Tag: teksavvy

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy announces national availability of its Unified Communications solution

Source: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/teksavvy-launches-super-fast-fibre-internet-service-in-tupperville-851678510.html

TekSavvy is making its Unified Communications solution for businesses nationally available, making it easier for companies to communicate with their teams and clients.

The program combines voice calling, video conferencing, and instant messaging into a single package to create a “seamless workstream.”

It also includes features like “business continuity” that allows inbound calls to be routed to a backup number when phones are unreachable, keeping lines of communication open.

“Meeting partners and clients where they are is critical to building for success today,” Ary Batista, vice president of business strategy and development, said. “Unified Communications is the cornerstone of a connected and collaborative growth strategy.”

Image credit: TekSavvy

Source: TekSavvy

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy’s new campaign reminds federal government of looming deadline to lower internet prices

TekSavvy is reminding Canadians the federal government has until May 27th to lower their internet bills.

The internet service provider’s (ISP) ‘Pay Less to Connect‘ campaign features a doomsday-like timer counting down the minutes the government has left to speak on its petition to overrule an “arbitrary rate decision” by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

“The federal cabinet can lower your internet bills. They decide by May 27, 2022,” the campaign’s home page says in big, bold letters.

An image of Bell CEO Mirko Bibic and Chairman Ian Scott is featured underneath. The image was captured after the CRTC released a decision saying larger telecom companies had to lower the wholesale internet rates charged to smaller competitors. The two met in an Ottawa pub in December 2019, the week after Bell filed an appeal to undo the ruling. The CRTC ultimately reversed its decision in May 2021.

The image is featured on the campaign website. Image credit: TekSavvy/screenshot

The May 27th, 2022 deadline originated from a petition TekSavvy filed on May 28th, 2021, asking the government to overrule the CRTC’s reversal.

TekSavvy wants Scott fired, or at the very least, wants him to recuse himself from decisions involving wholesale and facilities-based competition because he has a “clear bias.” In its petition, TekSavvy references Scott’s speech at a Canadian Club Toronto event in May 2021, where Scott said he has “a personal preference or a stronger belief in reliance on facilities-based competition” than wholesale-based competition, linking it to personal experiences in the private sector.

Since the filing, TekSavvy has further revealed Scott met with representatives from telecom companies while a file on internet rates was open, including 11 with representatives from Bell, Rogers or Shaw. The now infamous 2019 meeting Scott had with Bibic is also included.

Scott defended his actions several times. His most recent comes from comments he made at the International Institute of Communications annual conference this week.

“It’s unfortunate that so much is attached to the title of the chair — I don’t make decisions for the Commission,” Scott said about the meeting. He noted 80 people advise on telecom-related issues. “The focus is a bit misplaced.”

The ISP also wants the government to reinstate the CRTC’s 2019 Rates Order and ask the Competition Commissioner to address “anti-competitive activity,” TekSavvy says leading telecom companies in Canada displayed.

Image credit: TekSavvy

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Mobile Syrup

April roundup: network expansions in Canada

Aerial view of mobile phone cell tower to illustrate lack of broadband internet service in rural areas and need for investment

Companies regularly make announcements detailing network expansions across Canada. While this is a step in the right direction, it’s challenging to keep track of all the projects.

To make it easier, MobileSyrup has put together a list of all network expansion projects made by telecom companies and government bodies alike and added them to a map you can access below.

Bell

April 1: Bell expands its fibre internet to Amherstburg, Ontario.

April 21: The company announces it will expand its pure fibre internet to Guelph, Ontario, impacting 44,000 homes and businesses.

Rogers

April 4: Rogers adds two more cell towers to its project closing the wireless gap along the Highway of Tears, bringing the total to 14.

April 19: The company announces it will release internet with 8Gbps speeds this summer in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.

April 21: Rogers launches internet with 2.5Gbps for select customers.

Government of Canada

April 4: The federal government announced $20 a month internet for eligible seniors and low-income families through a partnership with 14 internet service providers.

April 19: The Governments of Canada and Ontario pledge $56 million for rural internet services.

April 22: The federal government invests more than a million dollars in funding high-speed internet access for rural Newfoundland and Labrador residents.

April 22: The Government of Canada invests $145 million to improve rural internet access in Ontario.

April 26: The government of Canada and Ontario detail $260 million for high-speed internet access in the province.

April 27: The federal government announces $5 million in funding for an internet project in Alberta.

Xplornet

April 5: The rural broadband provider completes its acquisition of Full Throttle Networks as it expands its presence in Manitoba.

April 8: Xplornet expands its fibre network to 270 homes in Vernon Bridge, PEI and surrounding communities.

April 21: The company starts construction on a broadband project in Brant County, Ontario, funded by the governments of Canada and Ontario and Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT).

TekSavvy

April 11: The ISP completes its fibre-to-the-home network in Thamesville, Ontario.

April 12: TekSavvy launches its fibre network in Wallaceburg, Ontario.

SaskTel

April 13: The company pledges $337 million worth of initiatives for Saskatchewan that will take place in 2022-2023.

Develop Nova Scotia

April 22: The provincial crown corporation is working with Eastlink and Bell to bring high-speed internet to 400 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy wants the CRTC to update its tariff approval procedure

Internet service provider TekSavvy has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to reexamine the approval process for competitor tariff filings.

TekSavvy says the current process makes wholesale competitors wait for Commission approval for service speeds offered by retail carriers. But those incumbent carriers can immediately provide the speeds to their customers.

“Service limitations significantly prejudice competition in the provision of retail internet service, depriving Canadian telecom consumers of the very benefits that competitive wholesale access was mandated to provide,” TekSavvy says in its application to the CRTC.

The company wants the CRTC to confirm that “no tariff approval is required to introduce speed tiers that fall within an approved speed-band associated with an approved rate.”

Source: CRTC via Cartt.ca

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Mobile Syrup

Ethics Commissioner to investigate allegations made against CRTC chair

Canada’s Integrity Commissioner referred TekSavvy’s request to investigate CRTC commissioner Ian Scott to the Interest and Ethics Commissioner (CIEC).

TekSavvy filed the disclosure with the Integrity Commissioner on March 1st. It states Scott held various meetings with litigants. This included 11 with Bell, Rogers or Shaw, while a file on wholesale internet rates was open and active.

“…Since your allegation with regard to Mr. Scott’s ex parte meetings may concern a possible breach of the Conflict of Interest Act, I must refer your disclosure to the Office of the CIEC,” the Integrity Commissioner told TekSavvy, according to a press release.

The CIEC will prepare a report for the Prime Minister outlining the allegations, their analysis, and conclusions.

TekSavvy’s main point of contention is a meeting Scott had with Bell CEO Mirko Bibic at an Ottawa bar in December 2019. The meeting took place after the CRTC released a decision saying telecom companies should lower wholesale internet rates. Bell was among the telecom giants who filed an application to reverse the ruling. The meeting between Scott and Bibic took place a week after Bell filed the application. The CRTC soon reversed its original decision.

The news from the CIEC comes after the Information Commissioner said the CRTC broke disclosure rules. The ruling results from three access to information requests TekSavvy filed asking for details on meetings Scott held with lobbyists and executives from Bell, Shaw, and Telus.

Source: TekSavvy

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy is now offering 1Gigabit Fibre internet in Tilbury, Ontario

TekSavvy has launched its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service in Tilbury, Ontario, as part of an investment to provide connectivity to Chatham-Kenty via a high-speed fibre-optic network.

Fibre service is now available to 830 homes and businesses in Tilbury and will continue to roll out to completion for early summer 2022.

“Tilbury is a vital community that straddles one of the busiest highways in Canada,” said Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff. “It’s more than appropriate that it be part of the fastest information highway available.”

The service will deliver internet speeds up to 1Gigabit per second. Additionally, all TekSavvy Fibre plans have unlimited usage for customers to game, stream, and surf the internet without any overage charges. No terms committed are required, but customers can choose to sign up for a Fibre 1,000 Unlimited package for a 24-month commitment and receive a $20 bill credit for the first 12 months.

Source: TekSavvy (2)

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Mobile Syrup

Canada’s Information Commissioner says the CRTC broke disclosure rules

Canada’s Information Commissioner has ruled the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) broke disclosure laws when dealing with information requests from TekSavvy.

The internet service provider filed three requests in June 2021, looking into meetings Chair Ian Scott took with lobbyists and executives from Bell, Shaw and Telus.

The Commission took eight months to respond to the requests, which TekSavvy says were only “partially fulfilled” in February. Under the Access to Information Act, federal institutions have 30 days to respond to requests. Institutions often impose extensions for a variety of reasons.

But if institutions fail to respond within the 30 days or the agreed-upon extended timeline, it equates to refusing to grant access to the requested information.

The party seeking the information can ask the federal court to review the process and examine if the institution was correct in refusing access.

The Information Commissioner’s office found all three delays were related to “an extended period of time needed to review the responsive records as well as additional time required to seek clarification from a third party consultation.”

According to a blog post on TekSavvy’s website, the request on Bell focused on a December 2019 meeting between Scott’s CEO Mirko Bibic.

The two met days after the telecom giant filed an application with the CRTC to overturn a ruling that would have lowered internet prices for Canadians.

Organizations, including TekSavvy and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, have stated Scott should remove himself from decisions surrounding internet decisions because the meeting exhibited personal bias. The CRTC denied the recusal request.

Scott has since stated the meeting was appropriate, and he broke no rules.

MobileSyrup has asked the CRTC for comment and will provide an update once available.

Image credit: screenshot/CRTC

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy launches fibre-to-the-home network in Wallaceburg, Ontario

Source: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/teksavvy-launches-super-fast-fibre-internet-service-in-tupperville-851678510.html

TekSavvy is continuing its rollout of affordable connectivity to the Chatham-Kent, Ontario community by launching fibre-to-the-home in Wallaceburg.

Fibre service is now available to 270 homes and businesses in the municipality. The network delivers internet speeds up to 1Gbps and comes with unlimited bandwidth.

The internet service provider will continue rolling out the service in Wallaceburg through the coming months. TekSavvy will complete the project by “early summer 2022.”

“Wallaceburg’s importance as the second-largest community in Chatham-Kent means its industry and business sectors and its residents require a reliable high-speed fibre-optic network to help the community continue to grow,” Darrin Canniff, Mayor of Chatham-Kent, said.

The announcement follows news of the ISP completing its fibre-to-the-home network in neighbouring Thamesville. The expansion provides hundreds of homes and businesses with access and is also part of the company’s plans to offer Chatham-Kent residents affordable internet access.

Image credit: TekSavvy

Source: TekSavvy

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy completes its fibre-to-the-home network in Thamesville

TekSavvy’s fibre internet service is now available to all homes and businesses in Thamesville, Ontario. 

The internet service provider (ISP) first launched its service in the town last August. An announcement Monday adds 530 homes and businesses to that list, completing its fibre-to-the-home network in Thamesville.

“High-speed fibre internet service is a game-changer for Thamesville,” Charlie Burns, TekSavvy’s chief technology officer, said. “We’re proud to deliver the connectivity that will make a difference to the community.”

It’s part of the company’s ongoing plan to provide residents in the Chatham-Kent community with affordable internet access. 

The network offers internet speeds of up to 1Gbps per second and comes with unlimited bandwidth. The announcement comes months after the company’s original completion date of late October. 

Customers who sign up for Fibre 1000 Unlimited package for 24 months will receive $20 in bill credit for the first 12 months of their contract. More information is available on their website. 

Source: TekSavvy 

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy’s second appeal on landmark website-blocking order dismissed

Source: Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ottawa-june-2017-supreme-court-canada-1325315213

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has dismissed TekSavvy’s second appeal against the first-ever nationwide website-blocking order.

The court’s November 2019 decision ordered all internet service providers (ISPs) in Canada to block GoldTV.

GoldTV was a subscription service run by two unidentified individuals, the recent SCC ruling states. It provided access to thousands of pirated TV channels over the internet in exchange for a fee.

A group of telecom giants, including Bell, Groupe TVA, and Rogers, filed a lawsuit against GoldTV for copyright infringement. The court ruled in favour of these carriers in November 2019.

This is the second time TekSavvy filed an appeal on the matter. The first was filed in November 2019, soon after the court made its decision. TekSavvy argued the court’s decision infringed freedom of expression and misapplied the Copyright Act. The SCC denied the appeal in May 2021.

TekSavvy filed the second appeal in August 2021.

In a recent blog post on TekSavvy’s website, Andy Kaplan-Myrth, vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs, says the company isn’t defending piracy, but its role as an internet carrier.

“If there’s a need to use ISPs to enforce copyright, that’s a policy framework the government should lay out, not a court,” Kaplan-Myrth said in a post-dated March 23rd, one day before the SCC released its decision.

“There should be court oversight of it, but it needs a policy framework and the courts are not the place to develop that sort of thing,” he said.

Image credit: Shutterstock