By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has rejected an application requesting that it say subsidized builds in southwestern Ontario must be open for bundled fibre access.
Ontario-based consulting firm Broadlytics had requested last summer that the regulator find that all builds subsidized by public dollars through the not-for-profit Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) project be made to comply with the regulator’s new wholesale internet framework, which currently requires that telcos – Bell, Telus and SaskTel – provide access to their combined middle and last-mile fibre networks.
But the CRTC on Friday said Bell, the only provider subject to the bundled…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is mandating that all service providers report the origin of nuisance or spam calls, rejecting a request by some smaller service providers to be spared from the new condition of service.
“The Commission considers that excluding specific types of TSPs could leave a loophole for nuisance calls to enter Canada through TSPs excluded from the traceback process,” the CRTC said in a decision Friday.
“Requiring all TSPs that provide voice telecommunications services to participate in the traceback process would enable Commission staff to respond to complaints from customers of any TSP” and “prevent a TSP from ignoring…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) says it is committing to expanding funding eligibility to online streamers and international distributors in what it calls a “meaningful evolution in who gets a seat at the table.”
The fund says it wants to “remove barriers” to the money “for a wider range of creators, platforms, and partners,” which also includes indigenous and equity-deserving communities. This comes as the CRTC works to integrate streamers into the broadcasting system and having them get more involved in Canadian productions.
The CMF goal falls under the “maximize” portion of a four-part, three-year strategic plan, released Thursday.
“The…
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Corus Entertainment announced Tuesday it has received an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to proceed with its previously announced recapitalization transaction, which is designed to reduce the media company’s third-party debt and other liabilities by more than $500 million.
Other expected benefits of the recapitalization include decreasing Corus’s initial annual cash interest payments by up to $40 million, as well as extending debt maturity by five years and maintaining continued access to a $125-million secured revolving credit facility.
The court approval for the recapitalization transaction comes after…
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The CRTC told Cogeco in a letter last week to maintain TekSavvy’s access to its network, after the latter informed the commission that Cogeco was on the verge of decommissioning copper facilities that TekSavvy currently relies on to provide internet service to customers in Ontario.
The CRTC has instructed Cogeco to continue providing wholesale access to TekSavvy either by maintaining existing hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) wholesale infrastructure at four Ontario locations targeted for decommissioning or by providing TekSavvy access to newly installed fibre facilities at the current HFC available speed and…
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Rogers’s new TV services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Magnolia Network have exceeded 210,000 subscribers, making them no longer exempt discretionary services.
As such, the CRTC has approved an application from Rogers Media for broadcasting licences to operate the five TV services, the licences for which will expire on Aug. 31, 2026.
Rogers acquired the Canadian programming and brand rights to Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Magnolia Network from Warner Bros. Discovery in the summer of 2024. Corus Entertainment and Bell previously held these Canadian programming rights.
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By Ahmad Hathout
Internet service provider Fibernetics is asking the CRTC to stop Eastlink from decommissioning legacy facilities it relies on to provide service to customers in Nova Scotia.
The wholesaler said in a Part 1 application, made public Thursday, that it was notified in February that Eastlink was completing a technology upgrade in Sydney that would transition its network from coaxial to fibre by September 1, meaning its third-party internet access service (TPIA) would no longer be available for two of Fibernetics’s customers.
Fibernetics claims it asked Eastlink to either suspend decommissioning until after the CRTC makes a Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has launched Wednesday the next phase of its Broadband Fund review, which now looks to establish an indigenous-specific funding stream.
“The Indigenous stream will provide a tailored process to access broadband funding that aims to reduce barriers for Indigenous applicants with the goal of helping to close the connectivity gap for Indigenous communities,” the CRTC said in the consultation document.
Since January 2024, the CRTC said it has received feedback and learned of complex application processes, prolonged evaluation and approval timelines, complex financial regulations, including onerous reporting requirements and an inability to request funding for operational costs,…
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The Federal Court of Appeal will determine whether the CRTC must explicitly state that it has jurisdiction over long-distance call rates from correctional facilities.
The high court late last week agreed to hear the applications filed by Bell and the Ontario government, who argue that the CRTC twice failed to make clear that “forbearance from regulation” is itself an exercise in regulation and not an abdication of jurisdiction on those rates.
The court’s decision further suspends matters related to a proposed class action lawsuit that require an answer to the question to move forward. The…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Thursday it is eliminating fees that it believes are keeping customers stuck in internet and wireless service plans.
The regulator said it is targeting fees on activation, changing and canceling of those plans – with some exceptions. The fees will continue to apply where a subsidized device is provided by the wireless service provider – which represents a real cost to the business – and in a situation where the internet service provider is doing an installation at the customer’s home.
“If you were to buy or purchase a cellphone through a service provider, we already…
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