Search Results for: cogeco

Cable / Telecom News

TPIA demand not a problem: Cable

OTTAWA – Rogers Communications vice-president, regulatory, Ken Englehart told www.cartt.ca that the CRTC’s demand that cable open up its third party Internet access (TPIA) tariff agreements to explicitly include provisions for voice service, should not pose much of a problem. While the Commission did adjust its position somewhat, calling for cable to make provisions for access-dependent” third party voice, “things change” shrugged Englehart. “We had said that access independent voice (where the consumer and their new VOIP provider installs his or her own telephone service on top of their Rogers High Speed service) is okay. We think that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: VOIP is voice, says CRTC, but cable must make sure nets are open, too

OTTAWA – “Why did we find that VOIP is a telephone service? Because Canadians use it as a telephone service,” CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen said today at the Commission’s headquarters upon the release of its voice over Internet decision. The decision confirmed what the Commission had said previously: that it would continue to regulate VOIP when it is provided and used as a local telephone service. That means incumbents like Bell and Telus will continue to have to file rate tariffs with the Commission for approval – to make sure predatory pricing below cost doesn’t happen – while the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

VOIP is voice, says Commission, but cable must make sure nets are open, too

OTTAWA – “Why did we find that VOIP is a telephone service? Because Canadians use it as a telephone service,” CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen said today at the Commission’s headquarters upon the release of its voice over Internet decision. The decision confirmed what the Commission had said previously: that it would continue to regulate VOIP when it is provided and used as a local telephone service. That means incumbents like Bell and Telus will continue to have to file rate tariffs with the Commission for approval – to make sure predatory pricing below cost doesn’t happen – while the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

COMMENTARY: Will Ted now compete with Jim, or Louis, or PK?

TED ROGERS TURNED TO AN old friend this week to expand his telecom empire, but was a little unclear whether or not he’ll use his new hammer to nail his cable friends while building local telephony across the country. Today, Rogers Communications announced it would purchase Call-Net Enterprises, which does business mainly under the Sprint Canada name, in a $330 million all-stock deal. Still a money-losing competitive local exchange carrier (its net loss in 2004 was $78.4 million), Call-Net did book revenues last year of over $818 million and EBITDA of $105 million. Call-Net CEO Bill Linton is a… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

New Internet plan will protect kids

TORONTO – The Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation (CCAICE) today released its seven-point National Action Plan designed to help protect children from online sexual exploitation and to assist in bringing those who victimize children to justice. "The Action Plan is the result of unprecedented collaboration by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and industry leaders, law enforcement, government and non-governmental agencies," said Inspector Jennifer Strachan, Officer-in- Charge of the RCMP National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre. "However, to succeed we require the help and support of all Canadians to protect children online." The members of the coalition are: Cybertip.ca RCMP and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Sabia vows to appeal VOIP decision

WASHINGTON – Stressing he does not know what the CRTC’s voice over IP decision will be, Bell Canada Enterprises CEO Michael Sabia said today that if it reads the way he thinks it will, the company will immediately appeal it to the Federal Cabinet. Speaking at a media and telecom conference this morning in Washington, Sabia said he believes the Commission will side against the incumbent telephone companies (ILECs) and maintain certain regulatory restrictions on the likes of Bell Canada and Telus when it comes to voice over Internet telephony. The CRTC’s VOIP decision is due out sometime next… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw has a poor attitude “towards things gay,” says Pridevision owner

TORONTO – The owner of Pridevision TV and OUTtv says he may be forced to take Shaw Communications to court over what he says is unfair carriage of one of his channels by the large western cable company. At issue is the way category one digital service OUTtv is being packaged on Shaw Digital Cable. A little background: At launch and through its first years of existence, Pridevision was the category one (i.e. digital must-carry) gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered channel. It had lifestyle programming in the daytime and prime time hours and adult movies after hours. At launch,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Welcome to cartt.ca

HAVING COVERED THE Cable, radio, television and telecom markets for well over seven years now, you could say I was inspired. I’ve written about so many entrepreneurs who gambled and won (and a few who gambled and lost, too) that I suppose it had to rub off on me. Warning, blatant self-promotion now follows. So, on Monday, May 2 at 4:13 p.m., www.cartt.ca went live and on Tuesday, our first-ever newsletter went out filled with original stories you… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

TQS transmitter must stay, says CRTC

OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The run-down transmitter serving the 2,000 people in Saint Fulgence, Quebec, must stay, the CRTC ruled today. Cogeco Inc.-controlled broadcaster TQS had petitioned the Commission for the removal of transmitter CKTV-TV-1 Saint-Fulgence, which broadcasts CKTV Saguenay (an affiliate of CBC’s French-language sister, SRC), on the grounds that the site needed extensive repairs and that most people in the region were already getting the TV signal by cable and satellite anyway. The Commission denied the application by TQS inc. to remove the transmitter from its license. TQS told the Commission that its agreement with the CBC, “per se… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco signs Spitfires

WINDSOR – The Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires and TV COGECO recently announced that the cable community channel will be broadcasting all of the Windsor Spitfires home and away games for the entire 2005-2006 season. “We are very pleased to once again partner up with the committed crew at TV COGECO to bring Windsor and Essex County with the best Spitfire coverage possible”, commented Steve Horne, Spitfires director of sales and business development, in a release. “TV COGECO is proud to remain as the television home of the Windsor Spitfires”, added Rob Scussolin, programming and community relations manager with… Continue Reading