OTTAWA – Registration is now open for the 14th annual International Institute of Communication – Canadian chapter conference scheduled for November 16 -17 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
Dubbed ‘Towards an Innovation Agenda for the Communications and Media Sector’, the confab will bring together leading communications sector players from government, industry and other areas to discuss the developments and policies that influence innovation. Highlights include:
– A keynote address from CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais;
– An expert panel will explore the positive ways in which big data is being harnessed to drive Canadian innovation and productivity, plus showcase digital…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) say they are doing what is required of them to meet rules on an entry level small package of TV channels, and that calls from consumer groups for additional provisions on promotions and set top box prices are unwarranted.
Eastlink noted its in final reply that a request from the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to include comparison charts explaining the differences between tiered services and the small basic package should be denied.
“As noted by other parties during the hearing, when one takes into account both…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for feedback on its plan to merge regulations for specialty and pay television services into a single set of regulations, to be known as the Discretionary Services Regulations.
Currently, the Pay Television Regulations, 1990 and the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990 govern discretionary services. The Commission’s proposal, which stems from the Let's Talk TV proceeding, suggests streamlining the licensing of programming services into three broad categories:
– television services (over-the-air conventional and community television stations and provincial educational services);
– discretionary services (all pay and specialty services); and
– on-demand services (pay-per-view and video-on-demand services).
“The Commission considers that…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC is warning customers of Téliphone Navigata Westel Communications (TNW) that they may lose phone and Internet service in November as a result of a commercial dispute between TNW and Telus.
The Commission issued a public consumer alert Thursday, after determining that Telus may initiate service disconnection beginning November 21, 2016. Telus, which provides underlying carrier service to TNW, advised the CRTC in June that it had given notice to terminate services as a result of payment issues with TNW.
Headquartered in Vancouver, the independent facilities-based CLEC provides Internet, phone and television services to customers across Canada. According…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink is throwing its support behind Nova Scotia's TV production industry with a $690,000 contribution to the local certified independent production fund administered by the Nova Scotia Independent Production Fund.
Eastlink said that it has contributed $3.9 million over the last six years to an independent production fund in the province, providing local opportunities for producers and filmmakers.
"As a company proudly rooted in Nova Scotia, we look for ways that we can make meaningful investments back into the local economy and encourage continued growth in our home province," said Eastlink CEO Lee Bragg, in the news release. "We were…
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GATINEAU – Canadians may now use an interactive map to find out which TV service providers plus radio and TV stations distribute emergency alert messages.
The CRTC unveiled the interactive map Thursday, noting that “the vast majority” of Canadians are able to receive the alerts due to the participation of broadcasters and television service providers in the National Public Alerting System (NPAS).
Emergency alert messages are issued by emergency management officials such as fire marshals, police officers and government departments like Environment Canada to warn the public of imminent threats like severe weather, water contamination, forest fires and Amber…
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OTTAWA – The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) has issued an updated annotation of the Wireless Code of Conduct to help both consumers and wireless providers better understand the way the Code is administered.
Included in the revised Guide is an explanation of CCTS’ role as Code administrator, updated annotations, and additional case summaries. Readers will also be able to more easily identify case summaries with confirmed breaches and those without, CCTS said Thursday.
The updated annotation may be viewed here. CCTS added that it will continue to update the annotation from time to time to ensure that current…
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MONTREAL – Canada’s French and English-language media producers have agreed to work in tandem to address the changes that are taking place within the screen-based production sector.
Board members from the l’Association québecoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) staged a joint meeting Wednesday to discuss matters such as the pending consultations in to Canada’s cultural and creative industries, the upcoming CRTC Group Licence Renewal hearings, federal tax credit issues, and the regulation of Over-The-Top services and the participation of Internet providers to the CMF. The outcome was an agreement to work…
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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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