By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Two dozen applicants which have been denied Connect to Innovate money have yet to be notified of their status, despite the government’s intention to give them time to prepare applications for the CRTC’s Broadband Fund and the new Universal Broadband Fund.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) has made it clear, according to a 2019 briefing note obtained by this publication, that it wanted to inform and prepare unsuccessful CTI applicants for other funding opportunities in the CRTC’s $750-million program, which has already closed a second round of applications, and in the government’s delayed $1 billion…
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By Doug Barrett
ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER stresses and strains in this unsettled time comes a very particular challenge for the broadcasting system during a pandemic: What to do about all of the conditions and requirements imposed on broadcasters by the CRTC. It turns out the problem is not straightforward.
In mid-July, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters filed a formidable application with the Commission on behalf of all private radio and television broadcasters that painted a bleak economic picture for the March to June period and beyond, and bluntly asked for sweeping regulatory relief.
The relief requested: “…absent evidence of…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Citing “changes to our business,” Pelmorex Corp. eliminated 14 jobs last week.
The company, which owns The Weather Network/MétéoMédia and manages the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System, said in a statement to Cartt.ca that the cuts were “across various business units within the entire Pelmorex organization.”
No additional details were provided.
According to financial summaries published by the CRTC, TWN/MétéoMédia has been seeing a steady decline in revenue in its regulated businesses, averaging 4% a year, as both advertising revenue and number of subscribers has fallen continuously over the past five years, in line with trends in…
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MARKHAM, Ont. — The Canadian Telecom Summit, which this year is a virtual event taking place November 17 to 19, announced more keynote speakers this week.
Today it was confirmed Tony Geheran (left), executive vice-president and chief customer officer of Telus, will deliver a keynote presentation on Thursday, November 17 from 1:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. In his role at Telus, Geheran leads an organization of more than 12,500 team members who look after all aspects of the customer service journey for mobility and home solutions as well as the deployment of Telus’ PureFibre network and digital strategy. Read…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC said Friday the wholesale rate for French-language youth channel VRAK set by owner Bell Media is the right one for Cogeco Connexion to pay.
Cogeco had asked the Commission for Final Offer Arbitration over the long-running rate dispute but in the decision announced Friday, the Regulator said “The Commission selects Bell’s offer, thereby establishing the linear and multiplatform wholesale rates for distribution of VRAK by Cogeco. The Commission finds that the offer proposed by Bell is most appropriate when evaluated in light of factors relating to fair market value, taking into account their probative value.”
Cogeco…
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GATINEAU — In what could be a precedent-setting proceeding, Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications have asked the CRTC to issue an order which would grant reasonable compensation to the two companies for the costs of relocating their transmission lines along (or on, over, or under) provincial highways in British Columbia.
Rogers and Shaw are seeking compensation for costs associated with mandatory relocations of their transmission lines due to B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) work or requirements, regardless of who owns the supporting structures for the transmission lines. In virtually all cases, the telephone poles supporting Rogers’ and Shaw’s…
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GATINEAU — In a new Part 1 application, Bell Canada is asking the CRTC for permanent approval to allow Bell and its subsidiaries to block certain fraudulent and scam voice telephone calls known as Wangiri (Japanese for “one ring”) fraud calls.
In April, the Commission gave Bell temporary approval to block Wangiri calls until June 1, as we reported here. Then in June, the Commission approved another application by Bell to conduct a 90-day call-blocking trial, using the same methodology used to block Wangiri calls.
Having begun July 15, Bell’s 90-day call-blocking trial is due to expire on October…
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And suffers a backlash
By Denis Carmel
QUEBEC CITY – CHOI-FM, the Québec City radio station whose licence the CRTC had refused to renew back in 2005 because of repeated on-air abuse against individuals and groups, is back in the news.
Last week, the station refused to air a commercial spot from the Québec government on the Covid-19 pandemic. The government wanted the ad to air on the talk station which has been questioning, through its hosts and guests, the reality of Covid-19, the government’s response and encouraging defiance from its listeners.
The station is also accused of having given a voice to…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance said this morning it supports Videotron’s recent complaint to the Competition Bureau which alleges Bell Canada is unfairly slowing down and blocking access to Bell’s support structures (poles) in Quebec.
“CCSA’s members in Quebec have had the same experiences and frustrations Videotron cites in trying to get fair and timely access to Bell-owned telephone poles in order to extend high-speed Internet services in that province,” said CCSA CEO Jay Thomson in a release this morning.
“Anti-competitive tactics by Bell and other pole owners represent the biggest barrier to providing rural Canadians with…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – The federal government’s Thursday announcement to spend another $2 billion on expanding broadband access to underserved communities as part of a $10-billion basket of infrastructure initiatives through the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s (CIB’s) Growth Plan leaves many unanswered questions.
“How is it going to be delivered? What’s the timeline? What communities will be prioritized?” wondered John Nater, the Conservative shadow minister for rural economic development. “We understand these will be loans, but we don’t know whether the interest rate will be competitive and how it will differ from commercial lending agencies.”
“I don’t have a ton of…
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