OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a demand by Rogers Communications to revise the Wireless Code and exclude certain wireless service contracts for corporate individual plans and employee purchase plans.
The Commission said Friday that it is denying Rogers’ application to review and vary Telecom Decision 2014-528 (referred to as the Corporate Plans decision), as the big media company “failed to demonstrate” that there is substantial doubt as to the correctness of that decision. In that decision, the Regulator (a) reiterated that the Wireless Code applies to retail mobile wireless voice and data services provided to individuals and small…
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GATINEAU – With a reminder that “a broadcasting licence is a privilege”, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais opened a radio hearing Wednesday that will examine whether to renew the licences of three radio stations that appear to be in non-compliance with the CRTC’s regulations, as well as with certain conditions of licence and mandatory orders.
Aboriginal Voices Radio, CFSI-FM Salt Spring Island and CIHS-FM Wetaskiwin were summoned to the two-day public hearing “given the severity and frequency of the instances of apparent non-compliance observed in their current licence terms”, Blais continued.
The broadcasters are expected to show cause why mandatory orders…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC is asking Canadians to weigh in and help shape its proposed code of conduct for television service providers.
The Commission said Tuesday that its online discussion forum is open now through May 25, 2015, to allow Canadians to comment on the draft TV code tabled in March compiled from comments received during last year’s TV Policy Review, known as Let's Talk TV.
As it stands, the code proposes that TV service providers would be required to provide easy-to-understand agreements to their customers, notify them of changes to their services, and clarify the terms surrounding issues such as the…
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GATINEAU – The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) is again fighting wholesale service rates of the established telecom and cable companies. The group of independent ISPs is now telling the CRTC that it must make interim all usage sensitive rates from these companies until more fulsome analyses are done.
Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, Cogeco Cable, Rogers Communications, SaskTel, Shaw Cablesystems, Telus Communications, and Vidéotron are all party to the application.
In an application filed on April 29, CNOC argues that evidence has now come to light that demonstrates existing usage sensitive rates are too high. It points to a recent…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Four companies have paid $92,500 as part of settlements over violations to Canada's telemarketing rules, and the CRTC has fined a fifth company $30,000, the Commission said Thursday.
Acting on complaints, the CRTC investigated four companies for presumed violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules. As part of settlements, these companies paid a total of $92,500 in monetary penalties as follows:
– AcademyOne Learning Ltd., a company offering educational tutoring – $25,000
– Eagle Water of Ontario, a water treatment company – $32,500
– Outsources Inc., a telemarketer offering calling services for telemarketing – $15,000
– Scentral Cleaning Services, a residential and commercial…
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OTTAWA – Linda Vennard has been appointed as the CRTC’s Regional Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Christopher MacDonald as Regional Commissioner for the Atlantic Region and Nunavut.
They have been appointed for five-year terms, according to an announcement by CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais on Tuesday.
Vennard, who will begin in her new role on May 11, joins the CRTC from the University of Calgary and has 15 years of experience in research focused mainly on broadband and community engagement, science, technology and society, as well as national security and advanced technologies. She holds PhD from the University of Calgary.
MacDonald…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canadian local television stations saw profits plunge in 2014, according to the CRTC’s latest statistical and financial report for this sector released Monday.
According to the report Conventional Television – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2010-2014, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) for private local TV stations dropped from -$2.3 million to -$138.7 million, and the PBIT margin decreased from -0.1% to -7.7%.
Revenues fell by 7.2% from $1.94 billion in 2013 to $1.8 billion for the broadcast year ended August 31, 2014. While revenues from the sale of local advertising declined 5% from $351.2 million in 2013 to $333.6…
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OTTAWA – CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan this week filed a Federal Court Application seeking a judicial review of CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais over an internal investigation of allegations of harassment made against Shoan.
The investigation, done by an outside third party, found that Ontario regional commissioner Shoan did commit harassment and so chairman Blais imposed five corrective measures which placed limits on how Shoan can communicate with staff. According to the court application, Shoan wants the decision Blais made on the harassment complaints to be cancelled, or that it be remitted to the Governor-in-Council (which appoints CRTC commissioners)…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC has released its new three-year plan that lists its priorities as introducing the revised framework established with the Let's Talk TV initiative, including a draft code of conduct to help viewers resolve disputes with their television service providers; a review of Canada’s basic telecommunications services; and a review of the country’s 9-1-1network and the next generation of 9-1-1 services.
Other planned activities include an assessment of the accessibility of mobile wireless handsets for Canadians with disabilities; continued joint efforts with domestic and international partners to shield Canadians from unsolicited communications by telephone and email; and the…
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TORONTO – Toronto listeners will soon be able to dial up more ‘Zoomer Radio’ after the CRTC gave MZ Media the go-ahead for a nested FM transmitter in the city’s downtown to rebroadcast English-language commercial AM radio station CFZM Toronto.
Owned by Moses Znaimer, The New AM 740 (aka Zoomer Radio) caters to the 45+ age group, a demographic that Znaimer has coined “Zoomers” (Boomers with Zip).
The Commission said Monday that it agreed with MZ Media’s application that the proposed transmitter is necessary to improve the reception quality of CFZM’s signal in downtown Toronto. The transmitter would operate at 96.7 MHz (channel…
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