MONTREAL – Cogeco announced Thursday the appointment of Tim Dinesen to senior vice president and chief technology officer, effective September 11.
“Tim’s impressive track record, extensive experience in telecommunications, and passion for technology make him the ideal candidate for this highly strategic position at Cogeco as our business transforms and digital becomes increasingly embedded in our operations,” said Cogeco president and CEO Philippe Jette in a press release.
“In this role, he will evolve Cogeco’s technology and innovation strategy, as well as lead the deployment of emerging technologies,” Jette added. “I am very pleased that he is joining us and contributing…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied Tuesday an application requesting that the regulator increase the price of the basic television package from $25 to $28 per month and to index the price to inflation.
The application, filed by Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel, was denied on the basis that there was insufficient evidence provided to suggest that the $25 price was no longer economically viable for the providers, the regulator said, noting the “strength of the BDU industry.”
Ironically, the CRTC argued inflation actually provides more justification for a price cap on the cost of the mandatory carriage package because consumers…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC approved an application by Natyf TV forcing broadcasters in Quebec to carry its channel on basic TV packages for five years.
The regulator approved a monthly wholesale cost per subscriber to carry the channel of 12 cents for the term, which will run from September 1 this year to August 31, 2028.
The channel, owned by Melkisedek Media Inc., caters to Francophone “racialized” communities in the province, “with the aim of reflecting those communities’ interests and encouraging a new group of Francophone creators from ethnocultural communities,” the CRTC said. The programming is entirely broadcast in French and…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC announced Thursday its game plan to implement legislation that would force large technology platforms to compensate news publishers if they want to continue to link to their content.
The regulator will essentially embark on creating the regulatory backstop needed to catch any mandatory commercial negotiations between platforms and news publishers that fall through.
As such, in the same way it announced how it would tackle the Online Streaming Act, the CRTC said it will first launch a public consultation this fall to gather comments.
At this point, it will also issue a call for proposals…
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ESSEX COUNTY, ON – The governments of Canada and Ontario announced last week they are providing more than $3.1 million in joint funding for three fibre broadband projects bringing high-speed internet access to a total of 1,915 homes, farms and businesses in Essex County, Ont., located east and southeast of the Windsor area.
The funding is being provided as part of Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc.’s (SWIFT) broadband expansion plan for Southwestern Ontario.
SWIFT originally awarded the contracts for these fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) projects in October 2020. TekSavvy Solutions was awarded contracts for two…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell CEO Mirko Bibic said Thursday that the telecom has a tiny amount of lead cables left in its network as it moves toward replacing the legacy cables with fibre, following a report from the Wall Street Journal last month that alleged the toxic substance was lingering in America’s telecommunications cables.
The Journal report alleges when the cables still in service degrade, the lead spreads to the surrounding environment, allegedly posing a health hazard. AT&T, working with regulators, has since denied the health hazard claims related to its own cables and has suspended the removal of them from…
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CBC calls it “irresponsible” and “abuse of power”; CAB says it shows “tangible disregard for democracy”
Starting Tuesday, Meta has begun blocking Canadian news content on Facebook and Instagram for their users in Canada.
In an update Tuesday to its June announcement of its intention to end news availability on its platforms in Canada, in response to the passing of the Online News Act, Meta says these changes “will be implemented for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the course of the next few weeks.”
The changes mean news links…
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Large telecoms emphasize need for mobile wireless projects
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Service providers are providing mixed responses to the CRTC’s proposal to use the Broadband Fund to subsidize the ongoing cost of operating networks it helps build, with responses ranging from not expanding its use beyond its current boundaries and allowing for its use for that purpose.
The CRTC launched a proceeding in March to broaden the scope of the $750-million fund supported by telecom revenues, from which three rounds of funding had been opened.
The commission – surveying the influx of other federal broadband programs since the emergence of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Quebecor has won an arbitration hearing at the CRTC to determine the cost to access Bell’s wireless network.
In a letter dated July 13, the CRTC accepted Quebecor’s June 22 application for the commission to call the final offer for that access, which the Montreal-based company said is integral for its mobile virtual network operator business and its growth as the fourth national carrier after acquiring Freedom Mobile from Shaw.
Quebecor argued that the two sides tried their best but could not hammer out a deal within the 30 days they were required to make a best-efforts…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – With less than a month remaining to get an agreement hammered before the CRTC-imposed deadline, Cogeco CEO Philippe Jette said the telecom is still working to get a deal done to roam on the large carriers’ wireless networks.
“We’re still determined to launch a mobile service in Canada and we are now in negotiations with the MNO,” Jette said on the company’s fiscal third-quarter conference call with analysts Friday. “For competitive reasons, we won’t go further on this call…it remains a critical element for our business case to enter for the long-term this market, so we…
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