GATINEAU – The basic service objective (BSO) hearing changed mid-stream when CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais made the unprecedented move of delivering a statement declaring broadband “vital” to Canadians. After that, a National Broadband Strategy (NBS) – what should it look like, how do we get there and the role for the Commission – became a huge part of the discussions.
In his April 18 address to the hearing, he asked parties to think about these and other issues related to an NBS and present potential policies.
When Rogers Communications appeared before the commission in April, it raised the concept of a…
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GATNIEAU – Many broadband Internet providers say the CRTC must refrain from adopting new funding mechanisms for the deployment of high-speed networks to under-served and unserved areas of the country and let the market play it out.
In final submissions to the basic service objective (BSO) proceeding, providers are nearly unanimous in arguing that the current approach of market forces and targeted government funding is working. They say 96% of Canadians already have access to a minimum 5/1 Mbps (downstream/upstream) service and that figure will jump to 98% once the final round of Connecting Canadians funding is spent.
For Bell Canada,…
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Newspaper ad targets Heritage Minister
MONTREAL – Avis de recherche, the Quebec TV channel devoted to public safety, is off the air. Its studios are empty, and its staff that reached 20 people at its peak were all laid off after the three major providers in the province, Vidéotron, Cogeco and Bell, dropped it at the end of April.
That hasn't stopped owner Vincent Géracitano from continuing his crusade to find some deus ex machina to bring it back. With appeals to the CRTC and federal court exhausted, he's gone to publicly appealing to Heritage…
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QUEBEC – A new law requiring Quebec-based Internet service providers to block certain gambling websites has passed the province’s National Assembly and been signed into law, despite strong concerns expressed by opposition parties, ISPs and Internet policy experts.
Bill 74, an omnibus bill that implements legislative changes announced in the governing Liberal Party’s 2015 budget, includes a section giving provincial lottery board Loto-Québec the power to require ISPs to block a list of websites it determines to be allowing illegal online gambling.
“We have concerns,” Parti Québécois finance critic Nicolas Marceau told the legislature before the bill was adopted on May…
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TORONTO – Bell Media’s Bravo has unveiled a slate of new and returning dramas as it preps for a month-long free preview starting June 1st.
The new shows include crime drama Animal Kingdom which debuts June 14 with a two-hour premier, mystery series Guilt on June 21, as well as the return of its original series 19-2 (pictured) on June 20. Cult favourite Pretty Little Liars also debuts on Bravo starting June 21.
The Bravo Freeview will run June 1 – 30 on over 30 TV service providers across Canada, including Bell, Rogers, Eastlink, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Cogeco, Telus, Sasktel, Tbaytel, Videotron,…
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TORONTO – With less than two weeks until the start of the 2016 Canadian Telecom Summit, Videotron president and CEO Manon Brouillette, Xplornet Communications president and CEO Allison Lenehan, Cogeco Peer 1 president Philippe Jetté, and Zayo Group chairman and CEO Dan Caruso are among the industry heavyweights confirmed as keynote speakers.
Scheduled for June 6 – 8 at the Toronto Congress Centre in Toronto, the theme for 2016 is ‘Transforming our digital world: The journey to universal connectivity’.
Now in its 15th year, the Canadian Telecom Summit attracts the people who shape the future direction of communications and information technology in…
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BOSTON – For those who remember The Cable Show of old, INTX 2016 pales by comparison. Traffic on the show floor seemed pretty light this year and the show is far smaller than just a few years ago.
At one time, tech vendors and broadcasters had huge booths on the trade show floor and the show itself drew something like 15,000 cable professionals. However, with the global shift to IP delivery of everything and with cable channels and their content being distributed far and wide on all sorts of new platforms, the industry seems to be pondering the question: “what…
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BOSTON – Even as the U.S. cable industry scrambles to eliminate the need for installing traditional set-top boxes in the home, it has stepped up its fierce fight against a regulatory proposal to open up the set top leasing business and stoke retail competition.
As we reported earlier, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) president and CEO Michael Powell lambasted Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler for promoting the proposed 'Unlock the Set-top' rulemaking. If it gains Commission approval later this year, the controversial proposed rule would mandate that cable operators give third party manufacturers…
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TORONTO – Women in Film & Television – Toronto (WIFT-T) and the Foundation for WIFT-T have added four new directors to its boards for the 2016-2017 term.
Announced at the organization’s annual general meeting this week, the newly elected directors for WIFT-T are Sonia Brar, VP information technology at Bell Media, and Marilyn Orecchio, VP national sales at Corus Entertainment. The newly elected directors for the Foundation for WIFT-T are Dianna Klisanin, development consultant, and Linda Stregger, BA, CPA CMA, media industry tax specialist at Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLC.
“We are pleased to welcome Sonia Brar and Marilyn Orecchio to the WIFT-T…
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GATINEAU – Three of the country’s smaller, but major, ISPs have told the CRTC’s basic service objective hearing that it shouldn’t micromanage the broadband file by explicitly developing mechanisms to deal with service gaps. SaskTel, Cogeco and MTS all believe that governments are far better positioned to handle infrastructure and affordability issues.
In his opening remarks on Monday, SaskTel president and CEO Ron Stiles argued market forces combined with targeted government funding has worked for the vast majority of communities in Saskatchewan. To encourage additional broadband deployment, the CRTC should stay away from “prescriptive” approaches but rather set new higher…
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