Tag: telecom news roundup

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: Bell looked to purchase BAI contract with Telus [Apr. 15-21]

Here’s a recap of some of the most important telecom stories this week.

Business

Rogers is moving customer service jobs Shaw outsourced to Central America back to Canada, following on a commitment it made for “a 100 percent Canadian-based customer service team.”

In other Rogers news, former ISED minister Navdeep Bains joined the company’s executive team.

Virgin Plus has added a new option to its benefits program called Member Mondays featuring limited-time deals at the beginning of every week.

According to Ookla, Bell provided the fastest mobile and fixed broadband services in the first quarter of 2023.

Starlink has launched a new Maritime plan to bring internet access to the sea.

Bell says it offered to buy the BAI contract with Telus, even including a $10 million discretionary bonus for the TTC to spend on matters it sees fit. The TTC then rejected Bell, saying it wouldn’t “tear up the contract” it had with BAI.

Bell is expanding its fibre internet services in Leamington, Ontario.

Government

Ericsson and the Government of Canada announced an investment in the provider’s Montreal and Ottawa facilities. The funds will fuel research and new jobs.

Deals

Telus and Koodo launched a 50GB $70/ month plan deal. More details are available here.

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: a post Rogers-Shaw transaction world [Apr. 1-6]

The Rogers-Shaw merger is one of the largest financial transactions in Canada’s industry. But now that it’s complete, what does it mean for customers?

The specifics, along with a recap of some of this week’s most important telecom stories, are outlined below.

Business

Québecor now has 3.5 million mobile services customers after the company successfully took over Freedom Mobile’s wireless licenses from Shaw on Monday. The move followed the Innovation Minister’s approval of Rogers’ takeover of Shaw.

Shaw customers will soon see their services switch over to Rogers. They’ll be offered a “comparable” 4G LTE plan and will eventually see an “exclusive” 5G offer.

Telecom complaints have risen by 12 percent in recent months, according to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services’s (CCTS) mid-year report. Rogers represented the majority of the complaints. The report shows the company’s July 2022 service outage played a role.

Telus’ health arm has expanded MyPet to Ontario. The virtual veterinary service offers a variety of assistance for cats and dogs.

Karrier One is a new option for Canadians looking to access affordable wireless services, and it uses blockchain technology to run it.

Deals

Koodo is offering some customers a 30GB $45/month deal. It’s one of two options the company is texting select customers. More details are available here.

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: Ottawa finalizes Rogers’ Shaw takeover [Mar. 25-31]

Nearly two years after plans were first announced, Rogers has received approval to acquire Shaw in a $26-billion deal. 

More details, and a recap of some of the most important telecom stories, is available below. 

Business

SaskTel releases plans to invest $413 million in various projects, including expanding its 5G and infiNET services in Saskatchewan, in 2023 and 2024.  

Eastlink will soon launch mobile services to the New Brunswick municipality of Bathurst.

A report from Canada’s auditor general reveals Canada is failing to connect rural and remote communities with access to internet services. 

Rogers rolls out a new spam call detection tool for its customers. Users of the flanker brand Fido also have access to the tool.

Toronto commuters have faced ongoing violence while utilizing the TTC, adding to the need for reliable carrier coverage on subways. 

The topic has been picked up in Toronto’s mayoral race, with candidate Ana Bailão promising to bring cell services to underground TTC riders if elected. 

Minister François-Philippe Champagne has approved Rogers’ $26-billion merger with Shaw by giving Vidéotron’s plans to acquire Freedom Mobile a green light. The decision has been met with outcry from various organizations. 

Government 

The recently revealed federal budget shows Canada might follow the EU for rules around standardized chargers. 

Deals 

Lucky Mobile is offering customers one month of free service if they buy online or at select retail stores. The offer expires on April 3rd. Details are available here. 

Chatr is also offering customers one month of free service, along with 4GBs of bonus data, for a limited time. 

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: CRTC to investigate roaming costs [Mar.18-24]

Here’s a recap of some of the most important telecom news in Canada.

Business

Telus employees part of United Steelworkers, Local 1944, have reached a labour agreement with the company.

Ericsson has launched a quantum research hub in Montreal.

Bell customers subscribed to Fibe TV experienced a service outage earlier this week. While service resumed hours later, the company didn’t share what caused the outage.

Fido is increasing the cost of internet services by $3 (plus tax) for some customers.

Eastlink will increase the costs of its roaming services by $1 on April 20th, following similar action from Telus and Bell.

The increase in roaming rates has led to further exploration by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). In a letter to Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Commission confirmed it had been investigating the issue and would further study the matter.

SpaceX successfully launched Starlink’s second-generation satellites in February. But now, the satellites are facing unknown issues.

The CRTC has launched a new consultation to examine how it could improve the Broadband Fund.

The Commission has ordered Bell and Rogers to share details on network-sharing agreements. Bell’s order is in relation to EBOX, and Rogers’ refers to Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile.

After announcing a partnership that would see Bell sell its services in Staples retail locations earlier this year, Staples says it’s looking to fill 800 positions.

Rogers will soon increase the cost of standard pay-per-use long-distance calls to the U.S.

Government

The federal government has committed $37 million for high-speed internet projects in Saskatchewan.

Such funding agreements have contributed to high-speed internet access now being available to 90 percent of homes in Canada, according to Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development.

Infrastructure

Bell is expanding pure fibre internet to Essex Centre and Harrow. The expansion is part of the company’s capital expenditure program.

Deals

Public Mobile is offering a 15GB plan for $40 a month for a limited time. The plan typically has a $60 price tag.

Bell has released a 15GB for $60/month plan option, matching an offer Rogers previously rolled out.

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: funding high-speed internet projects [Mar.11-17]

Canada and Ontario flags in front of skyscrapers in Toronto

Here’s a recap of some of the most important telecom news in Canada.

Business

Elon Musk’s Starlink is reportedly ready to start testing its satellite-to-cellular offering.

Rogers has released redacted information under an order from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). However, the documents are heavily redacted and offer little new information.

T-Mobile buys out U.S.-based Mint Mobile from Ryan Reynolds.

Government

The Governments of Canada and Ontario rewarded Bell with $13 million to bring high-speed internet access to Eastern Ontario. Project funding comes from a July 2021 announcement.

The same announcement is responsible for Cogeco receiving $2.4 million to bring high-speed internet access to Campbellville, Ontario.

Deals

Fido is offering $10/month off for 24 months on 30GB plans, joining discounts from Koodo and Virgin.

Save up to $180 on the Samsung Galaxy A53. More details are available here.

Starlink is offering discounts on its hardware, and Canadians can save over 50 percent.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: CRTC to review internet competition [Mar. 4-10]

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has moved to reduce wholesale internet rates in Canada.

More details on that, and a roundup of some of the other telecom news this week, are recapped below.

Business

Telus has rolled out the next generation of Optik TV. Updates include personalized profiles, universal search and voice remote access.

Ericsson Canada appointed Jeanette Irekvist as its new president.

Telus has expanded its health program to offer 1,000 free counselling sessions for women through the Telus Health app.

The CRTC has launched a review to increase internet competition. The Commission has also ordered larger providers to cut some wholesale rates by 10 percent, which has been met with positive reactions.

Virgin Plus changed its overage data plan charge.

SaskTel shared details on phase six of its Rural Fibre Initiative, which will be available to an additional 48 communities.

Rogers’ CEO Tony Staffieri says the company is finalizing merger details as it awaits approval from Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

Government

Conservative MP Dan Mazier says small internet service providers support his push to have telecom companies share internet download and upload speeds with customers under Bill C-288.

Canadians are still paying for some of the highest wireless and broadband internet prices in the world, according to a recently released government study.

Deals

Rogers and its flanker brand Fido are offering customers one free day of roaming. The offer expires on March 31st.

Rogers is offering Fido customers a special internet offer priced at $69.99 a month. More details are available here.

Virgin Plus, Koodo, and Fido roll out $10/month discounts on select online plans.

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: price hikes and a (possible) strike [Feb. 25-Mar. 3]

Bell and Telus customers will soon pay more for roaming services. The companies are implementing price hikes to their U.S. and international roaming plans. Changes will also apply to flanker brands Virgin Plus and Koodo.

More details, and a recap of almost everything that happened in Canada’s telecom sector this week, are outlined below.

Business

If you haven’t already heard the news, Netflix has changed its password-sharing rules in Canada. Now, the move is having an impact on Telus’ Stream+ bundle. The company said it’s increasing the cost of its Stream+ bundle by $3 for some. The bundle offers customers access to a variety of streaming platforms, including Netflix.

The telecom company is also increasing the cost of its Easy Roam plans come March 8th. U.S. roaming will see a $2/day increase, and international roaming will increase by $1/day. Roaming prices will also increase for its flanker brand Koodo.

Rogers says its wholesale arrangments with Vidéotron aren’t preferential. As MobileSyrup reported a while back, TekSavvy accused Rogers of offering Vidéotron wholesale services, among other services, at a discounted rate. The company said the move violated the Telecommunications Act and asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to investigate.

The CRTC has ordered Rogers to disclose more information regarding its July outage. The request specifically refers to five appendices Rogers marked as confidential when it answered the Commission’s first round of questions.

Xplore is expanding its broadband network by bringing 5G home internet access to rural communities in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

The union representing Telus workers will start holding votes on whether or not employees should strike.

Access Communications has made its gigabit internet available to 25 communities across Saskatchewan, including Biggar and Delisle.

Rogers and Microsoft have partnered to preview Microsoft’s Azure Programmable Connectivity to developers.

In what seems to be a never-ending battle between Bell and Vidéotron, the two companies are now feuding over costs related to 911 services.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has rolled out a new program called Net Good in an effort to address ongoing internet challenges in Canada.

Four projects funded by Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) have resulted in high-speed internet access for more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Oxford County, Ontario.

The CRTC has approved Tesla Canada’s BITS license request. The approval allows the company to provide various services, including machine-to-machine cellular data service for in-vehicle infotainment access.

Government

The federal government and the Government of Ontario have provided YorkNet with $48 million to fund a high-speed internet project. The funds will benefit nearly 4,000 homes and businesses across 31 communities in Ontario. Bell, Celerity Telecom, K-Net, and Tbaytel have also received project funding.

Deals

Telus customers should check their texts to see if they have a bonus offer waiting for them, as some have received 10GB of extra data at no cost.

Rogers is offering the Galaxy S23 for $0/month when customers trade in eligible Samsung devices. More details are available here.

Koodo and Virgin Plus have bumped their $55/8GB plans to 10GB.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: CRTC outage and the infamous butt dial [Feb. 4-10]

This week was a busy one for telecom news. As a recap, here’s almost everything that happened in the telecom sector.

Business

Vicky Eatrides took over various responsibilities when she became the chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) a couple of weeks ago, and two federal Ministers have added to the growing list of expectations in a recent letter. One of the issues Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne want Eatrides to tackle is how long it takes the CRTC to share decisions.

An outage caused the CRTC’s website, phone lines, and applications to go down earlier this week. While the outage only lasted a couple of hours, the commission didn’t share the cause behind the blackout.

It’s been more than a year since Tony Staffieri became Rogers’ CEO, taking over a position once held by Joe Natale. The family feud that brought Staffieri to his position is hard to forget, and the way Natale allegedly found out about his ousting through a butt dial is part of that story. But in a recent interview with the Toronto Star, Staffieri denies the infamous butt dial ever happened.

SaskTel is expanding its infiNET service to several communities in Southern Saskatchewan. The company says it will start construction in 2023. Once completed, Bengough, Coronach, Rockglen and Willow Bunch will have access to speeds close to 1Gbps.

Several Canadian carriers, including Vidéotron and SaskTel, waived calling and SMS charges to Turkey and Syria following a deadly earthquake on February 6th.

Telus is funding a pilot program at Quebec-based Alma Hospital that uses VR to decrease patient anxiety and prescription medication use.

TekSavvy has upgraded its Cable 75 Unlimited internet package to Cable 100 Unlimited. The new plan will give customers download speeds up to 100Mbps at no extra cost.

Bell has been charging a Vancouver woman for services under a fraudulent account since 2020. The company didn’t investigate until the woman shared a TikTok of her experience.

In its last quarterly report for 2022, Telus reports it added 1120,000 mobile customers, the same number it reported in Q4 2021. Quarterly profits also decreased, but the company says growth in several areas, including in connected devices, is expected.

The company also announced it donated $125 million to various charities and initiatives in 2022.

Deals

Koodo is ending its $10/month Lunar New Year discount on February 14th. The savings apply to the $55/8GB, $60/10GB and $65/15GB options. More details are available here.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: the season of acquisitions [Jan. 28-Feb. 4]

Rogers’ takeover of Shaw has dominated telecom headlines for the last two years. While it is the largest telecom acquisition in Canadian history, it’s not the only recent one. Bell has quietly acquired Distributel and Telus has also reportedly taken over two independent providers.

For more information, here’s a recap of some of the biggest telecom stories in Canada this week.

Business

Rogers, Shaw, and Québecor have extended the deadline to close their associated acquisitions to February 17th. The parties are still waiting for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne to approve the transfer of Shaw’s wireless licenses to Vidéotron. Rogers and Shaw previously set their voluntary deadline as January 31st. But the Minister has stated he’s in no hurry to provide approval and wants Rogers and Québecor to commit to wireless affordability.

As the new chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Vicky Eatrides wants to waste no time revamping wholesale internet pricing. In an interview with MobileSyrup, she promised a new model is coming soon.

SaskTel continues to roll out its 5G network, which is now available in Lumsden and other communities.

The Saskatchewan telecom company also partnered with Stafford Communications to increase broadband access in rural areas in the province.

Bell and Staples have entered an exclusive partnership. The office supply store will set up in-store kiosks to sell Bell, Virgin Plus, and Lucky Mobile services. The kiosks will come in the spring.

The CRTC has a new Ontario commissioner. Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez has elected Bram Abramson to the position.

Bell Aliant says a software update led to a 911 landline outage in the Atlantic provinces. The problem occurred in the early hours of January 31st and impacted residents in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. The outage lasted two and a half hours and resulted from a 10-digit dialling change in New Brunswick.

Bell announced its plans to acquire Distributel in September 2022, only to quietly complete the transaction months later. Bell didn’t share any details of the regulatory approval process or how much the transaction was worth.

Rogers released its last quarterly report for 2022, showing it added 193,000 wireless post paid customers. The telecom company also increased its profits by 25 percent.

Telus has grown its banner by quietly adding internet service providers Start.ca and Altima to its business profile.

Deals

Samsung has revealed its new Galaxy S23 lineup and devices will be available in Canada starting February 17th. New releases are always expensive, but Samsung is offering more than $800 in savings through trade-ins. More details are available here.

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Mobile Syrup

This week in Canadian telecom: provider complaints and 5G growth [Nov. 26-Dec. 2]

This past week featured a plethora of telecom news, including 5G growth, the Rogers-Shaw hearing, and the dip in Starlink’s speeds.

As a recap, here’s almost everything that happened in Canada’s telecom sector.

Business

Ian Scott has spent the last five years as the chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). But if the opportunity presents itself, he’s ready to do it again. “It’s an important organization, and it’s important work. I have the utmost respect for it and its staff,” Scott told MobileSyrup in a sitdown interview. Read the full interview exploring Scott’s time as chair here.

Shaw saw its wireline subscriber count decrease by 40,000 in the third quarter of 2022, its recently released financial report shows. However, it records growth in its wireless business, adding 52,900 customers. Nearly half of the subscribers, 25,000, are postpaid.

SaskTel is continuing to expand its 5G presence across Saskatchewan. The telecom provider now offers 5G in Baildon, Craik, Davidson, Ituna, Turtleford, and the Nekaneet First Nation. Residents with applicable devices and plans now have access to speeds up to 1.2Gbps.

Starlink’s speeds in Canada have declined over the last quarter, a recent analysis from Ookla reveals. SpaceX’s satellite internet provider saw download speeds drop 14 percent. Download speeds sit at 65.80Mbps, and upload speeds are 9.21Mbps. Comparatively, fixed broadband speeds improved by eight percent in Canada.

5G subscribers are continuing to grow around the world, and according to Ericsson’s November Mobility report, global subscriptions will hit 5 billion in 2028. North America will lead the subscription growth, representing an estimated 91 percent of 5G users by 2028.

The digital equity gap in Canada continues to be a problem, a study from Deloitte’s Future of Canada Centre states. Access to digital technology and skill development largely represent the gap, disproportionately impacting Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, and recent immigrants, among others. Income is the single most important factor in utilizing high-speed internet. Access also plays a major role.

The CRTC is now accepting applications for the Broadband Fund. Now in its third round, the fund pays for projects that will improve broadband internet and mobile wireless services across the country. The third round has $750 million to award over five years.

Parties involved in the Competition Tribunal’s hearing into the Rogers-Shaw hearing have concluded the evidentiary portion. The four-week-long hearing featured testimonies from various witnesses, ranging from company executives to professors. The parties will present their oral arguments on December 13th and 14th.

Government

Canadians filed 12,790 complaints about their service providers this year, according to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services’ (CCTS) annual report. While complaints decreased by 25 percent compared to last year, problems relating to wireless roaming charges and device financing plans skyrocketed.

Deals

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have ended, carriers continue to present deals. Fido, Koodo, and Virgin have all released a variety of new deals. More details are available here.

Public Mobile is offering new and existing customers holiday awards. Users can claim 2GB of bonus data and 500 minutes of free international calling on a one-time basis. Customers have until December 31st.