Canada’s largest cellular telecom by subscribers, Rogers Communications, could face stiff penalties imposed by the Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB), after an internal investigation into allegations made by competitors concerning advertising claims were found to be inaccurate.

The investigation was initiated last September following a complaint to the bureau by one of Canada’s latest discount telecom players, Wind Mobile, who argued information conveyed in television and print ads for the Rogers discount telecom, Chatr, were false and misleading.

Read the full story

Canada’s largest cable and wireless company, Rogers, today unveiled prices for Apple’s iPad 3G tablet that is set to launch in Canada and other international markets on May 28.

The company said the iPad would be available for CDN $15 per month for 250mb of data, or $35 per month for 5gb of data (plus the cost of the device). If you already have a wireless monthly plan with Rogers, the company said users could add the iPad plan for an additional $20 per month (with 5gb of data) as an additional cost to their existing phone bill.

Additionally, Rogers confirmed today it would restrict tethering on the device, thereby not allowing consumers to tether their iPad to other devices such as netbooks. The company already allows tethering with other smartphones it offers, including the Apple iPhone 3GS, but said the feature would not be available on the iPad.

Read the full story

Google today announced the availability of its flagship Nexus One smartphone on the AT&T network and on Rogers Wireless in Canada.

The company is offering the Nexus One directly to consumers for use on either of the two networks for $529, without any telecom subsidy in sight at least for now. There is no comment from the two carriers as to whether or not they would subsidize the device.

The Nexus One is currently offered exclusively through T-Mobile in the U.S. priced at $179 on a two-year term.

Google originally announced it intended to offer a version of the Nexus One for use on the Verizon network by spring 2010. Reports today indicate the Verizon version could launch on March 23, 2010.

Read the full story

The top telecoms in Canada, including Bell, Telus, and Rogers, today completed testing a new video-calling service that will be compatible across all networks in Canada.

Video-calling in Canada is not as popular, or in the United States, for that matter, but in Canada, the feature requires both parties to be on the same telecom network to actually work.

The new system (3G-324M standard) that the big three telecoms today finished testing would allow users to video-call people across any of the networks, making it the largest video-calling network in North America.

No information relating to possible availability was released.

Canadian CDMA carriers Telus and Bell are set to launch the iPhone 3G S on Nov 5, and Nov 4, respectively. The companies have now announced pricing for the devices.

Telus will offer the 16GB (black/white) version for $199, the 32GB version will cost CND $299 and will be available in both black and white.

Both companies are not introducing exclusive monthly plans for the iPhone. Plans start at $50 per month at Telus, and at $55 per month at Bell.

At Telus, the most affordable plan will set you back $50 per month, and will give you 150 minutes with 500MB of data (with tethering included). All plans include unlimited messaging as well.

Read the full story

We are able today to report with a high degree of confidence that the new Telus HSPA 3G network will launch on November 3, 2009.

Telus previously announced only a few days ago that it would launch the iPhone 3GS sometime in November.

The new launch date for the network indicates the iPhone is poised to launch sometime very early in November, compared to a closer end of month launch date.

The new Telus network will allow the company to offer higher-end GSM handsets in the future, including the unannounced BlackBerry Bold 2 (expected to launch in the U.S. on November 11 and shortly after in Canada), and possibly the HTC Hero smartphone.

Bell Canada and Telus Wireless have confirmed (Bell press release, Telus press release) both companies would sell the iPhone in Canada starting in November, in time for the holiday season, ending the iPhone exclusivity agreement with Rogers.

The companies in a joint effort were able to upgrade their wireless infrastructure to 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) in order to support the GSM standard and hence the iPhone.

They will offer both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.

No pricing or exact availability was announced today. The new competition should help bring the price of the phone down. Prior to this news, the iPhone was offered by Rogers and Fido (owned by Rogers), so there was really no competition.

Read the full story

Update: To launch June 2nd 2009 on the Rogers network.

Rogers Communications, the cable and telecom giant, has announced it will finally release a Google Android powered phone in Canada. The company confirmed today it will be launching both the HTC Magic and HTC Dream powered by the open-source Google Android OS.

Rogers senior vice president John Boynton said in a statement, “Both devices [the HTC Dream and HTC Magic] offer outstanding wireless Internet search capabilities and a full suite of applications,”

Bell Canada, also announced earlier in the week the company would be the exclusive carrier to offer the new Palm Pre in Canada.

Both companies failed to disclose details on pricing and availability, but we are working on our source.

Google has publicly criticized Rogers Communications in the past for not offering unlimited mobile Internet data. Google has also voiced concern over Rogers Wireless complete GSM monopoly in Canada.

In related Rogers news, according to an internal source, the company in June will start to charge customers for incoming text messages, unless subscribed to a basic SMS plan. The source familiar with the matter spoke on condition of anonymity citing details have yet to be made public. Telus already has been doing this for months. The moves highlight that few control the oligopolistic telecom market in Canada, and in this case, a monopoly over the GSM networks.

Fido GSM telecom in Canada, owned by Rogers who has a complete monopoly over the GSM networks in Canada, has announced today it will not be reordering any new stock of the 16GB 3G iPhone and will simply let the existing stock completely deplete as of the beginning of April.

The move indicates the company could be readying the launch of a new iPhone model by the summer as is widely rumored. Apple most recently unveiled the new iPhone 3.0 OS that features many enhancements, you can find a complete round up here, including screens and the new features.

It is also widely rumored Apple could be releasing an iPhone with a slide out QWERTY keyboard given the new support for push notifications for Gmail on the new 3.0 OS.

Rogers added 199,000 new mobile subscribers in Q4 of 2008 alone, and sold 385,000 iPhone devices across Canada in all of 2008.

Rogers and Fido remain the only companies capable of carrying the iPhone. The Canadian government more recently outlined plans to bring in new competitors to ease the tight grip that a few companies hold on the Canadian mobile telecom market. There are even rumors T-Mobile could expand into Canada.

The second largest telecom in Canada, Telus, has announced plans today to invest up to $500 million in expanding infrastructure in British Columbia and parts of Alberta. The company also outlined plans to build a more eco-friendly datacenter likely to be located in BC.

Telus said, “This investment is expected to ensure a smooth transition to long-term evolution technology, the emerging worldwide standard for 4G wireless networks.” Read the full story