Rogers and Fido see largest increases
OTTAWA – The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) accepted 17,003 consumer complaints in the past year – a 9% increase compared to the previous year, according to its annual report released today.
The annual report covers the period from Aug. 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021. In this timeframe, CCTS concluded 17,506 complaints, a 10% increase from last year (this includes complaints received before Aug. 1, 2020, which were concluded during the year covered by today’s report.)
The concluded complaints raised over 42,000 issues. The top issues were billing (16,304), contract dispute (13,147), service…
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By Denis Carmel
On Wednesday, the CRTC rendered decisions denying the Review and Vary (R&V) requests filed by Telus and Iristel in November and September 2020 respectively.
At stake was a CRTC decision made in August 2020 following a complaint issued by Telus in August 2018 alleging traffic stimulation activities conducted by Iristel regarding long-distance calls using area code 867, which serves Northern Canada.
Later, Telus proceeded to block 867 calls from Iristel using self-help remedies, basically taking the law into its own hands.
Both were found guilty and the CRTC decided that by violating the Telecom Act, they would…
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TPIA providers say they’ve had to make tough financial decisions to stem the bleeding
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Canada’s large telecommunications companies are claiming third party internet service providers have never had it better with the interim bulk internet purchase rates the CRTC made permanent in May.
The telecoms were responding to petitions to the federal government to overturn the May decision filed by large independent internet service provider TekSavvy, ISP National Capital FreeNet, and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), an organization representing smaller telecoms who lease network space from the larger carriers. In the decision, the regulator said it…
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GATINEAU — With telecom service providers now required to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology to combat caller ID spoofing, many Canadians will now be able to determine which calls can be trusted, says the CRTC in a press release issued today.
As of Nov. 30, service providers are mandated to use STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) to “certify whether a caller’s identity can be trusted by verifying the caller ID information for Internet Protocol-based voice calls,” explains the press release.
The CRTC notes in the release “not all calls will be verifiable due to device and network…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC hearing into Rogers Communications’s proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications wrapped up Friday with a reply from Rogers during which the company argued the deal is good for Canadians and for the broadcasting system despite what interveners have said over the past week.
“As our panel highlighted on Monday, there is no question that this transaction is in the public interest,” said Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory at Rogers.
“It embraces the transformational moment we face, positioning Canada’s broadcasting system for a strong and sustainable future. With Shaw and Rogers joining forces, Canadian consumers will enjoy more…
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Bell says there are no safeguards that will fix the problems with the proposal
By Amanda OYE
GATINEAU – Intervenors delved deeper into concerns about the impact of Rogers Communications’s proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications on local news and competition Thursday, during day four of the CRTC hearing on the matter.
At the hearing Unifor, a union that represents 5,000 workers in the broadcasting and film industries, presented the Commission with a perspective on what the approval of the transaction could mean for employment and labour in local journalism.
The “broadcast sector in Canada is facing an employment crisis,” said Katha…
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GATINEAU – More concerns about Rogers Communications’s proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications were shared with the CRTC during day three of the hearing, Wednesday.
While the day’s presentations showed the deal definitely has its supporters, it also highlighted the many concerns there are about the consequences of the deal in its current form on the Canadian broadcasting system generally, and on independent broadcasters and consumers specifically.
TLN Media Group Inc. and Ethnic Channels Group Limited, who presented together to highlight issues specific to Canadian ethnic independents, told the Commission that despite their opposition to the deal in their written submission, they…
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ISED referenced U.S. action on Chinese telecoms as justification for ban
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A Chinese telecom that resold Canadian services and plans was operating illegally for five years and posed a significant threat to the country’s national security, Innovation Canada said in a submission to the Federal Court.
The department was responding to a judicial review application by China Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator that was asked this summer to leave the country after a public safety review.
The company is asking the court to pause the revocation of its authorization to operate until the court decides on the…
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Telecoms have said this would impact the value of the 5G frequencies
By Ahmad Hathout
Innovation Canada said last week it will stick with its proposal to place restrictions on the use of the 3.5 GHz spectrum in areas surrounding 26 major airports, which some of Canada’s telecoms want to deploy 5G wireless networks.
The exclusion areas are intended to prevent interference with aircraft altimeters, which use radio signals to guide the airplane to the runway.
The large telecoms, including Bell, Rogers and Telus, said Innovation Canada did not indicate before the 3.5 GHz auction in June that the department would prevent…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC heard how the approval of Rogers Communications to acquire Shaw Communications’ broadcast assets will impact other organizations in Canada’s broadcast system on Tuesday during the second day of the Commission’s hearing into the matter.
“While the merger makes sense for Rogers and Shaw for their future, it has the unintended consequence of potentially all but destroying the independent broadcasting sector,” said Brad Danks, CEO of OUTtv and OMG Media Group, who participated virtually at the hearing as part of a panel (pictured above) representing Independent Broadcasters Group (IBG).
Danks argued if the deal goes through, Rogers will…
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