Canadian enterprise telecoms provider Allstream, part of MTS Allstream, has announced that it has connected more than 3,000 buildings to its 30,000km-plus nationwide fibre-optic IP network. The milestone represents a 50% increase in on-net IP fibre-fed buildings compared to three years ago. In 2010 Allstream initiated a targeted multi-year investment programme to increase its profitability by expanding the IP fibre network to nearby multi-tenant buildings that could be connected at a low cost. A...

Quebecor, the parent of Canadian quadruple-play operator Videotron, has expressed its interest in bidding for the assets of financially struggling cellco Mobilicity, according to a research note released yesterday by Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Jeff Fan, cited by the Globe & Mail newspaper. The analyst said that Quebecor has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Mobilicity ahead of Canada’s 700MHz 4G auction which commenced yesterday ‘which indicates [Quebecor] has some interest in licences...

Canadian cellco Wind Mobile has withdrawn from the country’s 700MHz 4G licence auction due to start today (14 January 2014), after its foreign shareholder, Egypt-based Global Telecom Holding (GTH), itself part of the Russian-backed Vimpelcom group, reportedly declined to fund the bidding. The ten remaining bidders include eight companies already active in Canada’s cellular network operating market: Bell, Rogers, Telus, MTS, SaskTel, Videotron, Bragg Communications (Eastlink) and TBayTel. The oth...

In the lead-up to the country’s 700MHz 4G licence auction on 14 January 2014, Industry Canada has released further details of the 2500MHz licence auction to follow, which it confirmed will commence on 14 April 2015. The 2500MHz auction framework rules include: - spectrum caps to ensure that four or more providers have the opportunity to access 2500MHz spectrum, with the aim of fostering competition;- smaller geographic licence areas, with the aim of providing more opportunity for rural internet ...

Canada’s Federal Court has rejected a petition from Telus which had requested a judicial review of rules limiting the amount of ‘prime’ 700MHz mobile frequencies which nationwide network operators including Telus, Rogers and Bell are permitted to purchase in the upcoming 4G licence auction later this month. Telus was also ordered to pay the government the costs of pursuing its legal action, the Globe & Mail reported. Telus continues to seek a separate judicial review of spectrum transfer rul...

Wednesday, January 29, 2014, at Dows Lake Court Featuring: Kyle Salem of the McQuaig Institute and Marci Murray of Shopify If you are a Human Resources Manager, an Operations Manager or an Executive interested in candidate profiling and effective recruitment techniques, this event is for you! Guest speakers Kyle Salem and Marcie Murray will provide unique insight into how you can define the behavioral demands of your vacant and key positions using job profiling, and how to best assess candidates...

Reuters reports that Canada is ushering in new rules to cap mobile roaming rates in the country, as part of an effort to spur competition in the local market. The country’s minister for industry James Moore says that the change in legislation will level the playing field by stopping bigger operators from charging their smaller rivals more than they charge their own customers for roaming voice, data and SMS/MMS services. The minister claims that some cellcos are guilty of charging as much as ten ...

Canadian cellco Wind Mobile has submitted a bid for the assets of smaller rival Mobilicity under the latter’s court-sanctioned auction process, valued at around half of the CAD380 million (USD357 million) takeover offer from nationwide incumbent Telus which was blocked earlier this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter quoted by Bloomberg, who asked not to be identified because the process remains private. Thanks to TeleGeography for the article. 

Indebted Canadian cellco Mobilicity has effectively extended its court-sanctioned creditor protection period to 18 February 2014 whilst it continues an auction process for its entire business or selected assets, MobileSyrup reported yesterday, citing a court document submitted by the company’s appointed representative Ernst & Young. Interested bidders were required to submit their intentions by the middle of yesterday, with rival Wind Mobile the only company to have publicly expressed intere...

Indebted Canadian cellco Mobilicity has extended the bidding deadline for a court-sanctioned sale of all or some of its assets until midday 16 December 2013, from the previous date of 9 December, local website MobileSyrup reports, citing court documents. Potential bidders had been given until 2 December to express their interest. The only potential suitor to have publicly announced its interest so far has been rival Wind Mobile, while the country’s three nationwide cellular incumbents are banned...

An update to Industry Canada’s website yesterday (4 December 2013) showed that there are eleven remaining qualified bidders for Canada’s January auction of 700MHz 4G mobile broadband licences, after the Catalyst Capital Group was listed as ‘withdrawn’, despite reportedly having paid a full pre-auction deposit. Catalyst Capital Group is a private equity firm which owns roughly 30% of struggling cellco Mobilicity’s senior secured debt. The eleven remaining bidders include nine companies already ac...

Jean-Pierre Blais, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) marked the coming into force of the regulator’s consumer ‘wireless code’ on 2 December with an announcement heralding ‘the beginning of a more dynamic marketplace for wireless services.’ The new rules enable individuals and small business owners to terminate mobile contracts with no cancellation fee after a maximum of two years, applicable to all new contracts signed as from 2 December and exist...

Canadian full-service telco Telus has contracted Swedish vendor Ericsson to deploy an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), for the purpose of offering convergent services in voice, data and video calling over both wireline and wireless networks. Based on the IMS platform, Telus customers will have the ability to access a variety of multimedia functions and applications including High Definition (HD) voice, management across multiple devices, and video calling over LTE. Eros Spadotto, executive vice-pr...

Orange Horizons, a division of French giant Orange Group, is examining a potential entry into Canada’s mobile market, reports the Globe & Mail. Representatives of the French telecoms group recently held ‘exploratory talks’ with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Industry Canada and Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service about the potential opportunity for market entry, the newspaper said. Sources added that Orange is considering launching a Canadian mobile v...

Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) has launched 4G LTE roaming for its customers across Canada as well as in several international locations, including most major urban centres in the US. MTS president Kelvin Shepherd announced: ‘MTS customers can connect to LTE in over 80 locations in Canada, and we are one of only two Canadian carriers to announce the launch of international LTE roaming.’ MTS launched its LTE network in Winnipeg and Brandon in 2012, and expanded the service to Victoria Beach, Gra...

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) last week announced that municipalities and telecommunications companies can now refer to a model municipal access agreement to facilitate negotiations regarding the installation of telecoms infrastructure. The regulator’s chairman Jean-Pierre Blais stated: ‘Telecommunications companies often need access to streets and other municipal property to install, upgrade or maintain their facilities, which include fibre-optic cables....

Canadian provincial telco MTS has announced the latest expansion of its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Manitoba, with the launch of high speed fibre triple-play services in Lorette, the twelfth community outside of the Winnipeg area to receive coverage. Branded as ‘MTS FiON’, the FTTH service includes MTS’s IPTV packages under the ‘MTS Ultimate TV’ brand, featuring over 420 channels, Video on Demand (VoD), and the ability to pause and rewind live TV from any room in the house with the Whole...

Canada’s Industry Minister James Moore has issued a statement that companies holding under-utilised frequency licences intended for rural fixed-wireless broadband services must return the spectrum and will not be allowed to renew their concessions. Licences in the 2300MHz and 3500MHz bands auctioned in 2004-2009 are scheduled for renewal in March 2014, and the minister stated: ‘Our government will only renew spectrum licences for those holders that have met all conditions of licence. Those that ...

Indebted Canadian cellco Mobilicity won a court order yesterday allowing it to pursue a formal sales process early next month, the Globe & Mail reports. Mobilicity is aiming to solicit interested buyers for all or part of its business, with potential bidders being given until 2 December to register interest and 9 December to submit bids. The government recently disallowed for a second time a proposed takeover of Mobilicity by larger operator Telus. As reported by CommsUpdate, on Monday a cou...

Indebted Canadian cellco Mobilicity is aiming to solicit interested buyers for all or part of its business by early December, according to the Financial Post, which reports that the company’s court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young is seeking a court order authorizing an ownership auction process. If the process is approved, potential bidders will be given until 2 December to register interest and 9 December to submit bids. The government recently disallowed for a second time a proposed takeov...