The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has introduced amendments to its Wireless Code, a mandatory code of conduct for providers of retail mobile wireless voice and data services. Starting on 1 December 2017 all mobile service end-users (post-paid and pre-paid) will have the right to have their phone unlocked (i.e. u...

 Canadian quadruple-play operator Shaw Communications has entered into a definitive agreement with Videotron's parent Quebecor Media to acquire 700MHz and 2500MHz wireless spectrum licences in seven regional markets in Canada for CAD430 million (USD324 million). The Quebec-based multi-service cable/mobile operator is selling 2×5MHz blocks of 7...

 Quebecor, the parent of Quebec-based quadruple-play network operator Videotron, has announced the sale of Videotron's Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-1) 1700MHz/2100MHz mobile spectrum licence in the Greater Toronto region to Rogers Communications for approximately CAD184 million (USD137 million), pursuant to a transfer option on the frequenc...

Over 100,000 Bell-MTS mobile customers in Manitoba will receive letters in the next two months informing them if they have been selected to transfer to rival Canadian operator Telus, as a knock-on condition of Bell's recent takeover of MTS in the province. Canadian website MobileSyrup reports that the process is beginning its first phase this week,...

 Bell Canada is launching a 'no-frills', budget app-based live TV service named 'Alt TV' enabling customers to watch regular TV programming on smartphones, computers and other streaming devices. Alt TV is being offered initially to Bell's internet subscribers in Ontario and Quebec, with the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba scheduled for launch ...

Ice Wireless, which operates in Canada’s far northern regions – Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut – has launched commercial LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network services, initially in Yellowknife. According to Ice Wireless CEO Samer Bishay, quoted by MobileSyrup, customers can expect real-world LTE-A mobile data speeds of around 40Mbps, whilst he added that the carrier plans to switch on additional LTE-A base stations throughout the summer. Simultaneously, Ice revamped its post-paid packages, wit...

Canadian rural broadband specialist Xplornet Communications has announced the launch of an upgraded internet service supported by the EchoStar XIX satellite, now available to new and existing customers. Xplornet says that, combined with the scheduled launch of the ViaSat-2 satellite on June 1, its satellite internet capacity is being tripled, resulting in ‘more speed and data at affordable prices’ for its users. Xplornet’s newly launched satellite internet service offers speeds up to 25Mbps...

Provincial Canadian full-service telco SaskTel, controlled by the Saskatchewan government, is now permitted to sell 49% of its shares under a new law which was passed last week. The legislation (via ‘Bill 40’) allows the provincial government to sell up to 49% of any ‘Crown corporation’ (including SaskTel) without triggering a public referendum. However, CTVNews quotes Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskTel, as saying: ‘SaskTel is not for sale, but Bill 40 would allow the potential ...

  The Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has begun a consultation to hammer out the details of its planned CAD750 million (USD551 million) five-year broadband fund for rural and underserved areas, which will ultimately be designed to supersede Canada’s existing basic telephony subsidy scheme. Interested parties should make initial submissions to the consultation by the end of June, with final submissions scheduled for the end of November. Thanks to TeleGeog...

April 25, 2017  Bell Canada claims that its network is the first in North America capable of delivering quad-band LTE Advanced (LTE-A) services, which it says will deliver mobile broadband speeds of up to 750Mbps with the addition of 256 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) technology. Bell CTO Stephen Howe said: ‘Bell delivered North America’s first tri-band LTE-A mobile service in 2015, and we’re proud to announce today that we’re first to successfully implement not only quad-band LTE-A ...

21 Apr 2017 The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) yesterday issued its latest judgement upholding the principles of net neutrality, ruling that cableco/mobile operator Videotron must desist from offering unlimited online music streaming from Spotify, Google Music and other selected providers to its wireless customers without it counting against their data allowances (a practice known as zero-rating) by 19 July. As reported by Reuters, Quebec-based Videotron argue...

Canadian cableco Shaw Communications’ cellular division has renamed itself from Wind Mobile to Freedom Mobile, whilst disclosing that it will launch a 4G LTE network on 27 November. Freedom’s revamped website says that Toronto and Vancouver will receive its LTE services first, whilst it will upgrade all its other existing 3G network coverage areas to 4G by autumn 2017. ‘Complete’ LTE coverage of the Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver area is scheduled for spring 2017, whilst national and US L...

Canada’s largest mobile operator by users, Rogers Communications, has revealed a plan to discontinue the brand of its subsidiary Mobilicity whilst moving all of Mobilicity’s remaining 150,000-plus subscribers to the Rogers budget sub-brand Chatr, reports Canadian website MobileSyrup. Effective 15 August 2016, Rogers will cease activating new Mobilicity connections, whilst sometime in the autumn it will begin migrating Mobilicity customers to Chatr, where they will be offered a ‘comparable’ packa...

Swedish-based technology giant Ericsson has renewed its agreement with privately-owned Atlantic Canada-based quad-play operator Eastlink to expand and upgrade its 4G LTE and 3G HSPA mobile networks. The agreement is an extension of the two companies’ current contract. Eastlink will continue utilising Ericsson Evolved Packet Core equipment and the Swedish firm will remain as the multi-service cableco’s exclusive supplier for radio access network equipment for an additional three years. Matthew Ma...

Canadian cableco Shaw Communications has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in cellco Wind Mobile for approximately CAD1.6 billion (USD1.163 billion). The takeover, if completed, would be the first foray into the mobile sector for Shaw, which vies closely with Rogers Communications for the title of Canada’s largest cable broadband provider, and previously aborted a planned cellular network rollout of its own, opting to sell its spectrum instead. Shaw’s CEO Brad Shaw declared yesterday: ‘The acqui...

Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) has posted total operating revenue of CAD5.345 billion (USD4.061 billion) in Q3 2015, up by 2.9% year-on-year, while quarterly adjusted EBITDA was up 3.4% to CAD2.187 billion on positive growth across all Bell operating segments, reflecting y-o-y increases of 8.3% at Bell Wireless, 1.1% at Bell Wireline and 0.5% at Bell Media. Q3 net customer additions reached 68,000 in IPTV, 58,000 in fixed broadband and 77,655 post-paid mobile customers, while Bell also reported n...

Nationwide operators Telus and Bell Canada were declared winners of residual AWS-3 (2100MHz/1700MHz) 4G spectrum licences at the end of August in the ‘leftover’ concession auction run by Industry Canada. Telus paid CAD58 million (USD43.8 million) for six additional AWS-3 licence blocks covering Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while Bell secured another nine AWS-3 concessions (three in each of the Far North territories: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) costing CAD206,000. The two national ope...

Canadian nationwide rural fixed-wireless broadband provider Xplornet Communications has agreed to acquire 100% of Calgary-based WiMAX network operator Platinum Communications for CAD0.16 (USD0.12) per share in cash. Platinum operates a wireless broadband network offering internet and digital phone services to residents and businesses across the province of Alberta, catering primarily to rural and near-urban areas that are often beyond the reach of traditional (fixed) internet providers. Bernard ...

Bell Canada claims it is the first in North America to roll out commercial tri-band LTE Advanced (LTE-A) network technology, giving customers in Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville and Halifax access to mobile data downlink speeds up to a theoretical maximum 290Mbps from 21 August 2015, when the new Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5 smartphones become available. Expected average mobile data speeds are 12Mbps to 87Mbps. Bell will expand its new tri-band 290Mbps LTE-A network – based on 700MHz, 210...

Canada’s fourth largest cellular operator by subscribers Wind Mobile has won approval from the telecoms ministry Industry Canada to transfer its unused AWS (1700MHz/2100MHz) spectrum licences in the Prairie provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the two regions’ respective incumbent telcos Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS Allstream) and SaskTel, which will each add the frequencies to their existing 4G LTE bandwidth. SaskTel CEO Ron Styles said in a press release: ‘Our 4G LTE network in the nine...