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Canadian government blocked potential Lenovo bid for BlackBerry over security concerns
The BlackBerry of today could've been a Chinese-controlled company -- if the Canadian government hadn't put its foot down, that is. A report in The Globe and Mail, citing inside sources, claims the government feared a Lenovo takeover would compromise national security given how connected BlackBerry's business is with the country's communications infrastructure. Though Lenovo was apparently very serious about moving forward with acquisition talks, the government's objections were so strong that BlackBerry never bothered to submit a formal proposal for consideration. That and the fact that BlackBerry also desperately needed a speedy solution to stem its downward spiral; something a pending merger would only exacerbate. No matter now though, as BlackBerry's since abandoned takeover talks in favor of financing and ousting failed CEO Thorsten Heins.
Canada relaxes rules on foreign ownership of wireless companies, plans spectrum auction for first half of 2013
The Canadian government made a major announcement on telecom policy late this afternoon, revealing a change that opens the door to more foreign ownership of wireless companies -- an issue that's been a point of contention for some time. As The Globe & Mail reports, the new rules will allow for 100 percent ownership of companies with a market share of ten percent or less -- something that can then grow beyond ten percent, so long as it's not done through mergers or takeovers. Previously, total foreign ownership in telecom companies has been restricted to 46.7 percent. Along with that news, the government also confirmed that the anticipated 700MHz spectrum auction will take place in the first half of 2013 (with a 2500 MHz auction to follow within a year), and that there will be caps in place that are said to "effectively ensure that new wireless entrants and regional providers have access to prime spectrum." The auction will also have some conditions intended to bring service to rural areas, and there will be a block of spectrum reserved for public safety use. All of this, the government says, is intended to "provide Canadian families with more choices at low prices," although we'll naturally have to wait and see if that last bit pans out. [Tower photo via Shutterstock]
Canadian government vows to reverse CRTC decision on usage-based internet billing
It's happened before when Canadian government overturned the CRTC's decision and allowed Globalive to enter the Canadian cellphone market, and it looks like Ottawa is about to again weigh in and reverse an even more controversial ruling by the regulatory agency. As confirmed by Industry Minister Tony Clement on Twitter, the government plans to overturn the recent CRTC decision that effectively imposed usage-based internet billing if the agency doesn't back down and "go back to the drawing board." Citing a senior government official, The Toronto Star further reports that the reversal could come as early as next week. As any Canadians reading this may well be aware, the issue of usage-based internet billing has been simmering for some time, but it reached a tipping point with the CRTC's decision last week that affected smaller internet service providers who rely on the major telecom companies' networks. Under the new ruling, those companies would be have been faced with increased costs that would drastically limit the amount of maximum amount of data they're able to offer to customers each month -- one such ISP, Teksavvy, had in fact already sent out notices to customers informing them that their current 200GB cap would be dropping to just 25GB on March 1st, with any additional data use to be charged by the gigabyte. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: The CRTC has announced that it will review its decision, and delay any implementation of it by at least 60 days.
Cabinet members in Saskatchewan getting iPads to reduce paper use
The Canadian Broadcasting Company is reporting that 18 Canadian cabinet ministers and five senior staff members in the province of Saskatchewan are receiving iPads in an attempt to get a handle on the costly consumption of paper. With the cost of the 64GB 3G iPad running about CDN$879 plus fees and taxes, the initial cost of the iPads will run about CDN$23,000. However, the government expects that double that amount will be saved in the first year alone, since paper and printing costs will be cut drastically, and fewer courier runs will be required to deliver physical documents. One senior official in the premier's office noted that he'll save 68 boxes of paper in his office alone in the first year. He noted that a single cabinet minister can often be loaded down with six to 10 kilograms of paper in a typical week. The government officials believe that the security provided by the iPad is sufficient for their needs. Unfortunately, there's no information available on just how much money will be wasted by all of the ministers playing Angry Birds HD during cabinet meetings (we kid!). Thanks to John for the tip (and sorry about the blatant display of Canadian stereotypes in the picture at the right).
