OTTAWA – The CRTC has kicked off a call for comments as it prepares to review certain issues associated with wholesale high-speed access services.
The Commission said Thursday that it wants to gather information from the industry to better understand whether certain costing assumptions, such as those in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-703, remain appropriate, as well as consider whether a streamlined tariff application process should be established to lessen the regulatory burden. That should be welcome news for CNOC which complained last month to the CRTC that its cost studies for wholesale rates are out of whack.
The CRTC is…
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OTTAWA – The iconic American talk show Late Show with David Letterman may have wrapped up last week, but it’s still top of mind with some angry Canadian viewers, and the CRTC.
The Commission has fired off letters to Rogers Media, Rogers Communications, and Shaw Communications over alleged simultaneous substitution errors made by the companies during the show’s much-hyped finale on May 20. According to the letters, dated May 27, the Commission has received “several complaints regarding improperly executed simultaneous substitutions” that took place near the end of the show.
Referencing Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-25, where the CRTC…
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THIS MONTH’S CRTC DECISION TO regulate wholesale wireless roaming rates is just the latest in a long line of seminal processes and decisions which have come under the tenure of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.
Just about 60% the way through his five-year term, Blais has had to digest major developments in the industry, technology, and political environment—which is pushing for more competition and consumer rights – while dealing with an often-cranky TV and telecom executives trying to steer their ships through the same choppy waters.
Here are many of the key CRTC developments since Blais, a lawyer and lifelong bureaucrat, was named the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC was recognized by the Association of Professional Executive of the Public Service of Canada for its innovative work on the Text with 9-1-1 initiative at a ceremony held Monday.
Text with 9-1-1 enables registered users to communicate with emergency service call centre operators via text messages. Canada's Text with 9-1-1 service is unique in that along with the initial call, the operator receives the caller's approximate location, which can be of great assistance if the caller is unable to identify their location. A text messaging session is then initiated by the operator in order to exchange information…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC’s seemingly willy-nilly approach to mete out non-compliance justice leaves a lot to be desired, according to a panel of experts at the Communications Law and Policy Conference at the University of Ottawa Friday.
Research from Dr. Genevieve Bonin, assistant professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Ottawa, highlighted the discussion. For one study, she examined nearly 300 commercial radio station licence renewals from 1997 to 2007 in which 101 resulted in renewal terms less than the maximum seven years because of non-compliance issues. In addition, Bonin also spoke with people involved in the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied an application by Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) challenging the early upgrade programs offered by Rogers and Telus.
The Commission said Thursday that the programs, known respectively as Rogers “Next” and Telus “T-Up”, do not violate the Wireless Code, as the two consumer groups alleged in their complaint filed in June 2014. Rather, the CRTC continued, the programs are consistent with the Wireless Code’s contract cancellation and extension rules, and are “examples of innovative plans and services that respond to the needs of consumers who value…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s television service providers saw their overall revenues increase 1.5% in 2014 despite a dip in subscribers, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial results for the industry released Thursday.
Broadcast Distribution 2009–2013: Cable, Multipoint Distribution Systems and Direct-to-Home said that combined revenues grew from $8.8 billion in 2013 to $8.9 billion in 2014, while subscribers remained relatively flat over the period, decreasing from 11.5 million to 11.4 million for the year ended August 31, 2014.
The revenues of cable and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service providers increased by a combined 3% from $6.3 billion in 2013 to $6.5 billion…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC is calling for volunteers to help it measure the performance of Internet services provided by major Internet service providers (ISPs) across the country.
The Measuring Broadband Canada program, announced Thursday, will see the Commission work in collaboration with ISPs and broadband testing firm SamKnows to measure broadband performance and test parameters associated with the broadband Internet connection, including download and upload speeds.
The CRTC is recruiting up to 6,200 Canadians who will receive a device known as a 'Whitebox' that they will connect to their modem or router. The Whitebox will periodically run measurement tests when users…
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OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal has rejected a complaint lodged by some of Canada’s biggest wireless service providers over a deadline date in the CRTC’s Wireless Code of Conduct.
In a decision issued Tuesday, Justice Denis Pelletier dismissed a challenge filed by Bell, Rogers, Telus, MTS and SaskTel over the June 3, 2015 final implementation date of the Code, referred to as “the drop-dead date”, whereby all existing wireless contracts fall subject to the Code.
Noting the high number of three-year wireless contracts that would not yet have matured by that date, the telcos claimed that they would be…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The CRTC issued a warning Tuesday about illegal calls from individuals who claim that they are calling on behalf of the national Do Not Call List (DNCL) operator.
The Commission said in a statement that the originators of these calls are falsely displaying (spoofing) the national DNCL toll-free phone number, and are claiming that the call recipient's telephone number is about to expire from the national DNCL and must be re-registered over the phone.
“Neither the CRTC nor the National DNCL operator contact Canadians regarding the status of their telephone numbers on the National DNCL”, reads the…
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