REGULATING AN INDUSTRY involves a careful balance. Telecommunications is a perfect example. It is regulated so that consumers can expect fair prices, quality of service and universal access. On the other hand, the regulated telecom carriers require a predictable environment that allows them to make a reasonable profit in order to satisfy their shareholders and make forward-looking investments to expand their business and keep up with technological innovations.
It has been the mantra of CRTC that regulation should be fair, transparent, predictable and timely.
Telecom in Canada has been regulated since its inception. After all, it is a networked industry, meaning…
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OF ALL OF THE REACTIONS from last week’s final wholesale rates for broadband internet announced by the CRTC, Bell’s cancellation of plans to improve Wireless Home Internet for 200,000 households stood out.
It’s probably the most revealing statement about how the established big telecoms think, why they won’t stray from the same old way of doing business, and why they continue to ignore the needs of underserved Canadians.
What warranted dropping so many Canadians from Bell’s initial plan to improve connectivity for rural Canadians? Did the broadband business case for rural Canadians look similar to those on the wireless side of…
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TORONTO – Broadcaster Asian Television Network says it is continuing to feel the sting of piracy as its revenue continues to decline, but that it is hopeful the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review Panel might have a lifeline for it come January.
For the second quarter, ended June 30, operating revenue came in at $2.9 million, down from $3.9 million in the second quarter of 2018. Net loss for the period came in at $941,000, more than double Q2 2018’s $426,000.
“Declining revenues are predominantly as a result of increased internet piracy and consumers shifting towards illegal digital IPTV set-top…
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TORONTO – Canadian BDUs recently began telling customers as of September 30th, both Cosmo TV and the Independent Film Channel will cease broadcasting because owner Corus Entertainment has decided to shut them down.
According to Corus filings with the CRTC, the two specialty services were showing some profit, but those, along with their subscriber numbers, were shrinking, meaning they weren’t earning enough to make it worthwhile to renew their licensing deals.
Cosmo TV (which licenced the Hearst Publishing Cosmopolitan magazine brand in Canada) had 2.5 million subscribers as of the end of August 2018 (the most recent figures available) and earned…
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OTTAWA – “The Governor in Council, having considered the petitions, is satisfied that the decision does not derogate from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada," reads the Order-in-Council on the appeals to cabinet over the CRTC’s decision to grant Rogers Media a 9(1)(h) licence for its national ethnic TV channel.
The decision was made Saturday, but made public Wednesday, and there was as little explanation as possible. TLN Media, ECG, Corrcan, and ICTV, all rejected applicants, had filed appeals to cabinet over the…
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Eastlink says it'll slow network spending because of CRTC. Videotron, Shaw to review network investments; estimated costs now over $300M
WHILE LARGE INCUMBENT network operators mull their legal options in the wake of last week’s CRTC decision to decrease the wholesale rates third party ISPs must pay them, three more have said the decision not only costs them millions, but will cause them to rein in network expansion, which will affect rural broadband builds.
The Commission’s decision to retroactively impose the rates with the decision that took more than three years to complete also threw…
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Bell to cut rural broadband rollout by 20% in response; Other carriers equally disappointed, angry
MONTREAL – Bell Canada spent the weekend crunching numbers (update: Rogers did the same) and announced today that last week’s CRTC decision to slash the rates paid by independent third party internet access (TPIA) providers – retroactively, too – will have a cost which will be paid by rural Canadians.
Bell said Monday morning it has estimated the impact of the CRTC’s decision to lower wholesale fees, retroactively, to be $100 million, and in order to pay for that, it will reduce…
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GATINEAU – In a long-awaited decision, the CRTC today set final rates for wholesale access to the high speed wired networks of Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Telus, and Vidéotron.
The process had started in May 2015 and interim decision was rendered in October 2016. That said, this is a fight that has been going on for more than a decade.
The rates released today (which are paid by independent third party ISPs like TekSavvy and Distributel) are lower than the interim rates and retroactive to 2016. The monthly capacity rates are 15% to 43% lower…
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OTTAWA – The organizations responsible for enforcing the Accessible Canada Act (one of which is the CRTC) announced today the establishment of the Council of Federal Accessibility Agencies.
The Accessible Canada Act became law on June 21, 2019 and requires the member organizations of the Council “to work collaboratively to refer federal accessibility complaints to the right organization and to foster complementary policies and practices,” reads the press release.
The council is made up of
The Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Transportation Agency
The Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Chair of the…
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THE NEXT BIG LEAP in wireless telecommunications is coming.
The current standard for mobile networks is what the tech industry calls fourth generation, or 4G. But this will soon be overtaken by fifth generation, or 5G, wireless technology. 5G offers increased data transfer speeds and will connect many more devices with almost no delayed response when receiving and sending information.
One might think the issues surrounding the development of 5G would focus on questions like whether the government should build a nationalized 5G network, or the possible health impacts of additional radio-frequency radiation. However, one issue has come to dominate the 5G…
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