GATINEAU – Consumers’ associations say the CRTC must ensure broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) do a better job of promoting the availability of a small entry level package as well as explaining it more clearly to interested customers.
In final submissions filed last week, the Consumers’ Association of Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (CAC-PIAC) and the Union des consommateurs tell the Commission certain information on entry level packages is lacking or unclear and that BDUs should put skinny basic at the forefront of their promotional activities.
CAC-PIAC believe the rules around the promotion of the skinny basic package should be…
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OTTAWA – Rogers Communications and Videotron must go back to the drawing board for parts of their respective disaggregated wholesale broadband offerings after the CRTC said Wednesday that while some of their head-ends meet the criteria, others do not.
Telecom Decision 2016-379 comes after a proceeding to determine if Bell Canada, Cogeco Cable, Rogers and Videotron's proposed network configurations comprise of access facilities as laid out Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326 (the wholesale broadband ruling). That ruling determined that while wholesale broadband access would still be mandated, it would only be available in a disaggregated model going forward, meaning that no…
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MONTREAL – The fifth generation mobile network is still in the testing phase, and the Internet of Things is still in its infancy. We’re a few years away from gigabit speeds on wireless or a non-trivial number of people having to program their toaster with their Wi-Fi password.
But Manon Brouillette (right), CEO of Vidéotron, thinks we need to be preparing for the future rather than reacting to it. And that’s the message she sent when speaking to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Tuesday. “If we’re going to be part of this in the future, now is…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will use social news aggregation site Reddit to involve more Canadians in its upcoming review into differential pricing practices related to Internet and wireless data plans.
The Commission said Monday that it will post the topic of differential pricing practices related to Internet data plans on the /r/Canada subreddit discussion forum “to encourage individuals who might not otherwise participate in this proceeding to share their points of view”.
The official /r/Canada subreddit discussion forum on this topic will run from 9:00 AM ET on September 26 to 8:00 PM ET on September 30, 2016. …
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MONTREAL – Videotron’s community channel MAtv is promising a fall programming schedule that doubles down on its commitment to focus on local ideas and distinctive content proposed by Montrealers.
The channel, which last year came under fire for violating the CRTC’s local and access programming requirements, said that over 50% of its new fall programming is comprised of projects from the community.
That content, scheduled to debut September 26, includes three new English-language series, two new French-language programs, three new hosts, and the return of popular series such as shows Mise À Jour and Continue Reading
OTTAWA – CRTC commissioner Dr. Linda Vennard broke the Conflict of Interest Act by accepting flowers and chocolates on her birthday from a radio broadcaster, says the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
According to a report by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, Vennard, then the newly appointed commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, received the gifts from representatives of Multicultural Broadcasting Corporation Inc. and Asia Broadcasting Corporation Inc., CRTC-licensed companies operating two radio stations commercially branded as RED FM, including one in Calgary. The gifts had been sent to her at the…
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GATINEAU – There’s still time to let the CRTC know what you think of its Wireless Code of Conduct.
The Commission opened its online discussion forum Tuesday and encouraged Canadians to share their views on how the Wireless Code is helping to address issues with their wireless services. The forum, which will be open through September 26, is part of the CRTC’s planned three year review that also includes a public hearing in Gatineau starting February 6, 2017.
The Wireless Code came into effect December 2, 2013 in an effort to make it easier for consumers and small businesses to…
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Without a major regulatory change, the traditional TV industry here faces a chilling future
IF THE CRTC DOESN’T, at long last, review the 1999 New Media Exemption Order, the Canadian TV industry as we know it may well perish in the next five years, at the cost of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs – all while production of Canadian content shrivels to whatever the CBC makes.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission reached a compromise deal with the subscription TV titans in the States over the American regulator’s so-called push to “unlock the…
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OVER THE SUMMER, our shirt-challenged prime minister and national rock band reminded us that we stand unique in the world. As a country, we caught a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror. Turns out we’re not just sexy: Canadians are passionate about being Canadian. And yes, the Broadcasting Act is part of that.
With dark clouds looming over much of the world, Canadians are taking stock of who we are through the invisible web of culture. It lets us explore ideas and values, and dream our collective future. Culture connects our communities in all our glorious diversities.
Television has a vital…
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MONTREAL – Concerns over “allegations of systemic and overt racism” within the CRTC have prompted two community organizations to petition Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to reinstate former Ontario CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan.
In a letter dated September 6 that was also copied to Governor General David Johnston and CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, the Community Media Advocacy Centre and Urban Alliance on Race Relations noted that in the Commission’s 48 year history, only two of 103 first-time appointments have been granted to visible minorities, and that no visible minority or Indigenous person has ever been appointed to serve…
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