OTTAWA – Certain types of differential pricing should be banned because they can harm competition, stifle innovation and increase prices, said the Competition Bureau in response to the CRTC’s plan to review the controversial practice.
Differential pricing occurs when an internet service provider (ISP) charges one price for customers to consume one type of content, and another price for other types of content, a move that can influence the fundamental choices that consumers make.
In its submission to the Commission, the Bureau advocates that differential pricing where ISPs receive financial benefit from content providers for favouring their content should be prohibited. An…
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MARKHAM, ON – Canadian radio industry veteran Chuck McCoy will receive the 2016 Hall of Fame Award from the Ontario Association of Broadcasters at the organization’s fall conference in November.
A Board nominated honour, the OAB Hall of Fame is presented to individuals who have spent most of their careers working for private broadcasters and demonstrated a commitment to the highest standards of broadcast excellence.
With 51 years in the Canadian broadcasting industry, McCoy began his professional career on-air in 1965. His on-air hosting included stops at four stations, culminating with five years at the iconic 1050 CHUM. Over the span…
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GATINEAU – In an unsurprising decision, the CRTC denied Bell Canada’s request to review and vary the decision which gives third party independent Internet service providers access to incumbent networks’ newest fibre infrastructure.
Bell had submitted a Part 1 application to the CRTC to review and vary Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326 that states incumbent telecom providers must introduce a “disaggregated wholesale broadband access service” (DBS) so that independent ISPs gain access to FTTH (fibre to the home) facilities.
In a nutshell, Bell believes the CRTC’s decision has unfairly changed the rules governing fibre-to-the-home broadband networks by mandating…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – SiriusXM Canada is among six Canadian companies that have paid a total of $1.23M as part of settlements over violations to Canada's telemarketing rules, the CRTC said Wednesday.
Further to an investigation, the CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer found that SiriusXM Canada hired telemarketers to conduct calls on its behalf, and that the telemarketers in turn called Canadians who were registered on the company’s internal do not call list. The company has paid a $650,000 penalty.
Raid Inc. paid a $500,000 penalty after the marketer hired call centres to make calls on behalf of its clients, without ensuring…
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WINNIPEG – MTS said Wednesday that it has received a final order from the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench approving its proposed $3.9 billion acquisition by BCE.
The transaction, expected to close in late 2016 or early 2017, remains subject to regulatory approvals from the CRTC, the Competition Bureau, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.
"We are pleased to receive the approval of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench for our proposed transaction with BCE," said MTS president and CEO Jay Forbes, in a statement. "This builds…
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OTTAWA – The federal government has finally kicked off its search for a new vice-chairperson of broadcasting, some seven months after former chair Tom Pentefountas vacated the role.
According to the posting, the incumbent is responsible for assisting the CRTC chairperson in providing effective leadership to the Commission, assuming responsibility for broadcasting issues, and for providing support to the management of the administrative tribunal.
Candidates must apply online by July 19, 2016 via the Governor in Council website.
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Clearcable Summit
HAMILTON – The CRTC’s basic service obligation hearing often bogged down in consumer minutiae centering on what those in rural areas “should” be using with a bigger/better broadband connection potentially funded by the public purse or funds pulled from contributions by network owners (which, of course, come from the monthly bills paid by all of us).
Are we talking about rolling out deeper, faster connectivity just so that everyone down every last country road can stream the new season of Orange Is The New Black in 4K? My answer (in my head anyway) was: “Who cares? That’s censorship. People…
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Office culture needs repair
WITH BOTH THE 2016 NBA and NHL drafts happening this week, sports fans know that among all the “mock drafts” and other analyses about the brand new about-to-be-pros, there are a smattering of additional stories which speculate what the draft will look like next year, in 2017, despite the fact anything can happen in a year and the pure conjecture involved to write a piece like that relies on a great many moving parts falling into place – and not a small amount of gossip and guesswork.
So it is in that spirit I’m going to look…
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GATINEAU and TORONTO – The federal government has relieved Raj Shoan of his duties as CRTC commissioner for Ontario. This is believed to be the first time a commissioner’s appointment was rescinded mid-term.
The Order-in-Council says the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly, wrote to Shoan “informing him that certain of his actions brought to her attention called into question his capacity to continue serving as a Commissioner of the CRTC, providing him with information regarding these concerns including the documentation upon which they were based, and inviting him to make any representations that he wished…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – A drop in advertising revenue helped slow the pace of growth at Canada’s specialty, pay, PPV and VoD television services in the broadcast year ending August 31, 2015, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial report for this sector released Thursday.
Pay, Pay-per-View, Video-On-Demand and Specialty Services – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2011-2015 said that the sector generated revenues of $4.3 billion in 2015, a modest 0.5% increase over the $4.2 billion earned the previous year, which was hampered by a $19 million decline in advertising revenue, which was offset by a $30.6 million increase in subscription revenues.
The report…
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