OTTAWA – While cable companies, telcos and others roll out service upon service, and have now made convergence a reality, government policy must reflect that, says the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
In its just-released annual report aptly entitled, On Demand, the CCTA points out how its members have launched voice services to go along with their digital cable and high speed Internet offerings – and in some cases, wireless, too.
A source of frustration to the industry as well have been the several Parliament Hill committees, often operating in their own little traditional silos. Recently, there are, or have…
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OTTAWA – Broadcast, cable and telecom initiatives currently before cabinet, committees and other Parliament Hill panels (like the repeatedly delayed amendments to the Radiocommunication Act) again face death or delay if another federal election is called.
We chatted with a few Ottawa-based broadcast, cable and telecom folks last week and at that point, all were guessing an election was in the offing this spring thanks to the Adscam inquiry. “Most Tories are saying, ‘let’s go now, don’t give them a chance,” said one Ottawa broadcasting insider. “Liberals are just hoping for the best.”
(These insiders most often like to…
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CALGARY – Prodded by analysts to peer into their regulatory crystal ball, Shaw Communications’ chief executives Jim Shaw and Peter Bissonnette said they envision an easier regulatory environment in the not-too-distant future.
During the company’s second quarter conference call on April 15, after fielding questions on going to all-digital and offering more channels on a pick-and-pay basis, CEO Shaw predicted policy changes on the horizon for Canadian television channels.
“We think the protectionist nature of programming now in Canada is going to change in that services will have to stand on their own merits,” he said, referring to the…
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