Telecom news round-up [Aug 20-26]

It’s Saturday (cue loud cheering sounds), so it’s time for another edition of MobileSyrup’s telecom news roundup. Let’s get into it.

Business

As you may recall, MobileSyrup reported that a service outage in Iqaluit, Nunavut, earlier this month left the city without internet and cell service. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is investigating the outage. The commission sent Northwestel a list of questions about the cause of the outage, its timeline, and other factors.

Telus launched a virtual vet service in British Columbia. MyPet allows cat and dog owners to have their furry friends assessed by a qualified veterinarian.

Rogers answered the second round of questions on the July 8th outage from the CRTC. However, much like its first set of answers, this document is also heavily redacted. Rogers did reveal its plans to separate its wireless and wireline networks will cost an estimated $261 million, up from the original $250 million estimate.

Canada’s Ethics Commissioner ruled CRTC Chair Ian Scott’s beers with Bell CEO Mirko Bibic were “exclusively professional.” The two met in an Ottawa pub in December 2019, one week after Bell filed an application opposing the CRTC’s decision on the high cost of wholesale internet rates. The Federal Court of Appeal is still waiting to review the case.

Starlink has reportedly been emailing customers worldwide about reducing the cost of its hardware and satellite internet services. But Canada apparently isn’t on the list. Read more here.

Northwestel wants to introduce new internet speeds and prices for its packages. In a series of applications filed with the CRTC, the telecom provider wants to introduce two new optimized internet speeds: 300Mbps and 500Mbp. In conjunction, the company will also introduce new internet packages and lower the prices of some of its other packages.

However, the cost isn’t lowered by much, serving as yet another stark reminder about the high internet prices Canadians (especially northern residents) pay. For example, Northwestel proposes to reduce its residential cable internet 300 unlimited package from $239.95/month to $219.95/month. 

Government

The Province of Quebec says it has reached its goal to provide all residents with high-speed internet services a month before its deadline. Initially slated for September 30th, customers can now access FTTH or subsidized satellite services from Starlink, depending on their location.

Deals

Chatr Mobile is offering new customers 3GB of bonus data on almost all of its plans for six months. But anyone interested in this deal should act quickly; it expires on August 30th.

Lucky Mobile has lowered the price of its 20GB plan. As MobileSyrup reported, the company replaced its $70/20GB plan with a $55/month 20GB plan. Like the last deal, this one is also time sensitive.

Image credit: Northwestel/Facebook