By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage met for the eighth time to hear witnesses’ testimonies on Bill C-10, the Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, on Monday. We’ve pretty much got a bead on who’s thinking what, now.
We heard again from Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (Friends) whose question time had been taken up by committee business and the Fedération National des Communications which could not appear in a previous meeting due to technical problems.
They were joined by BCE, Unifor, and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). Shaw had been slotted to…
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By Jay Thomson
THE CCSA WAS FORMED in the early 1990s, around the same time as the current Broadcasting Act came into force. Like the Act back then, our members at the time did not contemplate the growth in size and influence of the “foreign digital giants”.
But also like the Act back then, our members did not contemplate the massive consolidation that would take place in the Canadian broadcasting industry.
Neither the Act nor our members contemplated that just three domestic companies – Bell, Rogers and Quebecor – would come to dominate Canada’s communications marketplace; that, through ownership of most of…
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QUISPAMSIS – Nationwide voting is now open for Tuned-In Canada: the CCSA Awards.
The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance awards is a long-standing annual initiative which celebrates the contributions its independent communications company members make to their communities and customers.
Canadians are invited to visit www.tunedincanada.com/vote/ to cast a vote for nominees in the following three contest categories:
Best people: on-camera community channel personality
Best story: giving back
Best photo: connecting Canadians (short-listed pictures shown above)
Voting takes place using SMS authentication and Canadians can cast their votes until April 1st. Winners will be announced April 12th and each will receive $1,000 to donate to…
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VANCOUVER and GATINEAU — Independent service provider Novus Entertainment is asking the CRTC for help to gain timely access to a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) development in Coquitlam, B.C., and other future MDU developments by Beedie Living and related companies.
A member of the Canadian Communications Systems Alliance (CCSA), Novus provides telephone, TV and Internet services exclusively to residents of MDU buildings, primarily in and around Metro Vancouver, and is looking to expand its business.
The Coquitlam development in question in Novus’ Part 1 application, submitted March 1, is The Heights on Austin, to which Novus says it has so far…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance has announced the shortlisted nominees for three of its five contest categories for Tuned-In Canada 2021, the organization’s long-standing annual initiative which celebrates the contributions CCSA-Member independent communications companies make to their communities and for their customers.
Judges Matt Polka (president and CEO of ACA Connects – America’s Communications Association), Suzanne Lamarre (lawyer at Therrien Couture and former CRTC commissioner), Greg O’Brien (editor and publisher of Cartt.ca), and newcomer judge Greg Hemmings (founder and CEO of New Brunswick-based Hemmings House Pictures) have completed the scoring process for the three “Public Voting” contest…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. — The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) announced today nominations are now open for Tuned-In Canada: The CCSA Awards 2021, which celebrate the contributions CCSA-member independent communications companies make to their communities and customers.
“If ever there was a time to recognize the amazing ways in which our members serve Canadians across this country, the time is now!” said Jay Thomson, CEO of the CCSA, in a press release. “We are fortunate that we can take this opportunity to celebrate how, in the face of the unprecedented challenges Canadians have faced this past year, CCSA members have kept…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Late in 2019, in following up its universal service objective decision, the CRTC decided to study the barriers to building new facilities or to accessing or interconnecting with existing facilities in order to extend broadband networks more efficiently into underserved areas, including areas where, due to a lack of such networks, speeds don’t meet the service objectives.
Of course, in March 2020, the pandemic hit, and a vast number of Canadians went home to work, becoming completely dependent on their home’s high-speed Internet to continue work and school. Access to high-speed Internet rapidly became a political…
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Government promises faster action, 250,000 new connections by the end of 2021
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The federal government announced Monday that it will begin accepting applications for its Universal Broadband Fund, which will now include an additional $750 million of new money and a fast-track application stream.
The $1.75-billion program, announced in the federal budget back in March 2019, will carve out $150 million to provide rapid project completion by November 15, 2021 for “shovel-ready” projects. The government anticipates spending up to $5 million on the speedier projects – applications of which are due by January 2021 – which…
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Videotron, others, are skeptical of Bell’s commitments
By Denis Carmel
MONTREAL – On Friday, Bell Canada issued a news release announcing new measures to simplify the process for access to poles by recipients of the Québec Branché and Régions Branchées grant programs and other service providers.
This follows a process announced by the Government of Québec back in May 2020, along with the members of a working group that was tasked to accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet in rural regions through a program financed by the Government of Québec.
“To address the many technical challenges associated with the deployment of fibre…
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TORONTO – Bell Media’s 24-hour news network CTV News Channel has launched a nationwide free preview, the broadcaster announced today.
The free preview is available through participating television service providers across the country, including but not limited to Bell, Bell Aliant, BellMTS, Cogeco, Eastlink, Rogers, SaskTel, and participating members of the CCSA.
Please click here for more.
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