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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Shaw CEO also warns regulators not to change things now
CALGARY – After showing strong wireless subscriber additions of more than 266,000 customers in fiscal 2019 and bringing in $1 billion in annual wireless revenue for the first time, Shaw Communications executives didn’t hold back their opinions during the year-end conference call with financial analysts.
CEO Brad Shaw, said the company spent the fiscal year (ended August 31) focused on adding broadband and wireless customers, expanding its wireless network in the west by rolling out its 700 MHz spectrum – all the while managing a large…
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LONDON, Ont. – Independent ISP Start.ca this week announced further improvements to its internet plans, with cost reductions and speed improvements.
After lowering prices and increasing speeds on several internet plans last month thanks to the CRTC’s recent decision on third party internet access (TPIA) wholesale rates, the company said Thursday more plans will be getting faster or more affordable.
The changes will affect over 14,000 existing Start.ca customers, who will now see either more money in their pockets or a free speed increase next month.
We asked for a few more details from Start.ca CEO Peter Rocca who told us…
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New one is coming, though
GATINEAU – On October 11, 2019, Videotron filed an application to the CRTC to decommission its fastest Internet service, saying it would cease offering its Giga-Service to its retail as well as wholesale customers.
In a bit of a twist, the CRTC wrote back to Videotron noting mistakes in the application meant it could not accept it – and so it returned it to the company.
First, Videotron had indicated it wished to cease offering the Giga Service starting immediately but Commission staff told the company that such service eliminiation has to be…
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WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION done, Canadians can go back to really important matters: will the Montreal Canadian make the playoffs.
In all seriousness, we know the Liberals will be forming the next government but from a minority standpoint. This means they will need the support (or the abstention) of only one of the Bloc Quebecois or NDP, but not both. So, there’s a little room to manoeuvre. Both of those parties are reported to be utterly broke, so they will have little interest to drive everyone back to the polls for now.
The ideological positioning of those parties looks to bring…
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There’s pain now, but “simplicity dividend” will pay off for Rogers, CEO promises
TORONTO – This summer, Rogers Communications was the first to take the leap into lower wireless prices and modern device financing plans, each with the goal of making things easier and cheaper for both the company and its customers.
The new plans, starting at $75/month for unlimited data (albeit slowed after 10GB) sent the wireless market (and the Regulator) into a bit of a tizzy in the summer as all of the…
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GATINEAU – The Telecommunications Act allows the CRTC to order “telecommunications facilities to be provided, constructed, installed, altered, moved, operated, used, repaired or maintained on any property.”
Furthermore, “No Canadian carrier or distribution undertaking shall construct a transmission line on, over, under or along a highway or other public place without the consent of the municipality or other public authority having jurisdiction over the highway or other public place.”
In that context, the Commission has had to resolve conflicts that arose over the years between some municipalities and carriers. The general rule is a municipality is compensated for its costs incurred…
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