The IT Nerd

TekSavvy Solutions, Canada’s largest independent ISP, and its affiliate cable company Hastings Cablevision Ltd., announced the launch of its IPTV service, TekSavvy TV, across the province of Ontario today. TekSavvy TV will offer customers over 115 HD channels of sports, movies, series, and kids programming including video-on-demand content from selected television channels.

Customers across Ontario who wish to order can sign up through TekSavvy’s MyAccount portal at myaccount.teksavvy.com. TekSavvy TV is currently available as an app for Apple TV, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV devices. Customers can start with TekSavvy TV Basic at $20.00 per month and then add additional theme packages ranging in price from $6.00 to $20.00 per month to gain access to more live sports, premium series, and blockbuster movies. TekSavvy TV requires a TekSavvy residential Internet subscription with a minimum download speed of 15 Mbps and unlimited data.

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has welcomed the Government of Canada’s new Policy Direction, which orders the CRTC to promote competition, affordability and consumers’ interests in its oversight of Canada’s telecommunications industry.

TekSavvy hopes the CRTC will quickly fix policies that deny consumer choice and keep prices high, such as by setting fair wholesale rates, removing Internet speed caps on competitors, and finally opening up the wireless sector for competition. In 2016, the CRTC rebuked the large carriers for breaking its wholesale rate-setting rules and called their behaviour “very disturbing”. The large carriers overbilled more than $300 million that would have otherwise been passed on as savings to customers or invested in new infrastructure. The CRTC has not set final rates or refunded the overbilled amounts.

In March, TekSavvy launched its Pay Less to Connect campaign, which enabled more than 70,000 Canadians to send letters directly to their local Members of Parliament expressing frustration with high prices and little choice in the current system.

ISP TekSavvy has filed an intervention in relation the the CRTC’s MVNO consultation. What is an MVNO you ask? A mobile virtual network operator or MVNO is a reseller for wireless communications services. An MVNO leases wireless capacity (in effect, purchases “minutes”) from a third-party mobile network operator (MNO) at wholesale prices and resells it to consumers at reduced retail prices under its own business brand. TekSavvy does a version of this with their Internet service. Thus this is a natural next step to expand their offerings.

Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s VP, Regulatory and Carrier Affairs also had this to say:

TekSavvy is calling for immediate action by the CRTC to open up the wireless market to real competition.

Today, 3 big telecom companies control over 90% of the wireless market and as a result Canadians pay among the highest prices in the world, while the Competition Bureau and CRTC investigate widespread abuses against consumers.  Canadians demand better, as evidenced by 72,000 letters to their MPs in our Pay Less To Connect campaign.

As Canada’s largest wholesale-based Internet service provider, TekSavvy is well positioned to offer consumer choice for wireless services.

That’s why we’re calling on the CRTC to take practical steps that we know will create real competition and serve consumers interests by mandating a “Full MVNO” regulatory model, and setting fair wholesale rates and terms.

The Intervention was filed yesterday and as soon as it pops up on the CRTC site, I will link to it so that you can see what Teksavvy had to say.

UPDATE: Here are the intervention documents.

TekSavvy and its affiliate cable company Hastings Cable Vision announced today the continued rollout of its IPTV service, TekSavvy TV, in the Toronto region of Ontario. TekSavvy TV will offer customers access to over 100 HD channels of sports, movies, series and kids programming including video-on-demand content from selected TV channels.

Customers in Toronto who wish to order can sign-up through TekSavvy’s MyAccount portal at myaccount.teksavvy.com. TekSavvy TV is currently available as an app for Apple TV, Android TV, and Amazon Fire Stick. Customers can start with TekSavvy TV Basic at $20.00 per month and then add additional theme packages ranging in price from $6.00 to $20.00 per month to get more channels of live sports, premium series, and blockbuster movies. TekSavvy TV requires a TekSavvy residential Internet subscription with a minimum download speed of 15 Mbps.

TekSavvy TV subscribers will also get two-months free access to the recently launched Adult Swim channel that brings together comedy, gaming, music and live events. The launch of TekSavvy TV in Toronto comes after a similar launch in Ottawa.

TekSavvy launched paylesstoconnect.ca on March 29, where Canadians can voice support for a new directive from the Government of Canada, which orders the CRTC to lower Canadians’ internet and cell phone bills with policies that promote real consumer choice. The proposal is open for public comment until midnight tonight.

The campaign aims to get consumers to write to their MPs and express their frustration with the cost of internet and cell phone. Over 66,000 letters have been sent by consumers to MPs across Canada. If you haven’t expressed your view on this issue yet, I would suggest that you do so before midnight tonight.

TekSavvy today launched a website where Canadians can voice support for a new directive from the Government of Canada, which orders the CRTC to lower Canadians’ internet and cell phone bills with policies that promote real consumer choice. The proposal is open for public comment until April 8.

TekSavvy hopes the CRTC will quickly fix policies that deny consumer choice and keep prices high, such as by removing the 50 Mbps Internet speed cap currently hampering TekSavvy’s business in Ontario and Quebec, and finally opening up the wireless sector for competition.

In 2016, the CRTC rebuked the large carriers for breaking its rate-setting rules and called their behaviour “very disturbing”. As noted in TekSavvy’s filing with the CRTC today, the large carriers overcharged ISPs more than $300 million that would have otherwise been passed on as savings to customers or invested in new infrastructure. The CRTC has not set final rates or refunded the overbilled amounts.

TekSavvy today announced the launch of its high-speed internet services into Western Canada including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.

Customers looking for an alternative to the big guys can now choose from 4 different high-speed cable internet service packages starting at $23.95 per month. Offering speeds up to 150Mbps and unlimited usage, TekSavvy has a value option for everyone.

TekSavvy has been providing Canadians with reliable telecom services for more than 20 years and has won numerous awards for the quality of its service and for its commitment to fighting for consumers’ rights online. With offices in Chatham, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec TekSavvy is Canada’s largest independent telecom service company with over 300,000 customers from coast to coast.

TekSavvy and its affiliate cable company Hastings Cable Vision announced today the launch of its IPTV service, TekSavvy TV, in the Ottawa region of Ontario. TekSavvy TV will offer customers access to over 100 HD channels of sports, movies, series and kids programming including video-on-demand content from selected TV channels.

Customers in Ottawa who wish to order can sign-up through TekSavvy’s MyAccount portal at myaccount.teksavvy.com. TekSavvy TV is currently available as an app for Apple TV, Android TV, and Amazon Fire Stick. Customers can start with TekSavvy TV Basic at $20.00 per month and then add additional theme packages ranging in price from $6.00 to $20.00 per month to get more channels of live sports, premium series, and blockbuster movies. TekSavvy TV requires a TekSavvy residential Internet subscription with a minimum download speed of 15 Mbps.

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. today issued a letter which can be found at https://teksavvy.com/Media/Default/Regulatory/TekSavvy-Letter-CRTC-CMR2018.pdf [Warning: PDF] to the CRTC calling for greater transparency and disclosure regarding its Communications Monitoring Report, published on 20 December 2018.

At the heart of the CRTC’s mandate is to serve the public interest by consulting and informing Canadians about its work.  Published annually by the CRTC, the Communications Monitoring Report provides comprehensive data and analysis about Canada’s communications sector. Each edition of the report serves as an important source of public evidence to inform Canadians and enable them to participate meaningfully in the CRTC’s proceedings.

The 2018 Report did not follow standard practices, which the CRTC applied in past reports to ensure high-quality data and relevant evidence for its proceedings.  In particular, the 2018 Report omitted important data that had been included in past reports and repeatedly cited as key evidence in an open proceeding when the 2018 Report was published and such data was omitted from it.

Here’s some commentary from Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s VP, Regulatory & Carrier Affairs:

“The CRTC has long recognized that the annual Communications Monitoring Report serves a vital public purpose: to provide Canadians with the information they require to effectively participate in its proceedings. Without explanation, the 2018 Communications Monitoring Report broke with standards that the CRTC itself deemed necessary for past reports to fulfill that purpose.”

“We’re asking the CRTC to explain these changes and omissions, to provide more information about the standards it applied to this latest edition, and to issue an amendment to the 2018 Report that presents all omitted data as transparently as possible”