GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE of digital connectivity in the modern, digital era, the affordability and availability of Internet access for Canadian households is an extremely important concern for policymakers.
Fortunately, Canada ranks very high in both of these dimensions, according to an international survey published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Canada ranks first among the 100 countries in internet affordability and 18th in internet availability in the most recent, 2019, EIU report.
The EIU, a sister company to The Economist newspaper, is a highly-regarded international provider of global information for businesses, the financial sector, and governments. It has been publishing…
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Freedom customers still the only ones with subway connectivity
TORONTO – BAI Communications has launched an online petition at iwantaccess.ca to try and pressure Rogers, Bell and Telus to come to the negotiation table and use the underground network it built for the Toronto Transit Commission.
Coverage in TTC stations has been live since 2015 for Freedom Mobile customers, “however, the Big 3 Telcos have yet to join the network,” says the petition. “Now, BAI is committed to educating cellular customers of the Big 3 Telcos about why they can’t access this network, and what they can…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC is holding a public hearing in Gatineau starting on Tuesday, November 5, where it will examine Allarco Entertainment’s application to renew the licence of Super Channel.
As reported previously by Cartt.ca, the CRTC said back in May that Super Channel’s licence renewal application required further explanation by Allarco Entertainment after interventions submitted to the Commission raised issues regarding instances of apparent non-compliance. Some of those instances of non-compliance were related to the distribution of Canadian programs, the eligibility and late payment of certain Canadian programming expenditures, and the eligibility and late payment of certain expenditures…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC has initiated a show cause proceeding as the result of six telecommunications service providers (TSPs) failing to become participants in the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Inc. (CCTS) and ignoring letters and requests for information sent by CRTC staff in the last year.
In its Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-363, the CRTC said the six telecom resellers who have not become CCTS participants are WISP Internet Services Inc., Golden Rural High Speed, Pure Channel Communications Inc., MySignal.ca Solutions Inc., Redbox Solutions Ltd., and Total Cable Service Inc. The Commission said it is launching…
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GATINEAU – "The Commission is of the preliminary view that certain device financing plans may create a new barrier for customers to take advantage of competitive offers in the market.
“In particular, customers, who may benefit in the immediate term from lower monthly costs related to their devices, appear to be asked to accept terms and conditions that may require them to stay with their current WSP after the end of their wireless service plan commitment period or be charged for the remainder of the cost of the device,” reads the notice from the CRTC when it opened a Continue Reading
OTTAWA — The CRTC says the total amount of Part II licence fees to be assessed by the Commission in 2019 is estimated to be $116.6 million.
The Commission made the announcement Wednesday in Broadcasting Order CRTC 2019-359. Sections 11(1) and 11(2) of the Broadcasting Licence Fee Regulations set out the components for the calculation of the Part II licence fees, paid by major licensed broadcasting undertakings.
The CRTC said it calculated the total annual amount of Part II licence fees to be assessed in 2019 by taking last year’s total of $113,973,360 in Part II licence fees and applying…
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GATINEAU – An acquisition which would see Bell Media pay $20 million to add five conventional French television stations in Québec, Montréal, Saguenay, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières from Groupe V Media will be probed by the CRTC in February.
In July, Bell Media announced its intention of to purchase certain Groupe V assets, pending CRTC approval and the application was made public today, Bell is requesting the conditions of licence for the V conventional stations relating to the broadcast of local programming and local news be maintained where:
each station shall, in each broadcast week, broadcast at least five hours of…
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Former commissioner Suzanne Lamarre also elected to board
OTTAWA — The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is enhancing the regulatory expertise of its board with the recent election of four new directors, including former CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein and former CRTC commissioner Suzanne Lamarre.
PIAC said in a news release the four new directors are all experts in either telecommunications, broadcasting or class actions, which will help to boost its consumer advocacy work when appearing before the CRTC to argue for better services and consumer protection for customers of Internet, wireless, telephone and broadcasting services.
“PIAC’s extensive work on behalf…
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GATINEAU – After being told its first application was deficient, Videotron rewrote the CRTC to rectify the company’s application and request again the withdrawal for its unbundled up-to-1 Gbps download, up-to-100 Mbps upload service since as October 23rd, it no longer has any more wholesale clients on that tier.
As before the company wants to also grandfather its retail clients who pay for the service, but stop offering to any new customers.
The removal of top speed services tilts against the prevailing winds in the broadband world.
Generally, withdrawal/de-standardization like this takes place when a service is…
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GATINEAU – After a lot of back and forth with the Competition Bureau, which asked for much additional, specific, information in the spring, then some complaints from wireless companies, resistance from the CRTC and eventually, compliance to the Bureau’s modified requests, Commission has come to realize the January hearing for its review of the Canadian wireless industry is too tight.
The Bureau, the companies and others all told the Regulator there was not enough time to answer and respond to newly filed information, so today, the Commission released…
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