GATINEAU – After reviewing a dozen of the new submissions made at the CRTC’s latest wireless policy review submission deadline on Friday, we can confidently say: No one has yet changed their mind since the last rounds of information were filed.
The arguments, butressed by some new expert reports in some instances, mostly bolster what has been said and repeated early and often.
The incumbent carriers say mandated mobile virtual network operators riding on their networks as wireless resellers will cause them to decrease investment.
Poppycock, says the Canadian Network Operators and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance. “Such threats have never, not…
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OTTAWA – The judicial process against the CRTC’s August decision on the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access (HSA) service will go forward – and the decision’s application will remain suspended pending a ruling from the Federal Court of Appeal.
This means that the rates in force today are the interim ones set in 2016 and retroactive payments set out in the summer decision are suspended, pending the court’s decision.
The FCA had already granted a temporary stay on October 1st.
Justice Richard Boivin determined “the implementation of the CRTC Order that could result in a permanent market distortion…
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OTTAWA – Back in the summer, as we reported, Justices from the Federal Court ordered the individuals operating the so-called GoldTV Services to cease operations.
They are unauthorized subscription services that provide access to programming content over the Internet without having obtained the rights, a violation of the Copyright Act, and Bell Media, Groupe TVA, and Rogers Media had all pursued the matter in court.
Despite the issuance of injunctions, the Court, in a decision released last week, says some of the GoldTV services remain in operation and the infringements continue.
Last Friday, the Complainants against Gold, Rogers,…
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MONTREAL – Leclerc Communications’ desire to get into Quebec's largest market may cost Montreal listeners their classical music station.
The company announced on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement to purchase Montreal's CJPX-FM (Radio Classique 99.5) from entertainer Gregory Charles. An application published by the CRTC the same day sets the purchase price at $3.88 million.
Charles, who bought CJPX-FM and sister station CJSQ-FM in Quebec City from founder Jean-Pierre Coallier in 2015, will keep CJSQ-FM and the radioclassique.ca website. However, with CJPX being unprofitable, it's hard to imagine how CJSQ could remain so without its big brother.
Before it takes…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s major cable carriers (Eastlink, Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron) Wednesday made the point to federal cabinet that all the CRTC decision on new third party internet access aggregated wholesale rates does is disincentivize needed investment in high-speed networks, which is contrary to public interest.
November 13th was the deadline to file petitions to Cabinet (technically to the Governor-in-Council with cabinet) on the August CRTC decision to set lower final rates for TPIA – and force the incumbents to pay three years of retroactive overpayments to independent ISP resellers – and as the cable carriers argue, “by reducing…
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BOCA RATON, FL and TORONTO — Global digital infrastructure investor Digital Colony announced Tuesday afternoon it is acquiring independent fibre-optic network provider Beanfield Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
Toronto-based Beanfield’s portfolio includes 366 route kilometres of pervasive and dense metro fibre infrastructure in Toronto and Montreal and more than 76,000 strand kilometres of fibre infrastructure, representing an average of 208 strands per route kilometre. The company also has 541 on-net locations, including 367 commercial locations, 161 multi-dwelling units and 13 data centres, according to a news release issued by Digital Colony. Cartt.ca profiled Beanfield…
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Incumbents ask for two more months to file their R&V of the wholesale rates decision
GATINEAU – Following the August CRTC decision on final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed internet access services (CRTC Telecom Order 2019-288), it was obvious by their collective reaction that the incumbent ISPs would challenge the decision, by any and all means necessary.
They went to the Federal Court of Appeal already and were granted a stay, as we reported, and the next step is to ask the CRTC to review, rescind or vary its own decision, as provided…
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HAMILTON – There were five original owners of the first Hamilton Community Cable Access channel – now well known in the Steel City as Cable 14.
The city was an anomaly with five strong, growing, cable operators in the early ’70s. The owners of General Co-Axial Service (which would become Mountain Cablevision), MacLean-Hunter Cable TV, Northgate Cable T.V., Hamilton Co-Axial (which would become Source Cable) and Western Co-Axial TV and Appliance Service all thought it would be better to pool their resources on a single community channel to serve their city, which they launched in 1969 without (gasp!) regulatory permission.
So,…
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MONTREAL – Broadband provider and broadcaster Cogeco Inc. saw its fourth quarter 2019 revenue increase by 3.1% compared to Q4 last year to reach $610.5 million, the company reported late Wednesday.
Revenue for the full fiscal year, ended August 31st, came in at $2.44 billion, an 8% increase.
Revenue increased in the company’s communications (video, broadband, home phone) segment, “mostly as a result of organic growth and the acquisition of the south Florida fibre network previously owned by FiberLight… on October 3, 2018 combined with the activation of bulk properties in Florida during the fourth quarter of…
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GATINEAU – After being told its first application was deficient, Videotron rewrote the CRTC to rectify the company’s application and request again the withdrawal for its unbundled up-to-1 Gbps download, up-to-100 Mbps upload service since as October 23rd, it no longer has any more wholesale clients on that tier.
As before the company wants to also grandfather its retail clients who pay for the service, but stop offering to any new customers.
The removal of top speed services tilts against the prevailing winds in the broadband world.
Generally, withdrawal/de-standardization like this takes place when a service is…
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