REGINA – After taking over a month to digest and study the decision, SaskTel today expressed concerns that the CRTC’s recent policy announcement regarding basic telecommunications services plans will cause it to raise its rates.
The Commission’s decision to phase out the $100 million local service subsidy for rural areas in Canada (to be replaced with other broadband-focused funding formulae) includes the loss of a $16 million subsidy in 2016/17 for rural telephone subscribers in Saskatchewan, said the company in a press release Monday.
The reduction in subsidy could potentially result in rate…
Continue Reading
CHATHAM (Ontario) – L’entreprise indépendante TekSavvy est située dans une de ces villes de classe ouvrière qui a « déjà eu » beaucoup de choses.
Elle a déjà eu une usine de Rockwell International. Elle a déjà eu l’usine de soupe Campbell. Elle a déjà eu autrefois une entreprise de fabrication de fenêtre. TekSavvy, cependant, quoique petite est devenue un énorme succès dans cette ville d’environ 40 000 habitants. Maintenant avec plus de 600 employés (la plupart d'entre eux travaillent dans cette ancienne usine de soupe que TekSavvy a rénové, alors que d’autres œuvrent à Toronto et Montréal), la…
Continue Reading
HALIFAX – While the company continues to invest in a growing media segment, kids content, broadcaster and producer DHX Media saw revenue declines in its fiscal second quarter, ended December 31, 2016.
Q2 2017 revenue of $78.9 million was down 3% compared to Q2 2016, due largely to expected declines in quarterly targets, reads the company’s press release. Besides its production, DHX also owns Family Channel, Family Junior, Telemagino and Family CHRGD.
“At quarter-end, we had invested $31.4 million in ongoing proprietary production, resulting in a robust pipeline with the majority of these productions expected to be delivered in the…
Continue Reading
GATNEAU – Groups representing deaf, hard of hearing, the blind and the deaf-blind communities told the CRTC today the Wireless Code of Conduct needs to be better tailored to their specific needs.
Specifically, the Deaf Wireless Canada Committee (DWCC) suggested videos in both American Sign Language (ASL) and Quebec Sign language (LSQ) be made to explain key contract terms. In its presentation, the association pointed to terms such as prepaid, post paid, data plan, data overages, unlocking devices, CCTS (Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services) and CRTC as examples. One of the problems though is that creating these videos costs…
Continue Reading
SO MANY OF US who are worried about the coming consequences of the “post-truth” age, whether we’re journalists or not, wonder aloud why people don’t trust the hardworking, mainstream media, and are genuinely puzzled when citizens can no longer identify the truth.
What happened this week when it came to the reporting of the ratings for the Super Bowl in Canada revealed there are reasons behind this confusion and mistrust. Slipshod journalism and a rush to be first has left everyone confused how many Canadians watched the game – and on what channels – since the CRTC removed Bell’s simultaneous…
Continue Reading
CHATHAM, Ont. – Independent ISP TekSavvy’s home is one of those working class towns that “used to” have a lot of things.
It used to have a Rockwell International factory. It used to have a Campbell’s Soup plant. There used to be a window manufacturing company. TekSavvy, however, used to be small and has become a huge success story in the city of about 40,000. Now with over 600 employees (most of whom work in that former soup factory that TekSavvy renovated, with others also in Toronto and Montreal), the company is now the second-largest private employer in Chatham, behind…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The CRTC heard on Wednesday that it could improve consumers’ wireless service buying experience and result in a more competitive environment if it adopted some minor changes to the Critical Information Summary (CIS).
Tamara Shepherd, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and Catherine Middleton, professor and Canada Research Chair at Ryerson University, suggested that as a first step the CIS be standardized, simplified and provided to consumers much earlier in the contracting process.
Specifically, Middleton pointed to the confusion around plans as they’re presented on the wireless carriers’ websites. She noted terms such as premium, light, heavy,…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Freedom Mobile has called on the CRTC to “take the bold step and completely do away with unlocking fees altogether and that unlock codes be provided by carriers free of charge on request.”
The upstart operator owned by Shaw Communications made the recommendation on Wednesday during its opening remarks to the Commission’s three-year review of the Wireless Code of Conduct.
The company added that there is no reason domestic carriers can’t offer unlocked devices at the point of sale. After consulting several large handset suppliers, “they have indicated that they would be happy to sell unlocked phones,” said Bob…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Leave the Wireless Code of Conduct alone, for the most part, three of Canada’s largest wireless operators told the CRTC on the second day of a hearing which is the code’s scheduled three-year review.
Rogers, Bell and Quebecor said consumers now have a much better understanding of their rights, and the code has led to a more competitive environment – so therefore there is little need to make major changes.
“The current Code strikes the right balance of providing standardized protection for consumers, while allowing competitive market forces to introduce differentiated products and customer support,” said David Watt, senior…
Continue Reading
WITH ITS SUPER BOWL SIMSUB decision, which finally came to pass Sunday of course, the CRTC decided that a relative few people complaining they couldn’t watch American ads (ads!) was more important than the promotion and funding of Canadian content.
The decision to set aside simultaneous substitution and, essentially, cause direct harm to Bell Media – the company which purchased the rights to the game in Canada – is a fundamental departure from what the Commission is supposed to do, which is promote, foster and enable the distribution of Canadian content and culture through the Canadian broadcasting system. It’s impossible…
Continue Reading
