GATINEAU – Just before the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance made its presentation to the CRTC during the basic service objective hearing, Commission chairman Jean-Pierre Blais looked at another panel of jackets and ties and made a personal observation – one which he has before.
He lamented the fact that there are so few women appearing in front of him representing the companies making presentations and answering questions. The CCSA’s panel was three gentlemen: Cable Cable president Mike Fiorini, CCSA VP regulatory Chris Edwards and consultant John Piercy.
“Where there have been women on the panels in these telecom proceedings, they don’t…
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GATINEAU – As the CRTC kicked off its public hearing into basic telecommunications services Monday, it reiterated its call for public feedback.
Canadians are encouraged to provide their opinions by participating throughout the hearing in an online discussion forum that will be open until 8:00 PM EST on April 28. While watching the hearing online on the Cable Public Affairs Channel’s website or listening to the audio feed on the CRTC’s website, Canadians may also comment in real-time on issues raised throughout the hearing.
Currently, basic telecommunications services include individual line local touch-tone service; capability to connect to…
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OTTAWA – To help promote a more competitive fixed satellite services market, the CRTC has removed the price ceiling currently applicable to Telesat Canada's C-band fixed satellite services.
In its decision on Thursday, the Commission said that the price ceiling for Telesat's C-band fixed satellite services (FSS) “is no longer appropriate or necessary, and is not a regulatory measure that is efficient and proportionate to its purpose, since Telesat's C-band FSS rates are well below the existing ceiling and continue to decline.”
When establishing a transitional regulatory framework for Telesat's FSS before the Canadian satellite market was opened to foreign competition,…
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New three-year plan
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has released its new three-year plan that includes new basic telecommunications services policy, the Discoverability Summit, and a review of the Wireless Code among its priorities.
Other planned activities include licence renewals for French-language and English-language television services, and an effort to continue to promote and enforce the country’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) and the unsolicited telecommunications rules.
Those initiatives are among the goals that the Commission has outlined for completion during 2016-19 under the pillars of ‘create’, ‘connect’, and ‘protect’, that it says reflect its commitment to “implementing sound management practices and fulfilling its mandate…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a request by VMedia Inc. to add U.S.-based cable television shopping service QVC to the list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution north of the border.
In its decision on Monday, the Commission concluded that if authorized, QVC would be carrying on a broadcasting undertaking in whole or in part in Canada, a move that is contingent upon it either obtaining a broadcasting licence or being otherwise authorized pursuant to a valid exemption order. The CRTC added that it is unable to issue a broadcasting licence to QVC and that the…
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CHATHAM, ON – TekSavvy Solutions is applauding the CRTC’s decision that determined that wholesale telecom rates paid by competitive telecom providers are neither just nor reasonable.
In a statement responding to Telecom Decision CRTC 2016-117, the independent telco said that lower wholesale rates will allow it, and others, the chance to bring new services like video competition to the marketplace.
“The CRTC found that Internet traffic grows much faster than 20 percent annually, and that the cost of routing a gigabit falls by much more than 10 percent each year,” said TekSavvy chief legal & regulatory officer…
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Canadians are receiving the broadband speeds they're paying for
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The majority of broadband Internet services in Canada are as fast or faster than their advertised download and upload speeds, says a CRTC report on Internet services.
The preliminary report, released Thursday, found that most services from the country's major Internet service providers delivered between 109% and 122% of the advertised download speed, and that performance was largely consistent across all geographic regions of Canada in a mix of urban and rural settings.
Services using fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technologies delivered 119% of advertised download speed on average, while cable/hybrid-fibre co-axial (HFC) delivered 103%,…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has kicked off a public consultation as it seeks to establish a regulatory framework for next-generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) emergency services in Canada.
NG 9-1-1 is a term used to describe more technologically advanced 9-1-1 services, such as the ability to send text messages, photos and videos to 9-1-1 operators, as well as dialing.
The CRTC has scheduled a public meeting in Gatineau starting January 16, 2017 that will cover issues such as NG9-1-1 services; NG9-1-1 architecture and responsibilities; transition steps and timelines; funding; confidentiality; and reporting and monitoring. Canadians have until May 20, 2016 to send…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are teaming up to eradicate unsolicited telecommunications, unsolicited commercial electronic messages (spam) and other unlawful electronic threats
The new memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed by CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais and FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez, incorporates and solidifies the two Commission’s commitment to cooperate on enforcing Canadian and U.S. spam and telemarketing laws. It also details plans that will see both organizations share knowledge and expertise through research, training programs and staff exchanges, and promises to keep each other informed on developments related to the laws,…
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TORONTO – Canada’s anti-spam legislation and the unsolicited telecommunications rules are here to stay, something that should be welcomed by the country’s “legitimate marketers”, CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais told the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA).
In a speech to the organization Tuesday, Blais (pictured) injected a splash of humour by equating unwanted marketing messages and calls with a stranger walking through attendees’ front door, tracking dirt across their kitchen floor, going to their fridge, grabbing a drink and then plopping themselves down in front of their TV.
“That’s pretty much how Canadians today feel about uninvited marketers who invade the private spaces…
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