TekSavvy
Website | www |
---|
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. (TSI) is a Canadian residential, business, and wholesale telecommunications company based in Chatham, Ontario. In most of the country, it is a wholesale-network-access-based service provider and voice reseller, connecting its service to existing last mile networks from telecom carriers Bell Canada (including Bell Aliant) and Telus Communications, and cable carriers Rogers Communications, Cogeco Cable, Shaw and Vidéotron. However, in parts of rural southwestern Ontario, the service is provided over TekSavvy's own fixed wireless network (branded as "Sky Fi"). Recently they have also rolled out their own fibre optic network in parts of southwestern Ontario.
History
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. was founded in January 1998.
Services
While TekSavvy operates primarily by connecting its service to network access ("last mile" infrastructure) from Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw, Telus and Vidéotron, the service differs in terms of pricing and features according to the network access platform to which it is connected.
Broadband Business Internet, Fiber Dedicated Access, VOIP Telephony and Web hosting services are available in most service areas.[5]
Wireless broadband
TekSavvy offers fixed wireless broadband (branded as "Sky Fi") in rural areas of Chatham-Kent and the counties of Lambton and Essex in Ontario using unlicensed spectrum.[6]
Digital subscriber line (DSL)
TekSavvy offers digital subscriber line (DSL) service using Bell lines in Ontario and Quebec, Telus lines in Alberta and British Columbia, and Bell Aliant lines in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Before the summer of 2011, TekSavvy could only access Bell's "Performance" speed tier, with maximum speeds of 5 Mbit/s. Starting in July 2011, several months after the Canadian government allowed third-party ISPs to access higher speed tiers, TekSavvy started offering the same DSL speed tiers found at Bell. High-end plans with 10+ Mbit/s upload speeds require an approved
On March 20, 2013, TekSavvy added a 50 Mbit/s tier, the fastest
Cable Internet
TekSavvy's
Telephone
TekSavvy also provides a long-distance calling service using VoIP. The home phone service (branded as "TekTalk") is available in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
Television
TekSavvy TV is a residential over-the-top television service available to select TekSavvy Internet customers. The service, offered by affiliate company Hastings Cable Vision, launched on February 1, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario. Later expansions brought the service to more regions in Ottawa and Quebec.[9][10]
The service consists of a low cost digital basic package, with over 45 channels from over 20 networks, including must-carry channels and several provincial channels. Additional channels may be purchased with pick packs, consisting of 10 to 40 channels from a catalogue of 93 channels, or with theme packs, such as movies and sports. TekSavvy also offers video-on-demand content and TV Everywhere service from selected TV channels.
Opposition to usage-based billing
TekSavvy has been very public about its stance against
Policy on disclosure of subscriber personal information
TekSavvy has a policy to "not provide personal information to a 3rd party when copyright infringement is alleged unless ordered to do so by a court... [and] do its best to ensure that its customers receive notice when disclosure of their personal information is sought in such cases."[13]
Voltage Pictures v. Does
In November 2012, Voltage Pictures, an American film production company with a history of filing lawsuits against people alleged to have illegally shared movies online, sought disclosure of personal information belonging to approximately 2000 TekSavvy subscribers based on data collected by the Canadian anti-piracy company Canipre between September 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012.[14][15]
On November 14, 2012 Voltage filed a
On February 21, 2014 the Federal Court released its decision compelling TekSavvy to identify the consumers identified by Voltage as alleged downloaders while also implementing several constraints on Voltage. The court ruled that the demand letters sent by Voltage to the specified consumers be approved by a judge to ensure "there is no inappropriate language" and that "any correspondence... shall clearly state in bold type that no court has yet made a determination that such subscriber has infringed or is liable in any way for payment of damages", and that Voltage must pay TekSavvy's legal costs and any costs associated with identifying the consumers.[18] The Federal Court ruling further limited the information Voltage could request from TekSavvy, only permitting them to access the names and mailing addresses of the subscribers in question.
TekSavvy stated in a February 21, 2014 press release that they were satisfied with the framework implemented by the Federal Court for the case, claiming that it will protect consumers by discouraging future copyright trolling, but will only provide the information when Voltage meets all conditions of the courts orders and the affected customers have been notified.[17] Yet, some scholars have contended that the framework implemented by the Federal Court in this case fails to adequately protect the affected customers' online privacy rights in accordance with the principles articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Spencer.[19]
See also
- Net neutrality
References
- ^ "TekSavvy: About". Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ Rogers Communications (2011). "Profit 200". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ DSL reports (2011). "Charts - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Issue #613". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Branham 300 Top 20 Movers & Shakers". Branham Group Inc. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ TekSavvy (2011). "Please select your region". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "SkyFi". TekSavvy Help Centre. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ "Residential Internet". TekSavvy. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ^ "DSL TekSavvy Online Help Centre". Retrieved 2014-08-27.
- ^ "TekSavvy Announces Partnership with Hastings CableVision". www.newswire.ca. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Chatham-based company expanding TekSavvy TV into Ottawa". Chatham, ON: Chatham Daily News. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ Gaudrault, Rocky (February 7, 2011). "Internet usage debate, Part 1: The real myths". Financial Post. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ TekSavvy News
- ^ TekSavvy: Copyright FAQ Archived 2013-08-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ Voltage Pictures LLC Statement of Claim. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ "Voltage Pictures is back, suing Oregonians who shared movies online". 12 August 2014.
- ^ Court docket. Retrieved July 02, 2013
- ^ a b "Ruling in Filesharing Suit Imposes new Safeguards for Canadians". TekSavvy in the News. TekSavvy Solutions Inc. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "TekSavvy ordered to ID alleged movie downloaders". CBC News. The Canadian Press. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Okidegbe, Ngozi (2014). "Rethinking online privacy in Canada: Commentary on Voltage Pictures v. John and Jane Doe". Canadian Journal of Law and Technology. 12 (2): 244–253.