By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Wednesday granted Cabin Radio an FM licence to serve Yellowknife and the surrounding areas, ending a long battle with a regulator that once said the market could not sustain another commercial station.
Cabin Radio’s licence to operate at 93.9 MHz will expire on August 31, 2031. It will have 24 months to launch.
“Cabin Radio’s proposal, which received broad local support on the public record and at the public hearing, meets the Commission’s requirements concerning commercial radio,” the CRTC said Wednesday. “Approving Cabin Radio’s proposal will add a new voice to the Yellowknife FM radio market…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has found that OneSoccer is owned, operated and controlled by Canadians, turning away a claim by Rogers that the cable giant was effectively negotiating a carry agreement with Spain’s Mediapro.
Rogers filed the complaint with the CRTC last summer, disputing an earlier finding by commission staff that said the OneSoccer service was operated by Canadians. Before that, in March 2023, the commission found that Rogers was giving itself an undue preference by refusing to carry the service in competition with its Sportsnet and Bell’s equivalent channels. Rogers had argued that…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Telus is admitting that it became aware of, but dealt with, a “small and isolated number” of “rogue” third-party representatives who were engaging on its behalf in the promotion of pirate IPTV services to get people to subscribe to its internet services.
In a statement of defense, filed Friday with the Ontario Superior Court and in response to an action commenced by Bell, the Vancouver-based telecom says it received a customer complaint in May about a representative who was promoting the illegal service.
“In accordance with TELUS’s standard escalation processes and before Bell commenced this action, TELUS immediately investigated…
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Media company eyeing 180-day carriage extension
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell is defending itself against a claim made by WildBrain that it improperly terminated its agreement to carry the media company’s services.
The claim in the Ontario Superior Court primarily centers on a notice Bell was contractually obligated to provide WildBrain that laid out that it did not want to auto renew their agreement to carry the Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrainTV, and Télémagino services at the end of December 2022. That contract stipulated that the terms would otherwise auto renew after that first term of the four-year agreement.
In a statement of claim…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday that the company’s spending on networks is now at risk if the federal government doesn’t rescind a CRTC decision mandating that the three largest telecommunications companies be allowed to ride on the networks of others.
Last month, the CRTC turned away applications, including from Rogers, that asked the regulator to reconsider allowing Rogers, Bell and Telus – the “Big 3” – to use the wholesale internet regime because of the claimed negative impact on investments and on smaller service providers who, they say, will be crushed by…
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Telus announced Monday it is investing $2 billion over the next five years to expand its broadband services in Ontario and Quebec.
“This investment comes as a result of the CRTC confirmation of the wholesale fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) framework and serves as a complement to our wholesale fibre access agreements, allowing TELUS to deliver national scale, accelerate network builds and drive investment, competition and affordability in Canada,” a Telus press release reads.
The Vancouver-based telecom said this investment will be part of its annual budget and will be supported by investments from its strategic…
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Rogers last week filed with the CRTC proposed new tariff pages for new internet service speeds it is introducing to retail customers while also proposing to destandardize a number of service speeds that it no longer offers to new retail users.
The cable giant’s tariff change request is being made in accordance with the CRTC’s speed match rules whereby a provider introducing new service speed packages to retail customers must make those same speeds available to third-party providers or wholesale customers.
Rogers said in its Tariff Notice 86 (dated July 15 and posted on the…
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Telus ramps up public relations campaign
By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco and Eastlink have filed Friday a legal challenge to a CRTC decision that allows the three largest telecoms to use the wholesale internet regime, a move that was teased in the aftermath of the June 20 ruling.
The legal arguments, filed in the Federal Court of Appeal, center on the decision’s alleged friction with the 2023 policy direction from cabinet: that the CRTC allegedly erred in characterizing Rogers, Bell and Telus – the Big 3 – as “new” service providers because they would be riding on…
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Telecom has been teasing launch for months
By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco executives said Wednesday the telecom will fully launch its much-anticipated wireless services as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) this fall.
The declaration comes after years of inquiries and after it opened pre-registrations earlier this year for its existing internet customers that executives said yielded demand that exceeded their expectations.
“We already have an initial cohort of users on the service and will broaden sales in 12 markets over the coming weeks, ahead of a full commercial launch later this fall,” Cogeco CEO Frederic Perron said…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is probing how to get emergency alerts to areas that do not have at least LTE/4G networks.
The commission is contemplating broadening the distribution of these alerts on 3G networks and is floating the creation and operation of a downloadable national mobile application. The current system broadcasts the alerts on television, radio and to mobile devices connected only to 4G and newer (5G) wireless networks.
“While persons without access to may still be able to receive public alerts through broadcasting undertakings or other means, the Commission is seeking comments on the possibilities for enabling…
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