Shaw fastest fixed broadband provider during the quarter
SEATTLE — In its latest quarterly report, released today, Seattle-based mobile and broadband network testing company Ookla says Telus Communications was the fastest mobile operator in Canada in the third quarter of 2021, while Shaw Communications was the fastest fixed broadband provider in the country during Q3.
Using its Speedtest Intelligence data for Q3, Ookla awarded Telus a speed score of 81.93 for its mobile network performance. The next fastest mobile operator was Bell with a speed score of 77.15, according to Ookla’s report. The remaining top mobile providers included in the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is now allowing Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC) to participate in the proceeding dealing with the broadcast side of the proposed Rogers/Shaw transaction as an interested party, thereby granting it several new rights.
In a letter dated Oct. 7, the CRTC authorized CPAC to appear at the upcoming hearing into the matter in its own right and granted CPAC the right for its representatives to participate in any in camera discussions that may be held regarding its governance.
The CRTC also granted CPAC “the right to file a reply to intervenors in accordance with section 27…
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TORONTO – WildBrain Television announced today its fall lineup for Family Channel and Family Jr., which include several exclusive Canadian broadcast premieres.
“This October, WildBrain Television is handing out treats for the whole family to enjoy,” a press release says.
New programming includes Game of Talents (pictured above), which will premiere exclusively on Family Channel on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Hosted by Wayne Brady (Let’s Make A Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), the show “infuses the spectacle of a large-scale variety show with a clue-centered, high-intensity investigative game, pitting two teams of contestants against each other as they attempt to…
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PIAC supports it and Cogeco remains silent
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On May 4, 2021, Data on Tap (dotmobile) filed an appeal to Cabinet of the CRTC’s review of mobile wireless services, which dealt with access by Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) to facilities of the three large wireless operators.
In a nutshell, the CRTC gave access only to players that already had facilities.
To that extent Québecor directly benefited from the policy and subsequently acquired more facilities at the last 3500 MHz auction, as did 11 other regional competitors.
And in their Sept. 22 comments on dotmobile’s petition, written in…
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TORONTO — Corus Entertainment announced today the Peacock Original series Frogger, a new game show based on the iconic 1980s video game, will premiere on its kids’ channel YTV on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
“The new game show promises to test skill, strategy and strength as contestants go through incredible obstacle courses in hope of bringing home $100,000!” reads a Corus press release.
The competition series is hosted by Damon Wayans Jr. (above, left) and Kyle Brandt (right) and invites contestants from across the U.S. “to test their physical prowess and problem-solving skills on a variety of epic…
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By Denis Carmel
Several Internet service providers and related groups have now officially weighed in on TekSavvy and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) petitions to the Governor in Council, requesting cabinet overturn CRTC Decision 2021-181.
Unsurprisingly, competitive high-speed access (HSA) providers appealed CRTC Decision 2021-181, which reversed the Commission’s own Decision 2019-288, setting final rates on HSA. The rates had been interim ones since 2016.
This reversal came after the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed the CRTC’s 2019 decision and the Supreme Court denied the incumbents’ appeal to the Highest Court. It also came after the government refused to send…
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GATINEAU – Major concerns have been raised about the broadcasting side of the proposed Rogers/Shaw deal, which is currently being reviewed by the CRTC.
Individuals and organizations had until last Monday to send in their submissions in response to the Commission’s call for comments on Rogers’ application to the CRTC on behalf of Shaw to acquire Shaw’s licensed broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs), Shaw Direct, Shaw Broadcast Services and Shaw Pay-Per-View.
Bell, Telus, Independent Broadcasters Group (IBG), Cogeco, Corus, Ethnic Channels Group (ECG) and TLN, Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) are…
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By Ken Kelley
Evoking the name of founder Ted Rogers, Rogers CEO Joe Natale said he sees a certain irony in Bell Canada filing its opposition to his company’s impending tie-up with Shaw on broadcast grounds.
“In Rogers’ 60-year history, we’ve always been the challenger, and in many ways, kind of standing up against the larger players in the market, the challenger to Bell on many fronts,” Natale said, speaking at BMO’s virtual Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
“And there’s a high degree of irony in Bell looking at us as being a bigger player. Ted Rogers is probably smiling…
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By Ken Kelley
Has media streaming reached peak oversaturation? It is a question Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy pondered during his appearance at BMO’s 22nd annual Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
While discussing the similarities between linear and digital advertising with moderator Tim Casey, Murphy acknowledged that regardless of how the public consumes television content – whether via a traditional cable television subscription or by an offering such as Corus’ wildly popular StackTV, which he said continues adding upwards of 100,000 subs per quarter – channel surfing appears to be an underrated, and arguably underappreciated, phenomenon.
“StackTV has demonstrated…
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Meeting notes show pole replacement and refurbishment listed as significant barrier, but it’s about speed
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers and Cogeco were among several internet service providers that met with stakeholders in the Ontario government in November 2020 to address wireline pole attachment issues in the province – but the rates to attach equipment were not identified as a significant barrier, according to notes from the meeting obtained by Cartt.ca.
At around $43 per attachment, per pole, Ontario has the country’s highest cost to attach telecommunications equipment on the wood poles, which run along highways and are a primary alternative…
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