By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Should Northwestel (NWTel) be able to lower its Internet access rates? Intuitively, considering its rates are exceedingly high, we would be inclined to say yes but … it is not that simple.
As NWTel reminds us in its application to the CRTC in December 2021, “We are the only company in Canada to have retail rate regulation of our Internet services.”
BCE owned NWTel, which serves Canada’s North, is regulated differently than other telecom companies – a reflection its own specific circumstances.
Because of the high cost of providing service, it receives significant subsidies from southern telcos but is…
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OTTAWA – CRTC chair Ian Scott (above) found himself in the position of defending recent Commission decisions as well as his meeting with then chief operating officer of Bell, Mirko Bibic when he appeared before the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology on Tuesday.
Scott spoke to the parliamentary committee about the CRTC’s ongoing work in support of competition as well as investment in the marketplace so all Canadians have access to broadband and wireless services.
“We understand your concerns about the affordability of these vital services for the Canadian population, and we share those concerns,” he said. “We’ve been working…
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GATINEAU – The Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) filed an application to the CRTC yesterday seeking an order that CRTC chair Ian Scott recuse himself, or be recused, from deciding matters that affect service-based competition pending the results of an appeal that raises allegations of bias, among other things.
CNOC is referring to TekSavvy’s appeal of a CRTC decision made in May 2021 on a review and vary application. The decision reversed a previous CRTC decision (Telecom Order 2019-288), which lowered the wholesale third-party Internet access rates companies like TekSavvy pay carriers such as Bell and Rogers for…
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OTTAWA – The federal government today introduced what it is calling the Online Streaming Act, or Bill C-11, which, while cutting it close, fulfills its promise to reintroduce legislation to amend the Broadcasting Act within its first 100 days.
Bill C-11 is very similar to Bill C-10, which died when the Liberals called an election last August. The main aims are still centred around including online streamers in the act by adding “online undertakings” to its scope, creating an equitable system and providing the CRTC with more powers and flexibility.
The proposed amendments are “about updating our…
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TESLIN, YT and FORT LIARD, NT — Bell Canada subsidiary Northwestel announced today the launch of fibre-to-the-home service to homes and businesses in Teslin, Yukon Territory and Fort Liard, Northwest Territories.
Residential customers in the two communities now have access to unlimited data, speeds of up to 250 Mbps and the new digital streaming TV service Northwestel TV Plus, says a press release. High-speed unlimited Internet is also available now to businesses in the two communities.
“Available Internet speeds in Teslin and Fort Liard now far surpass the CRTC’s universal service objective of 50 Mbps. Internet rates in the two communities…
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OTTAWA – BCE is asking the CRTC to order Videotron to remove the service Vrai for its broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) offer, according to a Part 1 application filed by BCE last November that was posted by the Commission today.
In the application, BCE claims Videotron’s Vrai is non-compliant with the CRTC’s hybrid video-on-demand (HVOD) exemption order.
Videotron launched Vrai last August, which was initially only available to Helix customers. Soon after, BCE filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC that alleged Videotron was in violation of the exemption order by not offering any Internet direct to consumer…
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“Language is at the heart of cultural identity; it shapes who we are and our perspectives. When we speak our languages, we share stories, pass on knowledge and create bonds for generations.” – Patrimoine canadien – Canadian Heritage, Ottawa, June 14, 2021
EARLY LAST YEAR a group of organizations came together to advocate for inclusion of diverse communities and ethnic programming in Bill C-10. We called ourselves the Canadian Ethnocultural Media Coalition (CEMC). The initial group has expanded and now includes the most active and prolific ethnic media organizations in the country (see list of members below).
As Parliament…
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OTTAWA — The Broadcasting Accessibility Fund today announced it will launch its eighth call for letters of intent tomorrow, which is the first step in its annual process seeking innovative projects that advance accessibility to broadcasting content for Canadians with disabilities.
Organizations that intend to apply to the Fund for a grant must complete a letter of intent and submit it no later than end of day on Monday, March 21, 2022.
Potential applicants are expected to review the Fund’s mandate and describe how the proposed project or initiative will further the mandate’s objectives.
For more information, please visit the Fund’s…
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Reliant on service, member association may seek help from government or CRTC
By Ahmad Hathout
TELEVISION SERVICE PROVIDERS in remote parts of the country may see a disruption in television services at the end of the year due to an American company’s decision to end support for technology that distributes satellite TV signals.
U.S.-based network technology provider CommScope said late last year it is ending support for the Quick Take Plus (QT+) system used by Shaw Communications, which relays satellite TV signals to Canadian customers living in certain areas of the country that may lack traditional wired infrastructure.
Jay Thomson, CEO of the…
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WHITEHOUSE and YELLOWKNIFE – Northwestel announced today it received approval from the CRTC to lower its unlimited home Internet rates by $10 per month, with the rate changes being made effective immediately.
“Northwestel will also be upgrading all home Internet 125 and Internet 250 monthly data plans to unlimited Internet at no additional cost,” a press release explains.
The company currently has unlimited Internet plans available in the Northern communities of Carcross, Dawson City, Upper Liard, Watson Lake and Whitehorse in the Yukon as well as Behchokǫ̀, Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, Norman Wells, and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and in Fort Nelson in B.C.
“We’re…
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