Present-day telecommunications in Canada include telephone, radio, television, and internet usage. In the past, telecommunications included telegraphy available through Canadian Pacific and Canadian National.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. Its headquarters is located in the Central Building of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau, Quebec.
The primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry.
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunications signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. There are about 2,000 communications satellites in Earth's orbit, used by both private and government organizations. Many are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky, so the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track it.
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter. Radio waves with frequencies above the UHF band fall into the super-high frequency (SHF) or microwave frequency range. Lower frequency signals fall into the VHF or lower bands. UHF radio waves propagate mainly by line of sight; they are blocked by hills and large buildings although the transmission through building walls is strong enough for indoor reception. They are used for television broadcasting, cell phones, satellite communication including GPS, personal radio services including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, walkie-talkies, cordless phones, and numerous other applications.
Bell Satellite TV, is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television service across Canada. It launched on September 10, 1997. As of April 2017, Bell Satellite TV provides over 700 channels to over 1 million subscribers. Its major competitors include satellite service Shaw Direct, as well as various cable and communications companies across Canada.
Super Écran is a Canadian premium television network owned by Bell Media. It airs a mix of commercial-free films and television series. Films are primarily sourced from the United States and Canada, while the television series mostly consist of original series and programs from HBO and Showtime in the United States.
Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and British Columbia and satellite television nationally. It also operates smaller cable television systems in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario. Shaw provides mobile services from Freedom Mobile and Shaw Mobile, in areas of Alberta, British Columbia, and Southern Ontario. The company's chief competitor for home telecommunications in western Canada is Telus Communications.
The Weather Network (TWN) is a Canadian English-language weather information specialty channel. It delivers weather information on television, digital platforms and TV apps. Currently, The Weather Network is available in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. Additionally, The Weather Network has successful weather counterpart brands which include MétéoMédia (French-Canadian), Eltiempo (Spain), Wetter Plus (Germany) and Clima.
Movie Central was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories. Although the channel's name implies that it focuses solely on theatrically released motion pictures, Movie Central's programming included original and foreign television series, made-for-cable movies and documentaries.
The Nimiq satellites are a Canadian fleet of geostationary telecommunications satellites owned by Telesat and used by satellite television providers including Bell Satellite TV and EchoStar. 'Nimiq' is an Inuit word used for an object or a force which binds things together. A contest in 1998 was held to choose the name of these satellites. The contest drew over 36,000 entries.
Claro is the largest telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic and provides local, long-distance, and wireless voice services, as well as Internet and IPTV services, to approximately four million customers.
Telus Optik TV is a product of Telus Communications, a subsidiary of Telus Corporation, that provides IPTV service in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. The service offers over 630 digital channels, including more than 100 in HD. Despite its name, the service is available to both Fibre To The Node (FTTN) or Fibre To The Home (FTTH) clients, with FTTN implementations using telephone lines instead of fibre optics for a portion of the connection. Telus launched IPTV service in November 2005 to customers in select Alberta communities. As of February 2017, over 1 million customers are subscribed to the Optik TV. Major competitors include satellite services Shaw Direct and Bell Satellite TV, as well as various cable and communications companies across British Columbia and Alberta, such as Shaw, Novus and Eastlink.
Starz is a Canadian English language premium television network owned by Bell Media.
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with a FTTN or FTTH Bell Internet service, and uses the Ericsson Mediaroom platform. Bell Fibe TV officially launched on September 13, 2010. It is also available in Manitoba and Atlantic Canada, where Fibe TV is re-packaged, being offered by Bell MTS and Bell Aliant with similar services and integrated with Bell Fibe TV.
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. It has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones, where all communications are charged as data, avoiding monopolistic competition, or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner, including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software.
Bell Mobile TV is a mobile television service available to Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile Canada customers. As of Q4 2013, there are 1 230 000 customers with Mobile TV, or over 15.8% of Bell's mobile customer base.
WWE Network is a Canadian English language specialty channel programmed by WWE and distributed by Rogers Media. Its programming consists entirely of the linear feed offered as part of the WWE Network video streaming service.
Crave is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily the American-based services Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
