Shaw Communications is among those lauding the new 600 MHz wireless spectrum auction framework announcement by Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Shaw Communications is among those lauding the new 600 MHz wireless spectrum auction framework announcement by Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Scheduled for March 2019, the auction of the airwaves that carry cellular signals, will set aside 43 per cent of spectrum for regional competitors and potential new market entrants.

The CRTC says wireless service providers will be required to participate in the National Public Alerting System (NPAS) and distribute wireless public alert messages on their LTE networks as of Apr. 6. Nationwide testing will start in early May to help Canadians distinguish the alerts from regular text messages. By Apr. 2019, all mobile devices sold are expected to be alert-capable.

Virgin Mobile Canada has opened submissions for the first-ever Canadian edition of the global Pitch to Rich contest, giving aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to win a meeting with Richard Branson and $10,000 toward their business idea. Until Apr. 24, Canadians can submit a short elevator pitch for their mobile-related business idea by visiting virginmobile.ca/pitch2rich. Branson will be part of the team who will review the submissions and hand-pick the grand prize winner to be announced May 1.

APTN, CBC News Edmonton and CBC’s The National are among those with multiple nominations heading into the Canadian Association of Journalists’ 2017 CAJ Awards. The recipients in each category will be announced May 5 at the CAJ Awards gala and conference banquet in Toronto. Find the full list of nominees here.

Ad Standards is out with its 2017 Ad Complaints Report Year in Review. Consumers submitted 1,808 complaints, of which 1,172 complaints met the criteria for acceptance under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. They included: complaints in which no specific advertisement was identified; complaints about advertisements that were no longer current; complaints about foreign advertising or political or election advertising; and complaints about advertisements that did not meet the Code definition of advertising. In 2017, 575 complaints were further investigated. Of those, 173 complaints were upheld. You can read the full report here.

The 2018 Canadian ISP Summit, presented by the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) has issued a call for content in keeping with the theme of this year’s theme Beyond Connectivity. Set for Nov. 5-7 in Toronto, the conference will explore how service providers can meet an evolving consumer focus away from connectivity. More information is available here. All proposals must be submitted by July 1.