GATINEAU – With bill shock, data overages and problematic trial periods still issues, consumer groups told the CRTC, as it kicked off its review of the Wireless Code of Conduct on Monday, that the code needs tightening.
Speaking on behalf of a number of organizations, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) reminded commissioners the Canadian wireless market is concentrated among a few providers and even with the provisions of the wireless code, it’s still too difficult for consumers to switch providers if they wish.
“Because we have three providers with well over 90% in almost all markets, a few with four…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC kicked off its planned review of its three-year old Wireless Code of Conduct on Monday by asking Canadians to share their views and experiences with it.
The Commission launched an online discussion forum, open from February 6 – 14, and promised that all comments made by Canadians during the online consultation will be considered as part of the review.
The Code’s public hearing will run from February 6 – 9 and aims to assess the Code’s effectiveness and whether it should be updated to reflect the evolution of the wireless market.
“We are giving Canadians another opportunity…
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Coalition of Canadian multicultural media producers readying competing proposal to OMNI in anticipation of CRTC call
FEW CANADIANS OUTSIDE of the TV industry are aware of a major decision under consideration by the CRTC right now that involves the Rogers Communications-owned multicultural TV channels known as OMNI TV.
Rogers is asking the Commission to turn OMNI Free TV into OMNI Pay TV and for all Canadians to chip in about $80 million to help Rogers run the channel (Cartt.ca has reported on that here, here, here and Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments as it prepares to undertake a review of the regulatory framework for text-based message relay services.
Message relay services (MRS) are text-to-voice services that enable people with a hearing or speech disability to make and receive telephone calls. The Commission currently requires wireline telephone service providers to offer two types of MRS: teletypewriter (TTY) and Internet Protocol (IP) relay services. Wireless service providers are generally not required to provide MRS, at present.
Specifically, the Commission has asked for input on how MRS could evolve to respond to users’ needs in today’s market, whether…
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OTTAWA – As the CMPA’s Prime Time conference debated the economics behind who’s making and buying content in a rapidly-changing global media business, attention turned Thursday to 6 out of 10, 8 out of 10 and 10 out of ten.
No, delegates weren't talking judging for Olympic figure skating.
The conference held a debate over Canada in the emerging digital age, and specifically whether or not the current Canadian-content points system should be retained or revamped to ensure innovation and growth. (Readers will remember this has been a serious bone of contention between the CRTC and producers…
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GATINEAU – A four-day hearing will begin Monday morning as the CRTC dives into a review of its three-year old Wireless Code of Conduct.
This code of conduct which, among other things, forced Canadian wireless companies to stop offering contracts longer than 24 months to customers, was one of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais’ initial major policy shifts driving his oft-stated consumer-first agenda.
The code, as the CRTC says, aims to make it easier for individual and small business consumers to get information about their contracts with wireless service providers and about their associated rights and responsibilities, establish standards for industry behaviour,…
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TORONTO – Bell Media has entered another period of restructuring, Cartt.ca has learned.
There have been scattered reports across the country Monday about cutbacks at the big broadcaster. A few long-time on-air personalities have already made public the fact they’re out of work, such as 40-year CHUM veteran Ingrid Schumacher, CHOM host Heather Backman, and TSN Radio Vancouver play-by-play voices Scott Rintoul and Peter Schaad.
(Update #3): Since Monday, other names have been made public, such as CTV Northern Ontario VP and GM Scott Lund, VP…
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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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