By Denis Carmel
JULY 15 WAS THE DEADLINE for intervenors to provide the CRTC with their final submissions in the Wireless Policy Review proceeding.
It has been a long process and it is far from over. Technically, it started with an announcement on February 28, 2019.
However, back in 2015, the CRTC was saying: “When the Commission established the current wholesale mobile wireless service regulatory framework in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-177, it determined that the framework would remain in place for a minimum of five years, to allow for the development of sustainable competition and to encourage continued innovation and investment…
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GATINEAU — Cambridge, Ont.-based competitive local exchange carrier Fibernetics last week filed an application with the CRTC seeking relief from what it calls “unjustifiable conduct” on the part of Bell Canada related to local network interconnection (LNI) between the two companies.
In an abridged version of its application dated July 14 and posted on the Commission’s website today, Fibernetics says it has attempted to negotiate an LNI agreement with Bell for eight additional local interconnection regions (LIRs) that Fibernetics wishes to enter as a Type 1 CLEC. In April, Fibernetics provided a trunk forecast to Bell for the eight LIRs…
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TORONTO — Independent television producers with productions in a language other than English or French can start applying on July 22 for the government of Canada’s Covid-19 emergency relief funds, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced today.
Funding will be distributed to applicants on a first-come/first-served basis until the September 18, 2020 deadline. Applicants may be eligible to receive a maximum contribution of $50,000.
Eligible applicants may apply with no more than three TV projects produced in a language other than English or French that are the subject of an advertising revenue-share barter agreement with an eligible CRTC broadcaster during a…
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“Innovation is the child of freedom and the parent of prosperity.” – Matt Ridley, in How Innovation Works
By Tim Denton
DESPITE MANY POINTS OF AGREEMENT I have with the analysis made by Brad Danks in his piece The Critics are wrong: it’s time to regulate the Internet, I am in utter disagreement with his conclusions, namely that the Internet in Canada both can and should be regulated under the Broadcasting Act.
Mr. Danks is not my target, though. The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legal Review (BTLR) is. My conclusion is the report should be put on the shelf, forgotten as…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau is investigating whether Videotron employees artificially inflated online reviews of the Helix IPTV platform – and potentially other company products – in public forums, according to new court files asking the court to compel the Montreal-based company to hand over documents to advance the inquiry.
The watchdog said it’s of the preliminary view that the company’s employees may have violated competition law by “promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of its products” and business interests through “deceptive” means. As the investigation is ongoing, the Bureau said it has not concluded any…
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“Scare tactic,” says CNOC
By Linda Stuart
OTTAWA — If the CRTC mandates mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access to wireless incumbents’ networks, Canada’s gross domestic product would be reduced by an estimated $10 billion within five years, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study released today by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
In addition, other negative impacts on the Canadian economy would include an estimated $2.5 billion reduction in government tax revenue, approximately 94,000 jobs lost across the supply chain, and a widened digital divide between rural and urban communities in Canada, says the PwC report, which was commissioned by…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC today denied Bell’s application to review and vary the Commission’s December 2019 decision that ordered Bell to deploy one-way toll-free (TF) trunks between Bell’s network and Rogers’s network to carry TF traffic destined for Bell TF numbers.
Shortly after the Commission released its decision on December 2, 2019, Bell filed an R&V application which said the correctness of the ruling was in substantial doubt. In addition, Bell requested a stay of the decision until the Commission ruled on the R&V application.
In the December decision, the Commission had told Bell to have the toll-free trunks deployed…
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Cablevision’s TPIA rates approved by the CRTC
GATINEAU – A year ago today, Quebecor Media’s Videotron demanded third party internet access to Bell’s networks in the region of Abitibi, in Québec, which operates under the brand Cablevision du Nord. After a couple of rounds of regulatory back-and-forth CRTC ordered Bell to give access to Videotron and file tariffs.
Yesterday, the CRTC gave final approval to Cablevision du Nord’s tariffs for its 50 Mbps and 125 Mbps, over Videotron’s objection.
“The Commission approves on an interim basis the basic monthly usage charges and the monthly capacity charges per…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – The ongoing saga between Cloudwifi, a CLEC from Ontario, and Bell Canada took another turn last week, as the CRTC on Thursday issued a denial to Cloudwifi’s request to have a 2019 decision changed.
The decision, 2020-419, was the outcome of a Review and Vary request filed by Bell Canada regarding Decision 2019-218. In that decision the Commission “determined the differences between in-building copper and fibre are greater than previously anticipated and that the tariff for in-building copper access connections may not have been the correct model on which to base the tariff for…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Having been surprised by increasing revenues last year, Corus Entertainment last fall sought relief from the CRTC in order to allow it to defer spending on Canadian production and programs of national interest and on Friday the Commission heeded the big broadcaster’s request.
Corus enjoyed a rebound year in 2019 and since its content spending commitments are linked to revenue levels, the company found itself in a situation where it would have to spend more money in Canadian productions than anticipated which, it said, could result in programs of lesser quality having to be rushed…
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