Shaw asks CRTC to dismiss requests of “opportunistic proponents of delay”
OTTAWA – Bell and Telus both filed letters yesterday with the CRTC supporting the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and National Pensioners Federation’s (PIAC-NPF) procedural request to have the Commission’s public hearings into the broadcasting side of Rogers Communications’s purchase of Shaw Communications delayed.
The hearings are scheduled to begin Nov. 22. PIAC-NPF, Bell and Telus all argued there is too much uncertainty around who controls Rogers for the CRTC to conduct fair hearings that protect the public interest.
Bell, in its letter, called the situation “unprecedented” and said it “places…
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OTTAWA – With control of Rogers Communications now before a B.C. judge, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and National Pensioners Federation has asked the CRTC to hold off on the public hearing into the purchase of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications.
“The press has reported on a series of events unfolding at Rogers that call into question the legal status of the existing board of directors, and whether the current officers of the company have the confidence of the board of directors or whether they will even remain as officers of…
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DAWSON CITY, WATSON LAKE and UPPER LIARD, Yukon — Northwestel announced today it has launched full fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) Internet service to more than 1,000 homes in three Yukon communities.
Residents and businesses in Dawson City, Watson Lake and Upper Liard “now have access to unlimited data and Internet speeds 16 times greater than previously available,” says a press release.
“Maximum residential Internet speeds in these communities have increased from 15 Mbps to 250 Mbps (download speed) and now far surpass the CRTC’s universal service objective of 50 Mbps,” reads the release.
These are the first fibre upgrades as part of Northwestel’s Every…
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TORONTO — Organizers of the Canadian Telecom Summit confirmed today CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott (above) will deliver a keynote speech at the upcoming event.
Scott is scheduled to speak on Monday, Nov. 15 from 3:00-3:30 p.m. ET.
In his role at the CRTC, Scott supervises and directs the work and staff of the Commission. He also chairs CRTC meetings and participates in public hearings and consultations. Scott has more than 25 years of policy and regulatory experience in broadcasting and telecommunications both in the public and private sectors, according to his biography on the event’s website.
The Canadian Telecom Summit…
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You can’t fight public interest, he warns
By Amanda OYE
MONTREAL – Pierre Karl Péladeau (above) wants everyone to know Videotron is ready to expand outside Quebec.
“We’re not a Monday morning quarterback – we’ve been there, we’ve done that and we’re ready to go,” said Péladeau in an interview with Cartt.ca.
Péladeau is president and CEO of Quebecor, Videotron’s parent company, and has also been president and CEO of Videotron since June.
Videotron got into mobile back in 2006 when it “started as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) on Rogers’s network,” he said.
“We, at that time, thought that we would need…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Groupe TVA is asking the country’s highest court to review a case in which it was forced to provide Bell customers its sports signal after it abruptly terminated service in April 2019.
The company applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in late September, two months after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled the CRTC has jurisdiction to force Groupe TVA to continue supplying the company’s sports signal during the 2019 NHL playoffs despite parent company Quebecor not agreeing to the financial terms of the distribution agreement.
The Montreal-based company is asking the high…
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TORONTO – Edward Rogers announced yesterday he intends to replace five members of the board of directors of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI).
A press release issued late last night says Mr. Rogers “is disappointed with recent events and commentary regarding the governance of RCI and has lost confidence in the Board of RCI as currently constituted.”
Earlier yesterday evening, RCI announced its board had voted out Mr. Rogers as chair and that John MacDonald was taking over. (You can catch up on the ongoing power struggle at RCI here, here and here.)
However, Mr. Rogers remains on RCI’s…
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Driven by desire to live a life of purpose, he is fighting to ensure Dougall Media survives
By Amanda Oye
THUNDER BAY – Hector Dougall is committed to making sure Thunder Bay continues to have a local voice at a time when local media across the country are struggling.
In an important milestone enabling him to do this, late last month he received approval from the CRTC to take over sole ownership of the licences for Dougall Media’s four radio and two television stations, which were previously owned by his late mother.
“If I hadn’t taken over Thunder Bay would have lost…
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Judge zeroes in on the term “wholesale” for Quebecor subsidiary Fibernoire
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Arguments before the Federal Court on Tuesday about whether Videotron correctly qualified for 3.5 GHz spectrum for wireless services in western Canada pivoted on what kind of impact this decision could have on the market – and whether unfair advantages would be given based on a specific interpretation of the auction rules.
In July, Quebecor’s Videotron was awarded 294 licences for nearly $830 million in the set-aside portion of the 3.5 GHz auction that began in June. This includes licences in Manitoba, Alberta and British…
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By Denis Carmel
Starting Nov. 15, the CRTC will have a new head of telecommunications – Fiona Gilfillan.
Until recently, Gilfillan was the assistant deputy minister at Innovation, Science, and Economic Development/Innovation Canada (ISED) where she was responsible for the management of spectrum, ICT and telecom security, the Communications Research Centre and telecom equipment standards and certification in the spectrum and telecommunications sector.
In 2006, she was associate executive director of telecommunications at the CRTC, after which she left, according to her LinkedIn page, to take care of her kids between 2007 and 2009. She then spent 11 years at ISED…
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