The era of having to pay cellular providers to unlock your cellphone will end this year. As of Dec. 1, cellphone customers can ask their provider to unlock their phones free of charge, the CRTC announced Thursday. At the same time, it said, all newly purchased mobile devices must be provided to customers unlocked. “It’s a big step forward,” said Rose Behar, senior reporter for the tech site MobileSyrup in Toronto. Telecoms often order locked phones from manufacturers that are programmed to work only with their service. Then they charge a fee — typically $50 —…
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The World Used Less Coal In 2016 Than Year Before: BP – National | Globalnews.ca
Worldwide demand for coal decreased in 2016, for the second year in a row. Humans used 53-million tonnes of coal less than in 2015, according to this year’s statistical review of energy provided by BP. It’s a decrease of 1.7 per cent. It is the second-straight year that coal demand has declined. It also said that worldwide production of coal decreased by six per cent. Production at U.S. coal mines fell by 19 per cent while China’s coal production fell by nearly eight per cent. On the whole, coal’s share…
Read MoreCanada Paying More For Prescription Drugs Than Most Other High-Income Countries: Study | CTV News
According to a new study, Canadians are paying far more for primary care prescription drugs than people who live in most other high-income countries with universal healthcare. The study, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday by a team of Canadian and American researchers, compared the volume and daily cost of primary care prescription drugs in Canada with those in nine other high-income countries: Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. All of these countries, except Canada, offer universal coverage…
Read MoreCanadians’ thirst for wireless data is growing — and so is the cry for unlimited plans – Business – CBC News
Canadians don’t talk as much as they used to on their mobile phones, but the country’s telecom market is still booming thanks to an unquenchable thirst for wireless data. That leads some customers to question why unlimited wireless data plans are almost non-existent in Canada. Meanwhile, every major U.S. carrier offers one. “It can get kind of frustrating,” says Vian Esterhuizen from Calgary about living with a data cap. “It’s something that you have to be aware of and cautious of, and I don’t think that’s really the right approach.” The explosion…
Read MoreGoogle Home Is Now Available For Preorder In Canada – The Verge
If you live in Canada, you can now preorder a Google Home device. In an ironic twist, Google has beaten Amazon to Canada when it comes to smart assistants — the Echo still isn’t available in the country, despite being available for two years in the US. The Google Home will cost $179 in Canada, right on par with US pricing when you consider the ongoing devaluation of the Canadian dollar. Google hasn’t given a release date for the speaker yet, but Best Buy’s preorder page says the device will…
Read MoreBell, Rogers, Telus Raise Some Internet Prices — While Small Providers Drop Theirs – Business – CBC News
Getting connected online is becoming more costly for some Canadians. Bell, Rogers and Telus are all hiking rates for select home internet plans this year. “Here we go again — they’ve got their hand in my pocket,” says Toronto Bell customer Larry McLean about his latest price increase. “We’re paying too much.” The hikes come on the heels of a CRTC ruling declaring broadband internet a basic and vital service that all Canadians should be able to access. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom for price-sensitive cyber surfers. In a…
Read MoreMorgan Stanley’s Shared Autonomous 30 List Has No Major Automakers – Business Insider
A team of analysts from Morgan Stanley on Thursday published an updated list of the bank’s “Shared Autonomous 30” — a group of companies that the team thinks will influence a big transition from a world in which vehicles are sold to a world in which more emphasis is placed in how much vehicles are driven. “The 100-year-old auto industry business model is facing unprecedented technological disruption, starting with the very definition of the market itself — moving from ‘millions of units sold’ annually to ‘trillions of miles traveled’ annually…
Read MoreAtlantic Hurricane Season Expected To Be Stormier Than Normal – Nova Scotia – CBC News
Batten down the hatches — we’re likely in for a rougher-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, according to Canadian and U.S. hurricane monitoring agencies. The U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a “weak or non-existent” El Nino is a factor in its prediction. There is “the potential for a lot of Atlantic storm activity this year,” said acting NOAA administrator Ben Friedman. “We cannot stop hurricanes. But, again, we can prepare for them.” Hurricane season officially starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. NOAA predicts a 45…
Read MoreCanadians Hoarding $16B Worth Of Unused Loyalty Points – Business – CBC News
We all love free stuff, so it’s no surprise that Canadians are pledging allegiance to a growing number of loyalty programs. However, many of us are not bothering to cash in on our rewards. A new report from Bond Brand Loyalty estimates that collectors are sitting on a whopping $16 billion worth of unused rewards points — that works out to a value of $629 per collector. The Mississauga, Ont.-based marketing agency surveyed 9,299 Canadians online in January and February. It found that 55 per cent of collectors don’t even know how many points they have,…
Read MoreAll Fossil-Fuel Vehicles Will Vanish In 8 years In Twin ‘Death Spiral’ For Big Oil And Big Autos, Says Study That’s Shocking The Industries | Financial Post
No more petrol or diesel cars, buses, or trucks will be sold anywhere in the world within eight years. The entire market for land transport will switch to electrification, leading to a collapse of oil prices and the demise of the petroleum industry as we have known it for a century. This is the futuristic forecast by Stanford University economist Tony Seba. His report, with the deceptively bland title Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030, has gone viral in green circles and is causing spasms of anxiety in the established industries. We are…
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