Despite concerns ranging from health risks to espionage, the fifth-generation technology for mobile connectivity (5G) has prompted a global adoption race—and there is no going back. Contrary to conspiracy theories, it is a necessary and positive step toward a fully...
Disruption
Game Over for Custodial Crypto Firms in Canada: Regulator Moves to Suffocate Exchanges with Securities Law
Canadian regulators are putting a crosshair on exchanges that hold cryptocurrencies for their clients. This business model, also called a custodial or centralized exchange, is prevalent all over the world but is headed for extinction in Canada, setting back the...
VW v. TESLA
Ford v. Ferrari is yesterday’s story. Today, it’s Volkswagen v. Tesla. The two battles are not entirely uncommon. As it was in the 1960’s confrontation, the current competition wants to seize superior engineering to capture a market. But the next winner won’t be...
Landslide Reveals Modern Life Vulnerability
On February 2, 2020, thousands of Canadians lost by a landslide—and most weren’t even in politics! Ordinary citizens found normal life interrupted for days after a landslide near North Bend, B.C. cut fiber optic cables. Phone and internet customers had service...
Featured News
Canada in 2073—Will There Be One?
“Ahead, Thar Be Dragons.” The world of 2023 is a scary place. One major war is raging, with others probably on the way. The Pax Americana that has given us freedom of the seas and allowed global trade to flourish might be breaking down. International piracy,...
World Cries out for Canadian LNG, “No Business Case” Feds have Totally Failed Us
Today, Canada’s natural gas sector is seeing its decade of darkness due to federal policy. And it’s not because the opportunity wasn’t there. It was because our government allowed its ideology, and that of its anti-oil and gas friends (also known as protestors) to...
Wireless Ad Battles
The prospect of Verizon moving into the Canadian wireless market has resulted in an unprecedented ad campaign from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). Not since the days of the proposed “cable tax” that would have required cable, satellite...
Trip-Sharing is Giving Cabs a Rough Ride
Canada’s taxi industry enriches a tiny minority, exploits drivers and provides expensive and spotty services for many people highly dependent on cabs, such as women and the poor. It increases the rate of car ownership, as people who might otherwise rely on cabs find poor availability and high fares work against them. Finally, it prevents us getting full value from the millions of privately owned cars on the road. Fortunately, help is on the way.
German Perspective on Spying and Privacy
The global spying scandal shows that the US has become manic
Big News in Wireless
How about merging Wind and Mobilicity and picking up SaskTel and MTS to provide a regional incumbent base?
BCE Acquisition of Astral Media Approved
The CRTC finally approved BCE’s acquisition of Astra Media, the second time that BCE presented a deal for approval. In this version of the deal BCE has sold interests and will divest itself of several other properties to fall under the thresholds for media...
The Wireless Industry Code
The CRTC released the Wireless Industry Code on Monday. The Code itself has 8 pages of rules and 2 pages of definitions and is accompanied by a 1-pager entitled “Your Rights as a Consumer” which has a handy checklist that anyone can use to see if their supplier is...
Fuel Economy Gauges Nudge Drivers Towards Better Fuel Economy
Fuel efficiency is a major selling point for many car buyers, but it can be misleading. Fuel consumption varies widely based on how one drives. While average fuel consumption statistics are helpful information, it’s easy to forget that last point.
Drones Hit New Turf: U.S. Farmland: Agricultural Groups Experiment With Unmanned Vehicles to Monitor Crops and Spray Pesticides
Farmers are starting to investigate the use of drones for a decidedly nonmilitary purpose: monitoring crops and spraying pesticides. As the spring growing season unfolds, universities already are working with agricultural groups to experiment with different types of unmanned aircraft outfitted with sensors and other technologies to measure and protect crop health.
Mobile Wireless Competitors for Sale
It is clear that Industry Canada and the CRTC do not want a re-consolidation to occur. It is less clear if they can adjust the rules more in favour of competition.