By Ahmad Hathout
The country’s highest court ruled Thursday that it will not examine questions related to the CRTC’s decision to reverse a 2019 order that proposed lower wholesale internet access rates for competitors.
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) rejected TekSavvy’s October application that requested a review of a lower court’s decision to deny that the CRTC had to follow established costing methodology when, in 2021, it “arbitrarily” decided to maintain higher wholesale rates that competitors pay to access the larger provider’s networks. The regulator said it quashed the 2019 decision due to methodological errors.
TekSavvy wanted the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) said it intends to move forward with a legal challenge it filed last June objecting to a CRTC decision granting regulatory relief to Corus.
The Federal Court of Appeal handed down a notice of status review on Tuesday alerting the CMPA that more than 180 days has elapsed since the organization filed its notice of application, yet it still hasn’t put forward a request for a hearing date or a proof of service showing it filed its supporting affidavits and applicant’s record.
The court is now asking the CMPA to file, within 30…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TekSavvy is warning this month that a telco requirement to buy a minimum percentage of what it says is unnecessary capacity to get access to higher gigabit services on aggregated fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks will result in higher costs and lower sales.
The independent telecom is responding to an application by Bell, filed last month, that requests approval of the CRTC to remove the 10 Mbps, 50 Mbps, and 300 Mbps speed tiers for competitors’ residential customers in its Aliant operating territory in Atlantic Canada. Bell explains that it has no customers on the tiers proposed to be removed…
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Corus Entertainment announced last Friday it has completed an agreement to amend and restate its credit agreement dated Oct. 24, 2024, extending the maturity date to March 20, 2027.
The credit facility has been amended to, among other things, increase the maximum amount Corus may request as an advance on a revolving basis to $75 million, remove certain requirements to use excess cash to repay the outstanding amounts on such advances, and fix the interest rate per annum equal to the two-year Canada interest rate determined on March 17, 2025, plus 4.75 per cent, explained a March…
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By Moyra Rodger, CEO of Magnify Digital, a boutique digital agency specializing in online marketing strategy, advertising, and training for the screen media industry
A new wave of Canadian patriotism is emerging in response to U.S. tariffs, making this the perfect moment to focus on what truly matters—our stories. More than ever, Canadian content must reach audiences at home and abroad.
Securing the future of Canadian content means moving beyond a system that prioritizes production and treats audience engagement as an afterthought. Both legacy and digital-first producers need a unified approach to capturing and sustaining audience attention. If we fail to…
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Bell announced Thursday it has rolled out its 8 Gbps internet tier for business customers in certain areas of Ontario and Quebec.
The symmetrical download and upload speeds are available in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and surrounding suburbs, London, Guelph, Kitchener and Georgetown, as well as in Montreal, Laval and the Greater Montreal Area, Quebec City, and Levis.
“This significant speed increase offers businesses enhanced connectivity capabilities, supporting various business needs and applications,” the telco said in a press release.
The announcement follows the launch of the speed tier for residential customers in the two provinces…
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Rogers says the complaint is ‘completely without merit’
By Ahmad Hathout
A national news channel is alleging Rogers is unjustly keeping it from distribution to a broader cable audience, but the cable giant is calling the complaint meritless.
The News Forum, which was granted mandatory distribution on cable in 2022, alleges that, unlike its competitors, it has been denied equal access by being excluded from Rogers’s legacy or grandfathered cable packages.
Before it received mandatory distribution under the Broadcasting Act’s 9.1(1)(h) rule, the independent news service negotiated its current distribution agreement with Rogers as an exempt undertaking the year before. But while it…
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Rogers charges OUTtv using regulatory system to stop it from making commercial decisions
By Ahmad Hathout
LGBTQ+ TV broadcaster and streamer OUTtv is alleging Rogers is violating Wholesale Code rules by shuffling the network into a less popular cable TV package.
The subscription-based service is alleging in a Part 1 application dated March 5 that the cable company is violating section 9 of the code by not putting the network in the “best available” package, negatively impacting its wholesale fee revenue. The complaint alleges that Rogers shuffled the service it must carry out of a “Premier” package and “into a different and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Iristel and Bell are again in front of the CRTC about a disagreement over the repayment of amounts owed to the large telco, according to a Part 1 filing made public this week.
Iristel is asking the regulator to force Bell to withdraw a February 21 telephone service disconnection notice, effective March 3, and to accept its plan to pay back amounts it owes. The far north provider said it has been “willing to enter and honour a reasonable deferred payment agreement,” but says Bell has allegedly rejected the proposal.
The CRTC said in a June 27 decision…
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Just the latest company to request a bump up in carriage fee
By Ahmad Hathout
Vues & Voix is asking the CRTC to add three cents to the monthly wholesale carriage fee commanded by its 24-hour radio station Canal M to maintain programming and avoid laying off much-needed paid staff, according to an application made public Thursday.
The company says the station, which creates content for visual- and hearing-impaired Canadians, is facing a “perfect storm” of lower revenues from cord cutting, a higher cost of living, aging digital infrastructure that needs an upgrade, and an increasing population of vulnerable people who have…
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