Five little words and a world of difference
By Doug Barrett
It’s hard to say how much the detailed party platforms matter in an election. In this one, each of the main platforms contains dedicated sections on the arts/culture/broadcasting sectors and it’s instructive to have a look at them.
To start, there appears to be complete unanimity on the question of ensuring the “foreign web giants contribute to the creation and promotion of Canadian stories and music” (Liberal); requiring “digital streaming giants to reinvest a significant portion of Canadian gross revenues” (Conservative); making sure that “Netflix, Facebook, Google and other digital media…
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By Ken Kelley
Evoking the name of founder Ted Rogers, Rogers CEO Joe Natale said he sees a certain irony in Bell Canada filing its opposition to his company’s impending tie-up with Shaw on broadcast grounds.
“In Rogers’ 60-year history, we’ve always been the challenger, and in many ways, kind of standing up against the larger players in the market, the challenger to Bell on many fronts,” Natale said, speaking at BMO’s virtual Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
“And there’s a high degree of irony in Bell looking at us as being a bigger player. Ted Rogers is probably smiling…
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By Ken Kelley
Cogeco president and CEO Philippe Jetté insists his company will not be restrained by borders.
While the company boasts significant business operations south of the border via Atlantic Broadband, the U.S.-based Cogeco subsidiary scored a blockbuster deal this past June when it acquired WideOpenWest’s broadband systems in Ohio for $1 billion. Passing approximately 688,000 homes and businesses in the Cleveland and Columbus areas, WOW Ohio serves approximately 196,000 Internet, 61,000 video and 35,000 telephony customers.
“We’re very excited about this acquisition,” Jetté told BMO’s Tim Casey, who served as the moderator for the bank’s 22nd annual Media…
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By Ken Kelley
Has media streaming reached peak oversaturation? It is a question Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy pondered during his appearance at BMO’s 22nd annual Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
While discussing the similarities between linear and digital advertising with moderator Tim Casey, Murphy acknowledged that regardless of how the public consumes television content – whether via a traditional cable television subscription or by an offering such as Corus’ wildly popular StackTV, which he said continues adding upwards of 100,000 subs per quarter – channel surfing appears to be an underrated, and arguably underappreciated, phenomenon.
“StackTV has demonstrated…
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Meeting notes show pole replacement and refurbishment listed as significant barrier, but it’s about speed
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers and Cogeco were among several internet service providers that met with stakeholders in the Ontario government in November 2020 to address wireline pole attachment issues in the province – but the rates to attach equipment were not identified as a significant barrier, according to notes from the meeting obtained by Cartt.ca.
At around $43 per attachment, per pole, Ontario has the country’s highest cost to attach telecommunications equipment on the wood poles, which run along highways and are a primary alternative…
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Assessment revealed through judicial review request in Federal Court by China Mobile
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A Chinese state-owned company that resells services on the Telus network was told by the federal government last month it must divest its operations in Canada over national security concerns, according to court documents.
The federal government’s decision on August 6 to force China Mobile to divest from the country was revealed when the mobile virtual network operator filed a request to review the decision in Federal Court on Tuesday.
In the application, China Mobile said Innovation Canada was wrong to refer the company to the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
ONTARIO – The Ontario government announced Thursday it has launched a request for qualifications for a series of reverse auctions it hopes will set in motion its goal to connect the entire province to high-speed Internet by 2025.
The qualification screening is intended to ensure bidders meet specified criteria in the hopes of facilitating a rapid build with minimal failure.
Internet service providers will need to register at www.merx.com, a press release said. After qualifying submissions are made, the government will make a shortlist of candidates who will be invited to respond to a request for proposals on their…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) today called on Canada’s political party leaders to explain during the two upcoming leaders’ debates how they would reform the country’s access to information system if elected.
“Canadians’ right to know is so frequently poorly-served by our crumbling federal access to information system,” said CAJ president Brent Jolly in a press release.
“Looking at the party platforms, there is scant mention of plans for reforms, which is a Houdini-like act of deception aimed at keeping citizens perpetually in the dark about how government decisions are made.”
The CAJ press release indicates the…
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By Denis Carmel
QUEBEC – On Aug. 4, 2021, the Government of Québec filed an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Québec Court of Appeal regarding a measure adopted in the provincial budget of 2015, which required Internet access providers to block online gambling sites.
The Supreme Court made the application public last Friday in a news release listing recent applications.
There is a long process involved, and few doubt its outcome. Firstly, of the roughly 500 leave applications the Court receives each year, 89% are rejected. Secondly, the lower courts have made it clear the purpose of Continue Reading
CANADIAN ISP SUMMIT organizers Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) and Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) announced today new additions to the schedule for the event being held virtually Sept. 28-29.
Leonard Brody, a business and technology visionary, will give a keynote speech on Sept. 28. He “has been called “a leader of the new world order” and was recently named one of top 30 management thinkers in the world,” according to a press release.
“In his compelling, customized talks – for clients ranging from the United Nations to Visa and Pepsi – Brody addresses the rapid pace of change, innovation,…
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