Call centre employees working for Rogers Communications say the telecom company is pressuring them to try to make a sale on every call — even to elderly people who don’t understand or need certain products or services. In emails and interviews with Go Public, dozens of Rogers workers say they’re under “extreme pressure” to hit sales targets or risk termination. Their claims come on the heels of Bell Canada workers revealing similar pressures to upsell customers, often at the expense of ethics. “You’re supposed to look at a customer’s account and…
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Chinese Bitcoin Miners Eye Sites In Quebec, Manitoba | CBC News
China’s Bitmain Technologies is eyeing bitcoin mining sites in Quebec, a company spokesperson told Reuters, as expectations of a potential Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency mining make the energy-rich province an attractive alternative. China has grown into one of the world’s biggest sources of cryptocurrency mining but there are signs Beijing is increasing scrutiny of the sector’s players and may ask local authorities to regulate their power use. Bitmain Technologies, operator of some of the largest mining farms in the country, is among several companies looking to expand overseas. Bitmain spokesperson Nishant Sharma…
Read MoreNavy Dropping ‘Draconian’ Policy On Warship Wi-Fi, Admiral Says | CBC News
For the navy’s most senior enlisted man it was a seminal moment. It was — in today’s terms — the most ordinary of scenes, but the fact it was taking place in a mess aboard the frigate HMCS Charlottetown was extraordinary. Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Michel Vigneault was amazed to see a sailor having a Facetime conversation with family back home on a smartphone. The moment neatly captured the conundrum he and the top brass have faced in making the navy, which has for a decade been perpetually short of…
Read MoreRenewable Energy Growing In Canada But Solar Installations Lagging Behind – CityNews Toronto
by Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Although the cost to build solar power has plummeted over the last decade, a new report suggests Canadians aren’t rushing use the sun to make electricity. The National Energy Board today released its annual look at the state of renewable energy in Canada and it says solar energy accounts for just 0.5 per cent of all Canada’s generated electricity. And almost all of that exists entirely in Ontario, the report notes. NEB chief economist Shelley Milutinovic said the trend in Canada is…
Read MoreBell Says CRTC Promise Of Free Phone Unlocking Doesn’t Apply To Everyone – Business – CBC News
Canadians were supposed to be freed from cellphone unlocking fees come Dec. 1, but some with a Bell-locked phone have found they’ve had to fight for their freedom. That’s because the telecom giant will only unlock phones free of charge for current and former customers. Its policy excludes anyone who never signed up with Bell but acquired a second-hand phone that happens to be locked to its network. Bell also turned down Laura Train-Fraser even though she says she was once a customer. Because the telecom couldn’t confirm this, it refused to…
Read MoreCash Will No Longer Be King At Bell Aliant Stores Come The New Year – Nova Scotia – CBC News
A Nova Scotia man is unhappy that Bell Aliant won’t be accepting cash or cheque payments at its stores beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Instead, the company will only accept payment by debit and credit card. “It’s difficult to understand how legal tender is not good for business these days and my concern is for those who perhaps don’t have a credit card or a debit card and the inconveniences this will cause them,” said Maurice Rees, the publisher of The Shoreline Journal, a monthly paper in Bass River, N.S. He thinks…
Read More‘Open Banking’ Holds Promise But Cybersecurity Fears Loom For Canadian Banks – National | Globalnews.ca
TORONTO – As banks work to fortify their cybersecurity defences amidst a growing number of data breaches, they are also exploring the promise of so-called “open banking,” a concept that could finally disrupt the staid financial services industry. Customers have increasingly moved away from physical branches towards online and mobile apps, but banking has yet to reach its “Uberization” moment, one that breaks down traditional models to usher in new innovations, as Uber has done for the taxi industry. Open banking – granting third-parties like financial technology startups access to…
Read MoreSpies More Free To Use Cellphone Surveillance Tech Without Warrant, Under Court Ruling – Technology & Science – CBC News
A federal court judge has ruled that Canada’s domestic spy agency can continue to use contentious cellphone surveillance devices without a warrant, in some cases. For several years, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has used a device it calls a Cell Site Simulator (CSS) to collect information about cellphones and other cellular-capable devices — such as some laptops or tablets — during its national security investigations. The devices are perhaps better known as IMSI Catchers or Stingrays, and pretend to be legitimate cellphone towers in order to collect information. Privacy…
Read MoreConsumer Complaints About Telecoms On The Rise — Wireless Issues Most Common Beef – Business – CBC News
Canadians are becoming more vocal about poor service by their telecom providers, according to a report released on Tuesday by Canada’s telecom watchdog, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom Services (CCTS). The report shows in 2016-17, consumers filed more than 9,000 complaints with the CCTS. That’s up 11 per cent over the previous year, when 8,197 complaints were accepted, and reverses a three-year trend that saw complaints decline. Most people who filed a formal complaint were ticked off about their wireless accounts, accounting for 46 per cent of all complaints. Linda…
Read MoreCanada Should Fight For Open Internet, Says Former Head Of FCC – Politics – CBC News
The former head of the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. has a strong warning for Canada: do what you can to protect the internet. Tom Wheeler, head of the FCC under former U.S. president Barack Obama, said the Trump administration’s decision to repeal his net neutrality policy could become a cross-border issue. In 2015, Wheeler approved an order that barred internet service providers from blocking or slowing down consumer access to web content. This week, his replacement, Republican Ajit Pai, unveiled plans to repeal that decision and said the U.S. regulator will prevent states…
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