GATINEAU – After nearly two years since the CRTC set lower rates which the incumbent wired telecom carriers such as Bell and Rogers were to charge third party internet access providers like TekSavvy and Start.ca for access to those wired networks, the CRTC has decided to backtrack.
In its decision today on a review and vary filed by the incumbents (after they had appealed to both cabinet and the courts, too) the Commission today said it will make the interim wholesale rates which have been in place since 2016 the new permanent rates, except for a supplementary…
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CEO Péladeau has already said he is interested in Freedom Mobile
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau has been making headlines in recent weeks by suggesting he is interested in acquiring Freedom Mobile in the event that condition is forced by regulators as part of a Rogers-Shaw merger. Now, he’s sending lobbyists west to familiarize the brand.
During a conference call related to his company’s first quarter earnings report this month, Péladeau expressed interest in taking Videotron’s brand nationwide. He said regulatory conditions are better now, following the CRTC’s decision to give regional carriers access to the wireless…
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Says facilities-based is best
By Ken Kelley
TORONTO – When CRTC Chairperson and CEO Ian Scott looks back on all that has transpired in the last 15 months, he is especially proud of the way Canada’s ISPs rose to the unprecedented technological demands and other challenges posed by the pandemic. Speaking yesterday during a virtual event hosted by Canadian Club Toronto, Scott told Android Central’s Shruti Shekar industry players both big and small deserved a proverbial tip of the hat.
“Both large and small players navigated network management during an incredibly transformative period without a lot of disruption,” he told Shekar. “The…
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Association says consensus was achieved
By Steve Faguy
GATINEAU – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ submission to the CRTC’s commercial radio policy has exposed a long-standing rift between large and small broadcasters, and one of them is speaking up to say the CAB’s comments do not represent them.
Leclerc Communication, which owns two radio stations in Quebec City and one in Montreal, owes its very existence to the CRTC’s Common Ownership Policy, which sets limits on how many stations in one market a company can own. When Cogeco bought Corus’s Quebec radio stations in 2011, it was forced to divest two stations…
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TORONTO — Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS) today announced the launch of AudioVelocity, a new digital audio platform it says is designed to deliver advanced advertising solutions and real-time measurement to radio and podcast advertisers.
Providing enhanced targeting capabilities, the AudioVelocity platform allows advertisers to deliver messages through streamed and on-demand content via connected devices across CBS’s portfolio of leading Canadian broadcasters and podcasters, including confirmed partners Rogers Sports and Media, Corus Entertainment, Pattison Media, Cogeco Media, CBC, Vista Radio, Radioplayer Canada, Golden West Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio, and MBS Radio.
“Radio already delivers massive reach, excellent cost efficiency, and demonstrated impact for…
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LIGHTHOUSE COVE, Ont. – Construction has begun on the first of several projects to deliver better broadband to rural Essex County.
TekSavvy broke ground recently on its $2.1 million project to serve 540 homes and businesses in the community of Lighthouse Cove with fibre broadband, beginning by early 2022.
It’s part of a larger $19 million push in the county co-ordinated by SWIFT, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments as well as TekSavvy and Cogeco, to deliver high-speed internet to more than 5,170 underserved homes and businesses within Essex County. $8.5 million comes from SWIFT (which is of…
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QUEBEC and GUELPH – A $6.34-million joint investment from the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed will see 2,510 households in the Côte-de-Beaupré RCM gain access to Xplornet’s high-speed Internet services by September 2022, the Quebec government announced today.
Xplornet will receive $3.8 million from the governments, with the rest coming from the company.
The communities to be covered by fibre include Beaupré, Boischatel, Château-Richer, L’Ange-Gardien, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Saint-Joachim, Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague-du-Cap-Tourmente, Saint-Tite-des-Caps
Also today, Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) announced construction of new broadband infrastructure continues to move forward in Wellington County as Cogeco Connexion breaks ground to bring high-speed internet service to more than…
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QUÉBEC CITY — In the latest broadband funding announcement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, a joint investment of $81.36 million made as part of the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed program will help to deliver high-speed Internet services to 18,200 households in the Outaouais region (north of Gatineau) by September 2022.
The projects, which will be implemented by Cogeco and Xplornet, have a total value of $112.09 million, says the government’s press release.
Cogeco will receive $23.8 million in funding to provide high-speed Internet access to 2,890 households, while Xplornet will receive $57.5 million to connect 15,310 homes.
The municipalities…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today in an information bulletin it is adopting a new standardized approach to monitoring linear community channels and on-demand community programming services, which will serve as general guidance going forward and will come into effect on September 1, 2021.
In July 2020, the Commission launched a proceeding to gather input on its proposed standardized approaches to monitoring community programming. The Commission received 10 interventions from Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, SaskTel, Telus, Csur la tele, the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the Conseil provincial du secteur…
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CRTC focuses on accelerating regional carrier network builds. Eyes now on Cogeco if regulatory conditions satisfy mobile entry
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – In requiring the country’s largest telecommunications companies to negotiate access to its wireless network with regional carriers, the CRTC has signaled its desire to bolster the fourth players and help accelerate the expansion and deployment of those networks, the Commission’s head Ian Scott said Thursday.
But the Regulator will not require those regional carriers to come to commercial arrangements with smaller players on that leased capacity, with Scott only saying they are permitted to do so.
In essence, Thursday’s decision…
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