TORONTO — Starting October 16, 2021, the new area code 742 will be introduced in the Golden Horseshoe region (excluding Toronto) which is currently served by area codes 289, 365 and 905.
This region includes Niagara, Hamilton, Halton, Peel, York and Durham. The introduction of the new 742 area code is the result of an October 2020 decision by the CRTC and is intended to meet the continuously growing demand for new telephone numbers in the region.
The new area code will be introduced gradually starting October 16. After this date, consumers and businesses requesting a new phone number may…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today it is imposing a penalty of $29,756.04 on Ontario-based Top Tier Moving and Storage for violating the Commission’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
The CRTC determined Top Tier made 6,226 telemarketing calls between October 4, 2017 and July 17, 2019, resulting in 14,804 violations of the rules. The violations were a combination of Top Tier calling consumers registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL), not being registered with the National DNCL operator nor subscribed to the National DNCL itself, and making telemarketing calls outside the permitted hours (9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. from Monday…
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Commission to launch ILNF review after C-10’s fate is known
GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today it has approved an application by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) to increase the maximum percentage of proceeds from the Independent Local News Fund (ILNF) that can be allocated to any one station or group of stations operated by the same licensee in a given market from 10% to 12% in any given broadcast year.
The change will be effective on September 1, 2021, which is the beginning of the 2021-2022 broadcast year.
The CAB, which administers the ILNF, submitted its Part 1 application…
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Auction starts today
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The strings attached to the federal government’s 3.5 GHz spectrum, whose auction beginning today will repurpose portions of it for mobile wireless use, include a speed-to-deployment component that complements federal policy to accelerate connectivity throughout the country by the end of the decade.
Winners of the auction, which Innovation Canada said will take “several weeks,” will have to deploy the spectrum largely within the 2030 timeframe for which the federal government hopes to provide access to all Canadians to high-speed internet.
While the focus is largely on what the 3.5 GHz spectrum will do for…
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By Bill Roberts
THE BANFF WORLD MEDIA Festival, a month-long virtual event running online from June 14th to July 16th thanks to the pandemic, kicked off Monday morning with a timely conversation with Ian Scott, CRTC chair and CEO.
Scott and his interviewer, journalist Jason Pinto, expressed the importance of the cultural industries regarding political, social, and environmental progress; and being a force for good. Pinto’s enquiries focused on Bill C-10 (the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act) and the past, current, and future efficacy of our broadcasting regulatory framework.
There was general consensus that, “drilling down” and given the pandemic and…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC today approved a new broadcasting licence for CKHQ 101.7 FM Kanesatake, which previously operated as a low-power Indigenous radio station, located in Kanesatake/Oka, Quebec, and was recently acquired by not-for-profit Mohawk Multi Media (MMM).
In May, the CRTC approved MMM’s acquisition of the station from CKHQ United Voices Radio (the station’s existing logo is pictured), and today the Commission issued its decision regarding the station’s licence, allowing CKHQ-FM Kanesatake’s status to be changed from a low-power unprotected service to a regular-power FM service.
In its application, MMM said CKHQ-FM Kanesatake would broadcast 126 hours of…
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NG911 voice service must be provided by March 1, 2022
GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today it is extending the deadlines for the implementation and provision of next-generation 911 (NG911) networks and services in Canada.
NG911 networks will add IP-based capabilities to emergency services so that people will be able to eventually use text messaging or share photos and videos with emergency service operators.
Step one is establishing NG911 networks and introducing NG911 Voice capability.
In its decision today, the Commission is directing NG911 network providers to establish their NG911 networks, complete all NG911 production onboarding activities and be ready to provide…
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For multilingual Canadians, it’s disappointment from the starting whistle
By Aldo Di Felice
FOR MILLIONS OF CANADIANS, Euro 2020 is already a disappointment, and it all has to do with what happens when the powers-that-be allow “squatting”. No, I am not talking about a new soccer tactic.
One year delayed, the 2020 UEFA European Championship kicked off on June 11, in Rome, Italy. The month-long tournament will see 36 matches played between 24 national teams in stadiums spread across 11 European cities. Like the Olympics, it’s a sporting competition with global significance, attracting a multinational, multilingual following. It will draw a projected…
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Why we can’t allow two companies who don’t lead, to merge
By Brad Danks
IF YOU HEARD A PRIMAL scream coming from across the country during your morning coffee last Thursday, no doubt it came from people like me who were reading the article in this publication entitled, Why more Canadian media consolidation is a must, summarizing a report from Scotiabank analyst Jeff Fan that recommends the merger of Bell Media and Corus Entertainment.
It’s not clear whether this is an idea actually being considered by those companies, the banks or major investors or if it is just a random report…
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Why Telus is dumping copper, quickly
By Greg O’Brien
EDMONTON – Telus is spending big over the next couple of years to push fibre optics more deeply into its network than ever before, perhaps even more deeply than most other telcos around the world.
Zainul Mawji, the company’s executive vice-president home solutions (and one of the highest-ranking women in Canadian telecom), has been at the tip of the company’s fibre spear since it began its PureFibre push in 2013. “I was employee number two on that particular foray in our organization,” she told Cartt.ca in a late May interview.
“We had very high…
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