Wireless spectrum: FAQs
Auction of radio airwaves will influence Canada's prosperity
Last Updated: Monday, May 26, 2008 | 3:13 PM ET Comments11Recommend29
By Peter Nowak CBC News
New cellphone carriers are expected as a result of Industry Canada's spectrum auction. (Fabian Bimmer/Associated Press) The federal government's auction of wireless airwaves — which will usher in new cellphone providers — kicked off on March 10, when bid applications were due. While wireless spectrum is a highly technical issue that makes most people's eyes glaze over, it is extremely important to Canada's future prosperity.
With only about 60 per cent of Canadians subscribing to a cellphone service, Canada is well behind the rest of the industrialized world in adopting mobile communications. That means we are missing out on numerous business, educational, entertainment and cultural advances that are happening elsewhere.
In other countries, more workers are experiencing the benefits of being freed from their desks. People are saving time by shopping or banking on their cellphones while taking public transit to and from work. Some are catching up on their television shows by watching episodes on their phones. Lives are also being saved through medical information transmitted over wireless networks.
The government has blamed this lag on the lack of competition in Canada's cellphone market. The upcoming spectrum auction, beginning on May 27, is its effort to correct the problem.
What is spectrum?
Spectrum is a catch-all term for the radio airwaves that many wireless gizmos use to communicate information. Radios use spectrum, as do the rabbit-ear antennas on older television sets. The CBC, for example, is broadcast free to many parts of Canada using a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Cellphones, of course, also use it.Spectrum is divided into different frequencies and measured in units called hertz.
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http://www.cbc.ca/technology
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Short video:
Ocean Tracking Network: An Introduction
Duration: 02:18, Format: Quicktime
Broadband connection recommended.
(Well, we can tell that intelligence has been elevated to a new level, thanks to the sensor technology, thanks to computers, and thanks to civilization. --Alex Wang)
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David Colman: Don't use that tone with me
Monday, June 9, 2008 | 08:02 AM ET
By David Colman, a partner with TriOpus Group in Regina
(Listen to the original audio)
Normally when I book hotels, I use the internet. The bad news about using the internet is it is not the 'personal touch' experience that we often crave. The good news is that it's not the 'personal touch' that we often receive!
Recently, I had to book a hotel in Florida directly over the phone, rather than the more reliable, but perhaps less personal, internet approach. The hotel I called in Tampa is part of a major international chain. I was hoping for, and expecting, a warm and courteous reception when I called. What was I thinking?
But the agent's tone and attitude told me that:
- She hated her job (at least at that moment)
- I'd interrupted her daily ritual of watching Oprah
- She was discussing last night's date with a friend or
- I was the least important person in the world to her
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The government's sale of public airwaves, which is likely to result in new cellphone carriers, closed out its second week with more than $3.1 billion raised so far in what is turning out to be a hotly contested auction.
Motorists feeling the pinch after oil prices surge
Last Updated: Saturday, June 7, 2008 | 11:18 AM ET Comments255Recommend123
CBC News
Canadian gas prices rose Saturday morning after oil finished the week at a record high, closing at $138.54 US a barrel.
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Gasoline prices
| City | Cents per litre |
|---|---|
| Vancouver | 141.6 |
| Calgary | 132.9 |
| Winnipeg | 132.9 |
| Toronto | 134.9 |
| Montreal | 140.2 |
| Halifax | 135.6 |
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Canadian internet television broadcaster JumpTV Inc. will merge with NeuLion Inc., a U.S. company controlled by Charles Wang, the firms said Monday.
Privately-held NeuLion, which is based in Plainview, N.Y., offers television programming over the internet, along with video streaming technology and other web services.
Toronto-based JumpTV will issue more than 49.5 million common shares, 1.8 million contingent shares, plus five million warrants to the shareholders of NeuLion as part of the merger.
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Privately-held NeuLion, which is based in Plainview, N.Y., offers television programming over the internet, along with video streaming technology and other web services.
Toronto-based JumpTV will issue more than 49.5 million common shares, 1.8 million contingent shares, plus five million warrants to the shareholders of NeuLion as part of the merger.
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