MONTREAL – Calling BCE’s plan to funnel $40 million to its subsidiary, NorthwesTel, as part of its merger with Astral "wrong on a number of regulatory and business levels," Ice Wireless and Iristel warned the CRTC that the scheme will harm, if not kill, the newly established competitive market in Canada's north.
Ice Wireless and Iristel, which provide vital telephony services to rural and remote communities in northern Canada, are referring to NorthwesTel plans to carry out a five-year wireless network upgrade with a significant portion tied to the CRTC allowing Bell to funnel $40 million of…
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MONTREAL- Locked-out Bell TV workers are holding an information picket this week at CRTC hearings into the proposed Bell Canada and Astral Media merger.
"In our experience, the bigger Bell Canada gets, the worse it treats its employees," says Barb Dolan, Ontario Administrative Vice-President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) in a statement.
"Our members, who have been locked out while trying to obtain a first collective agreement, have a clear message for the CRTC: Along with corporate growth, goes a responsibility to treat workers fairly."
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TORONTO – Cartt.ca has confirmed the CRTC will announce tomorrow the winning bid for the coveted 88.1 FM slot in Toronto and judging by the wide range of applications it promises to alter the city’s radio landscape.
The 88.1 frequency became available after the CRTC revoked the license from Ryerson University’s CKLN after multiple license infractions spread over years.) The commission’s hearing to award the 88.1 slot attracted a record 22 applications. A common theme in all the applicants’ pitches was the stated need to take 88.1 FM in a completely new direction.
For example, Newcap wants to develop a…
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MONTREAL – CPAC will present live coverage of the CRTC hearing regarding the BCE acquisition of Astral Media beginning Monday. CPAC will televise the week-long hearing in Montreal in its entirety beginning at 10 am each day, and provide online coverage beginning at 9 am ET.
Since the House of Commons is not sitting until the week of September 17th, CPAC has the ability to carry long-form coverage on the channel in addition to the web site.
Due to the size and scope of the proposed transaction, the Commission has stated it will likely…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – In unveiling its highly anticipated three-year plan the CRTC says it will focus efforts on three key pillars it refers to as “connect,” “create” and “protect.” The commission said it will be targeting specific results from each of the pillars and will report annually on its progress towards their achievement.
For example, it pledged to keep a close watch on the availability of Canadian programs, the amount spent annually on their creation and the audiences they attract. The regulator will also monitor broadband speeds and the choice of Internet service providers available to Canadians, as well as…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians appetite for content continued to grow last year in all media including TV, radio and Internet. But increasingly that content is being purchased primarily through the five largest communications companies (Astral, Corus, BCE, Newcap, Rogers) who together captured 83% of revenues. In comparison the next five companies captured 10%.
This according to figures released in the CRTC’s Annual Monitoring Report that provides an overview of the Canadian communications industry. Given the level of industry consolidation, the commission says it has acted to ensure these companies “do not harm their competitors or restrict consumer choice.” For example,…
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GATINEAU – CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais announced Friday that he has created a new position within the Commission: Chief Consumer Officer.
It’s first CCO will be Barbara Motzney, who is currently director general, border policy and international affairs at Public Safety Canada. Prior to joining Public Safety, she was director general of copyright policy at Canadian Heritage where she lead the introduction of two Bills to modernize Canada’s copyright legislation, and virtual and in-person national consultations on the topic.
“I am pleased to announce the creation of the position of Chief Consumer Officer and the appointment of Barbara Motzney to this…
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THE BACK-AND-FORTH paper war between Wind and Telus will not abate until the CRTC says one way or another whether it will call a hearing into the matter.
On one side we have Wind (also known as Globalive Wireless), which spent two years fighting off allegations from Telus, Public Mobile and others that its level of Canadian ownership did not satisfy Canadian regulations. That battle went all the way to the Supreme Court. On the other side we have Telus, which has run into some unexpected rough waters trying to convert its two share structure into…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The Federal Liberal Association in Guelph, ON, has been hit with a $4,900 fine by the CRTC for its use of automatic dialers, also known as robocalls, during the 2011 election.
The Commission said Friday that its decision pertained to robocalls made over a period of approximately one hour on April 30, 2011 that did not comply with the country’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules. The violations involved a pre-recorded message sent by the Association that failed to identify on whose behalf the call was made, did not provide necessary call-back information, and failed to display the originating telephone number or…
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OTTAWA – Cogeco Diffusion has received CRTC approval to amend the broadcasting licence for radio station CJMF-FM Québec to a specialized format devoted to spoken word programming.
In its decision, the Commission noted that CJMF-FM already broadcasts spoken word programming during peak listening hours, and still intends to broadcast 17 hours of music programming per broadcast week.
“In light of the above, the Commission is of the view that approval of the amendments proposed by CJMF-FM would only have a limited impact on the Québec radio market, and no undue negative financial impact on incumbent radio stations”, the decision…
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