The CRTC conditionally approved Thursday up to $272-million to the Government of Nunavut to build a 1,300-kilometre fibre transport connection to four remote Inuit communities in the territory.
The fibre line funded by round three of the $750-million Broadband Fund is expected to provide the requisite transport infrastructure to provide high-speed internet – with minimum speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload – to over 80 essential public institutions, including six health car centres and 15 schools, early learning and community learning centres.
The government’s application was supported by several local associations and businesses. It now requires the support…
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MPA filed challenge against mandated foreign streamer contribution to news
By Ahmad Hathout
Amazon and Apple have filed Wednesday separate challenges at the Federal Court of Appeal against the CRTC’s decision to impose a base contribution on foreign streamers, arguing among other issues that it isn’t equitable because it doesn’t require the same for online Canadian streamers that are part of large broadcasting groups and goes beyond Canadian contributions for audio services.
Amazon, which has a video and music streaming service, said the CRTC’s mandated five per cent of annual revenues is contrary to section four of cabinet’s policy direction to the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
One of the major contention points throughout the CRTC’s proceeding to bring online streamers under its ambit is now the subject of a judicial review application at the Federal Court of Appeal, as the Canadian affliate of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) hopes the court will hear its argument that foreign streamers shouldn’t have to contribute to a news fund from which its members derive no benefit.
As part of the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, the regulator issued a proposed order early last month that foreign streamers making $25 million or more must…
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A request by Rogers to postpone the completion date for its transport fibre project in Bruce Station, Ont., by 10 and a half months has been approved by the CRTC.
The project, which is receiving funding through the CRTC’s Broadband Fund, was previously granted a six-month extension by the commission in January. Rogers had said the additional time was needed to mitigate the discovery of asbestos at one of the project sites. As a condition of the funding, the project was originally supposed to be completed by February 2024.
In its…
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The CRTC has approved a broadcasting licence for Comité de la radio communautaire Huronne-Wyandot inc. (Radio Huronne-Wyandot) to operate an indigenous (Type B) FM radio station in Wendake, located in the Quebec City region.
The station will operate at 100.3 MHz with an average effective radiated power of 239 watts. Its licence will expire Aug. 31, 2030.
As part of its conditions of service, not-for-profit corporation Radio Huronne-Wyandot each broadcast week must devote at least 35 per cent of its popular music selections to Canadian selections broadcast in their entirety.
In addition, Radio Huronne-Wyandot must adhere to the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has ordered Iristel to pay amounts it owes Bell and its subsidiary Northwestel after finding the far north provider failed to show sufficient evidence that it was wronged in an interconnection dispute.
Iristel, which admitted to withholding amounts due because of perceived wrongdoing, alleged in a Part 1 application last October that Bell has failed and had no intention to add an interconnection point at Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec for Iristel to carry its call traffic in the region. In the interim, the telecoms voluntarily agreed since 2015 to have the traffic routed…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC wants to know whether it should exempt Google from having to negotiate with news publishers to host content for five years and thereby lock-in an agreement the platform struck with a news collective earlier this month.
Google held an open call, as it’s required under the new Online News Act, between February 28 and April 30 to field prospective eligible news businesses that want a piece of the $100 million it agreed to distribute every year to host news content. The process resulted in Google reaching an agreement with the Canadian Journalism Collective…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking the public Tuesday for how it should go about mandating accessibility features on online streaming platforms as part of the implementation of the Online Streaming Act.
The regulator is bound by the new law to not only regulate online streamers, but to also force them to comply with accessibility rules, namely described video and audio description for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted and closed captioning for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
While there are closed captioning (CC) rules for traditional broadcasters, the regulator is asking for comments by August 19 to questions…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is seeking a contractor to analyze the wireline transport market, as it prepares to make a decision on an updated wholesale internet access framework.
According to the procurement document, dated Thursday, the regulator is looking for a contractor to draft a definition of wholesale wireline high-speed transport services market, which should “allow for upcoming technological changes.”
It is also seeking an analysis of the group of products that consumers would consider to be substitutes for the service and an assessment of the geographic area in which a customer purchases a service and “whether or not a customer…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A new bill that would force the CRTC to “consult” with the provincial governments on matters affecting French-speaking markets is drawing concern from regulatory authorities both in its legal terminology and the precedent it could set for a tribunal freshly saddled with increased responsibilities.
The private member’s bill C-354, which passed second reading in the House and is in the committee stage, would amend the CRTC Act to add to section 12 a paragraph that would require it to “consult with the Government of Quebec or the governments of the other provinces, as the case…
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