TORONTO – TV viewers in eight Ontario cities will lose their over-the-air access to TVO this summer after the provincial broadcaster announced plans to decommission eight transmitters to help save money.
TVO said that it will cease transmitting from Belleville, Chatham, Cloyne, Kitchener, London, Ottawa, Thunder Bay and Windsor on July 31, 2017. The move, which it says will impact less than 1% of Ontario households, will not affect viewers in these cities who have paid TV subscriptions.
One transmitter in Toronto will be retained for the purposes of the CRTC licence and to minimize distribution costs, TVO continued. Decommissioning the over-the-air…
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Posting makes it highly unlikely chairman Blais will be retained
OTTAWA – January 23rd, the federal government made public a slew of Governor-in-Council appointment vacancies, including four at the CRTC.
While many, us included, had been postulating (apparently incorrectly, as it turns out) that CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais would have his term extended beyond his current five-year mandate which ends June 17th of this year, the fact his job is now publicly posted as open to applicants would seem to bring to an end his reign atop the Regulator – unless of course…
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VANCOUVER – Local governments' investments in community broadband are key to delivering cheaper, faster broadband that meets the CRTC’s #TalkBroadband objectives, says a new campaign spearheaded by consumer group OpenMedia.ca.
The group’s Community Broadband platform, which launched Monday, highlights various municipalities in urban and rural communities that have successfully rolled out affordable, high-speed Internet, most often through the deployment of fibre networks. According to the site, local government typically invests in a community broadband network and the Internet services are then sold by either the municipalities themselves, non-profits, small ISPs, co-operatives, public utilities, public-private partnerships, and other community organizations.
Municipally-run broadband…
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GATINEAU – The development and deployment of a next-generation 911 network (NG911) is perhaps most critical for Canadians who are unable to use the conventional call-based system.
Several groups representing the blind, vision impaired, deaf and hard of hearing told the CRTC on Thursday they need new tools to effectively communicate with 911 call centres in times of emergency.
They noted that while text with 911 is one such tool, it’s not very effective now. The T911 service was created as a measure to allow deaf and hard of hearing individuals to contact emergency call centres. But because of delayed response…
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GATINEAU – As Telus said last Monday during the CRTC’s N911 hearing, incumbent telcos believe that they are the logical choice as providers of next-generation 911 (NG911) services.
MTS noted in its opening remarks Wednesday that given the complexities involved with transitioning to NG911 from the current systems, it’s best to stick with what is known. Besides, the telcos have the PSAP (public safety access point) relationships, infrastructure and processes already in place for 911.
“There is no reason to believe that this existing framework would not work for NG911. In fact, retaining the same model would expedite a reliable, resilient…
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MONTREAL – Stressing its representation of “the entire population of Montréal”, Videotron’s community channel MAtv said that its new programming schedule includes a number of new shows that were proposed by viewers.
Starting January 30, the new schedule includes two new English shows, two new French shows, 12 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular-season games, and the return of series such as Premières vues and Mise À Jour Montréal .
In addition, Montréalité, hosted by Myriam Fehmiu, provides a forum for community organizations and individuals working for the welfare of their…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s cable companies say now is the time to wrest control of the 911 emergency system away from the incumbent telcos and hand it over to a new consortium charged with implementing next-generation emergency services.
Just as the telecom market has evolved from a monopoly environment to one based on competitive dynamics, so too should NG911.
While the cable operators believe the telcos have done a good job of running the existing 911 system over the last four decades, the CRTC shouldn’t simply renew their mandate to oversee a new NG911 system. As Shaw Communications noted in its…
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CHATHAM, ON – TekSavvy stayed true to its word and began lowering the rates on most of its Internet packages this week.
The independent ISP told customers in December that it would pass along the savings that it realized as a result of the CRTC’s wholesale high-speed access rates decision starting with the first billing cycle of 2017.
TekSavvy customers can expect to see their bills drop by anywhere from $5 to $15 per month, depending on their area and level of service.
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GATINEAU – The question of whether incumbent carriers should continue leading 911 development or if a new CRTC-run entity should drive it, was in the spotlight on the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on the subject.
Some groups argued a national entity with oversight from the Commission would be more effective at rolling out the next iteration of emergency telecommunication services nationally. Telus suggested, on the other hand during its appearance in front of commissioners, this would only create headaches.
The NG911 Coalition of the Willing kicked off the hearing, noting that a national entity is ideally suited to…
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TORONTO – A lift in SiriusXM Canada’s self-pay subscriber base helped to boost first quarter revenues by 4.4%.
For the period ended November 30, 2016, revenue from $83.5 million to $87.2 million year-over-year, reflecting growth in its self-paying subscriber base. Q1 FY2017 self-pay ARPU dipped 0.2% to $12.54 due to increased promotional activity.
Net income and comprehensive income of $9.8 million was down 2.7% from $10.1 million year-over-year, mainly due to higher operating costs combined with depreciation and amortization, partly offset by increased revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter grew 3.1% to $24.2 million from $23.5 million in the same period last…
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