Apr 22 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — J.D. Power's latest annual study of Canadian wireless network performance found consumers were even hungrier for data than last year, but a significant portion were unimpressed with the quality they got.It found 24 per cent of about 9,500 people contacted said they have at least 10 gigabytes of data in their monthly plan, […]
Apr 21 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The federal budget's new digital services tax on large corporations is a step forward as the government works toward a multilateral agreement it hopes to reach with other countries, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday. "The idea behind this tax is that we are very hopeful there will be international agreement around it, […]
Apr 21 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc. said Wednesday that he and his team are "deeply disappointed" by the widespread outage that affected many of its wireless customers this week. "We worked very hard to earn the trust of our customers, and we're going to work very hard to earn it back," Rogers […]
Apr 20 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The Canadian Federation of Pensioners is calling for amendments to federal insolvency laws to protect members of defined benefit pensions if the employer is insolvent. The federation, which represents 23 retiree groups with a total of about 300,000 members, renewed its call for legislative changes after the federal budget failed to mention the […]
Apr 16 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's regional wireless and internet carriers will benefit the most from this week's landmark regulatory ruling by the CRTC, telecommunications analysts and consumer advocates say. Financial analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets say Quebecor's Videotron and Cogeco Communications will likely have more room to grow, given the CRTC's new […]
Apr 15 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — TextNow of Waterloo, Ont., is one of the smaller, little-known telecom companies that will be affected by a big CRTC regulatory decision that's to be released Thursday afternoon. Founded in 2009 by two University of Waterloo students, TextNow has an advertising-supported app that provides users with a 10-digit phone number and unlimited calling […]
Apr 14 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The CEO of Cogeco Inc. and its internet and cable TV subsidiary said Wednesday that they are eager to learn whether Canada's telecom regulator will grant approval for a type of wireless network that the Montreal-based company has championed for years. "It will encourage ongoing investments to expand and improve Canada's wireless network, […]
Apr 13 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — One of Canada's best-known advocates for passenger rights said Tuesday that taxpayers don't have enough security in the $5.9-billion aid deal struck by Ottawa and Air Canada even as the airline began rolling out new refunds to ticket holders unable travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the deal's flaws is a […]
Apr 9 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Corus Entertainment Inc. announced a distribution deal with U.S. streaming service Hulu Friday as it reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. The Toronto-based company — which owns one of Canada's largest radio groups, the Global television network and dozens of specialty cable channels — said its Corus Studios division has signed a deal to […]
Apr 7 2021 — David Paddon — The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Freedom Mobile and its parent Shaw Communications Inc. will not participate in an upcoming wireless spectrum auction deemed crucial for the development of 5G networks — reinforcing widespread concerns about the state of competition in Canada's telecommunications industry. As a result of Shaw's Freedom opting out of the 3,500 MHz auction, the remaining […]
Apr 6 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. shouldn't be allowed to buy Canada's fourth-largest wireless service, Freedom Mobile, because it would undo attempts improve prices and services through competition, experts in telecommunications policy told MPs on Tuesday. In a third day of hearings into the Rogers proposal to buy Shaw Communications Inc., which owns Freedom as well […]
Apr 5 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada is likely to benefit from the U.S. government's decision to campaign for a global minimum on corporate tax rates, experts said Monday after a major speech by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in which she expressed her support for the measure. In a speech outlining the economic priorities of President Joe Biden's […]
Mar 31 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — A planned takeover of Shaw Communications' Freedom Mobile banner by Rogers would undermine nearly 15 years of government policy supporting strong competitors to the country's three biggest wireless carriers, Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau told MPs Wednesday. "Rogers' proposed deal to acquire Shaw will result in a return to Square 1, and the […]
Mar 29 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — MPs grilled executives of Shaw Communications and Rogers Communications Inc. on Monday after the telecom CEOs said a combination of the two companies will increase competition and ultimately benefit Canadians. "You promised increasing jobs, new investment, lower prices and to reach markets that you wouldn't before — be it Aboriginal or rural (or) […]
Mar 26 2021 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The Canada Infrastructure Bank and private-sector companies have agreed in principle to provide $260 million for improved rural internet service in southern Manitoba. Half of the funds would come from the federal government's infrastructure bank. The other $130 million would come from DIF Capital Partners, a European group with offices in several countries […]