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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By Mel Cohen
THE CRTC REVERSED ITSELF last Thursday, declaring that it erred in 2019 when it set lower rates for wholesale customers of the major telephone and cable companies. Wholesale customers are the dozens of smaller companies that compete with the majors and each other to provide internet services used every day by Canadian homes and businesses.
They are companies you might know – Distributel, Primus, and other members of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada. The consequence of the CRTC decision is that Canadians will soon pay higher prices to use the internet.
What is particularly frustrating about this…
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MARKHAM, Ont. — Yet another independent ISP says it is being forced to halt network investments it hoped to make due to the CRTC’s decision last month not to lower Internet wholesale rates, with Markham, Ont.-based CIK Telecom announcing last week it is not going ahead at this time with a $300-million fibre network project which it announced in January.
When CIK Telecom announced the Markham project, it said it was “anticipating that the CRTC will lower the wholesale rates and expecting the incumbents to refund the overcharges retroactively to third-party internet providers dated back from April 2016…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC this week opened a new proceeding asking anyone interested to comment on whether there is a need for a three-digit number, such as the 9-8-8 three-digit code in the United States, for a national mental health crisis and suicide prevention service.
For what it’s worth, this is almost sure to happen, however, “the CRTC is examining the advantages, challenges and costs associated with the deployment of this three-digit number,” says its announcement. This is something mental health advocates and the federal government is already backing.
The Commission is seeking answers to the following questions:
Should…
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Report says putting Corus and Bell together would strengthen Canadian industry
By Greg O’Brien
WITH DIGITAL PLAYERS already claiming the bulk of the revenue and a huge swath of viewing time in Canada, Bell Media and Corus Entertainment must come together if they are to survive amid the growing presence of global streaming players, according to a new report from Scotiabank analyst Jeff Fan.
The report gets to the point in its title: “More Canadian Media Consolidation is Necessary and Inevitable.”
Noting American telcos have recently abandoned their content dreams of late because they need the cash and resources to feed 5G…
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USING GOOGLE’S OFFICIAL CANADA blog, Jeanette Patell, head of public policy for YouTube Canada, posted a statement today about Bill C-10, the bill which would modernize the Broadcasting Act, in which she says the company supports the federal government’s goal of modernizing broadcasting and promoting Canadian artists, but adds concern about the potential negative impact of such legislation on YouTube’s Canadian creators.
In the blog post, titled “A Note on Bill C-10: Standing with Canadian creators and their fans”, Patell writes: “Making sure that people can find and enjoy all of this quality Canadian content is a big priority…
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MONTREAL — In a press release on Wednesday, Quebecor’s Videotron couldn’t resist taking a jab at Bell subsidiary Cablevision du Nord de Quebec which was ordered by the CRTC the previous day to pay for router upgrades in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of western Quebec to add capacity to its third-party Internet access (TPIA) service which Videotron wants to use as it expands services in the region.
On Tuesday, the Commission also denied Cablevision’s September 2020 application to withdraw its 50 Mbps downstream/5 Mbps upstream (50/5) service plan, because the Commission said it considered the application to be “premature”.
“he…
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