why it’s raising prices and how many people the change will impact.

However, a customer service representative I spoke with said the change was because of Bell’s annual network expansion investments and it was meant to “increase capacity and maintain quality of service.”

The rep also said that the “price increase is CRTC regulated.” When I questioned the claim, the rep said it was “what was communicated to us,” and said other telecom companies “have this too.”

It’s worth noting that the CRTC’s website says “providers are responsible for establishing their own retail rates for wireless services, and the CRTC doesn’t intervene.”

MobileSyrup also asked Bell about the representative’s statements and whether the company was directing reps to tell customers that the CRTC regulated the price increases, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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Mobile Syrup

TikTok testing ‘watch history’ feature with select users

TikTok is testing a new feature that will allow users to find the videos they watched on their “For You” page.

TechCrunch reports the new “watch history feature” can be accessed through the “content and activity” section of the app.

Twitter user Hammod Oh was the first to spot the feature, TechCrunch reports.

At this time, the feature is only available to select users and TikTok did not share information on plans to further expands its testing pool.

“We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a spokesperson told the publication.

It’s easy to imagine the current testing phase being successful given how easy it is to lose a video on TikTok. While videos can be saved, the constant stream of videos and accidental refreshing of the page can make this task hard to complete, as TechCrunch points out.

This is the latest feature TikTok is trying out. The company is also allowing select users to test a “repost” feature at this time.

Source: TechCrunch

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung ditches the ‘Z’ branding from its Flip3 and Fold3

It looks like Samsung is dropping the ‘Z’ tag from some of its flagship devices, likely owing to the letter’s relation to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The change only seems to be applicable in a few Eastern European countries as of right now — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as spotted by @TheGalox_ on Twitter.

Visiting the online store of any of the above countries shows that the Flip3 and Fold3 listings have the ‘Z’ missing, though that’s not all. Samsung likely wants to make it clear that it doesn’t associate with Russian beliefs, and as a result, the Seoul, South Korea-based company is also reportedly printing new boxes for the two devices without the ‘Z.’

It’s worth noting however that the Ukrainian Samsung website still has the ‘Z’ branding, and so do other European countries’ stores. It’s likely that those storefronts will also soon reflect the change, though it’s unclear whether it will reflect in North American markets as well.

Source: @TheGalox_

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Mobile Syrup

Telus, Koodo extend suspension of long-distance fees for calls to Ukraine

Telus and its flanker brand Koodo both announced via Twitter that they would extend waiving long-distance charges for calls and texts made from Canada to Ukraine.

The extension will run until May 31st, 2022, according to the tweets. Both statements note the providers are extending support “to keep you connected with your friends and family in Ukraine.”

Several Canadian carriers and providers announced suspensions of long-distance and texting charges for Canadians contacting Ukraine back in February. Several said they would waive charges until mid- or late-March, so this likely marks the beginning of extension announcements from carriers.

Earlier in March, Telus announced it would donate $2 million through the Telus Friendly Future Foundation to Canadian charities assisting families impacted by the conflict.

Additionally, Telus’ tweet links to a webpage detailing the company’s various support efforts for Ukraine. You can find that page here.

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Mobile Syrup

Quebec resident charged in connection with sale of compromised financial accounts on dark web

A Laval, Quebec resident is being charged in connection with cyber incidents that took place from 2018-2019.

The individual, identified as Chris Tyrone Dracos, was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and charged in the Court of Quebec with three major offences: unauthorized computer use, possession of a device allowing the unauthorized use of a computer, and having counselled an offence that is not committed.

According to the report, investigations began in 2018 when the RCMP’s National Division Cybercrime Investigative Team launched an investigation named ‘Project Ados’ that looked into illicitly selling compromised financial accounts and hacking tutorials on the dark web. As part of a thorough investigation, the RCMP was able to link Dracos to the illicit activity.

“This case highlights the value and importance of partnerships between police, public and private sector companies and organizations, including the CRTC,” says Inspector Alexandre Beaulieu, the Officer in Charge of the National Division Cybercrime Investigative Team. “Such collaboration can contribute significantly to identify serious cyber crimes, the success of police investigations, and help bring those responsible to justice.”

Chris Tyrone Dracos is due in court in Laval on March 29th and is currently being held in custody for a different incident.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: CourierLaval

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Mobile Syrup

Apple might be working on a device holder for vehicles

A new Apple patent might offer clues regarding what the Cupertino, California-based company is working on.

According to PatentlyApple, the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) published a new patent (20220089100) that refers to “attachment devices for securing a phone in a vehicle.”

According to the patent, the device holder contains a moving magnetic structure secured in a housing that allows it to hold onto your phone, and other devices magnetically while you’re in a vehicle, owing to MagSafe support.

The holder might also feature a built-in powerbank, or connect to the vehicle’s power to charge the device it is holding in place.

The device holder will feature what the patent refers to as a “differential-pressure-based holding structure” that includes a flexible membrane to form a seal on the surface of the device. The internal pressure in the sealed area is less than the ambient air pressure, resulting in the holder holding your device in place securely.

The device might also feature a suction cup to hold onto your device, or the suction cup might be used to attach the device holder to your vehicle’s dashboard.

For more information about the patented device, check out patent application number 20220089100 on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website.

Images credit: PatentlyApple

Source: PatentlyApple

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Mobile Syrup

SaskTel expands infiNET 600 and infiNET 1 Gig to 22 communities

SaskTel has launched infiNET 600 and infiNET 1 Gig to bring communities served by their infiNET service access to faster download speeds.

infiNET 600 will offer infiNET subscribers download speeds up to 600 Mbps, and infiNET 1 Gig will provide speeds up to 940 Mbps.

“Internet technology has become more important than ever before, and it is great to see that more people can now access the ultra-fast speeds that customers in Regina and Saskatoon already enjoy,” Don Morgan, the Minister responsible for SaskTel, said.

The company says the two features will work perfectly for those who want smoother video calls, no-lag gaming, and crisp 4K streaming, even with multiple users online.

“With SaskTel infiNET service, our customers have access to future-ready internet technology that will continue to evolve to meet their growing needs for years to come,” Doug Burnett, SaskTel’s CEO, said.

22 new communities in Saskatchewan now have access. This number will grow as SaskTel plans on expanding infiNET to more communities in the coming years, including the City of Lloydminster, as part of its Rural Fibre Initiative.

SaskTel introduced the two features in Regina and Saskatoon last year.

Image credit: SaskTel

Source: SaskTel